The rumblings of Tokyo’s 3rd wave coffee movement have been erupting this year. Blue Bottle Coffee opened not 1 but 2 shops in Tokyo back-to-back; first in February and then again over the weekend. But the Silicon Valley-funded roaster isn’t the only one mounting a swift advance on Tokyo’s coffee connoisseurs. The home-grown Sarutahiko Coffee, which operates a popular caffeinating destination in Ebisu has now opened their 2nd location in Chofu, a western suburb of Tokyo.
Blue Bottle, with their 2-hour-line-for-a-cup-of-coffee (when they first opened), isn’t the only one with hype either. Sarutahiko Coffee’s owner Tomoyuki Otsuka is an ex-actor who’s been able to leverage his boyish good looks to star in coffee commercials. And one of their employees, Kumi Takayama, even competed in the World Latte Art Championship last year. Unfortunately she didn’t win, but it was enough to get Sarutahiko Coffee plenty of press.
The packaging design and branding is just as stunning as their interior.
There’s plenty to love about Sarutahiko’s new location too. Unlike their original in central Tokyo, the new shop is a lot more spacious. Floor to ceiling windows let plenty of light into the long and narrow shop. Their signature look of vintage wood paneling and tinted blue walls finish off the space. And if you find the 1st floor to be too crowded you can always head upstairs where an additional 34 seats share the space with a brand new 35kg Loring Roaster.
Sarutahiko Coffee Sengawa
1-48-3 Sengawa-cho, Chofu, Tokyo (Gmap)
Open 7 AM – 10:30 PM
March 9, 2015 at 10:38 pm
This just (no joke) minutes after making my first trip to Blue Bottle here in Omotesando. I’m gonna be busy (and broke) with this coffee boom.