Cafe Bach

Founder of Blue Bottle Coffee Uncovers His Favorite Tokyo Cafés - AFAR

"A 51-year-old Shōwa‑era kissaten in Minami‑Senju that feels locked in time, where the air is heavy with apple pie and roasting coffee beans and classical music plays in the background. Staff in mint‑green shirts serve customers who sit in bulky leather‑and‑wood chairs amid dark wood wainscoting, while a master barista meticulously prepares volcanic, complex brews via slow‑drip pour‑over with a gooseneck kettle, serving them in wide‑brimmed ceramic cups. The owner travels regularly to coffee plantations and roasts a world‑spanning selection of beans in‑house (Indonesia, Peru, Malawi, Sumatran varieties and more), and his wife — trained in French pastry — supplies a warm, American‑style apple pie whose imperfect buttery shortcrust rounds out what feels like a master class in coffee, pastry, and Japanese omotenashi hospitality." - Adam H. Graham