Cafe de LâAmbre
Our days on this both wonderful and bizarre island are slowly coming to an end. We obviously visited Kiddyland several more times to stock up on everything cute and snatch up that last fluffy Totoro tag before flying back home in two days time.
However, our coffee journey through Japan wouldnât be nearly complete without having a brew at a traditional coffee house (kissaten). There are still a number of them around the capital, yet none with a world famous reputation as the one in Ginza.
We are of course talking about, Cafe de LâAmbre.
The coffee house is said to have been imported brick by brick from Paris and opened to the public in 1948. Owner and coffee sensei, Sekiguchi IchirĆ is now well over a hundred years. Heâs entrusted the day-to-day runnings of the shop to younger tykes, while he focuses on roasting and enjoying his daily motorcycle ride to work.
Entering the shop, we didnât exactly know what to expect and after waiting in the reception area, we were seated along the curvy bar with an English coffee menu. The barista behind the counter was free pouring a few drinks already using what looked a lot like a coffee sock. We were indeed wondering why they had a washing machine behind the counter. It's for washing all the filters!
After studying the vast bean selection multiple times over and telling the barista we needed more time despite reading the English menu; we finally opted for a caffĂš creme.Â
It didnât quite say which beans they were using, yet itâs safe to assume it was their seven year old house blend. Thatâs right, seven year old coffee beans and those seem to be the freshest ones around. Their oldest ones are something close to thirty years!
The barista we saw earlier, set out to work once again, chucking half a boatload of dark coffee into the flannel and patiently waiting for his kettle to boil. After pouring the coffee free hand with boiling-ass water and steam smacking him right across the face, he transferred the black liquid into a saucepan and heated it up one last time before serving it to us with a delightful little cream pot.
The coffee which was pitch black dark and screamed for sugar and all sorts of sweeteners, was surprisingly smooth, full bodied and utterly pleasant. It didnât need anything else. I was gobsmacked!
On the way out, we spied Sekiguchi IchirĆ among a library of coffee books, papers and framed certificates. We quickly thanked him for the good coffee and politely asked to take his photo, which he was more than happy to pose for before jumping back on his BMW motorcycle (his son drives it, donât worry). :)
Thatâs all from Japan (for now), check the links below for two more shops we popped by in Osaka and Tokyo.Â
See you back in London &Â Happy Tuesday!
Robin & Sonya
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Coffee in Osaka & after a fishy brekky in Tsukiji
Lilo Coffe Roasters, Osaka
Turret Coffee, Tsukiji, Tokyo



















