Café de l’Ambre, Tokyo

Coffee can be all black.

Why, have you ever visited a ‘pure’ café? One which did not serve any food, not even a morsel of cake – only coffee, and pure black coffee at that.

We enter this café, dimly lit like a pub, possibly a beer tavern, wondering what we have gotten ourselves into. Could we really only simply drink coffee? Deep inside is a long bar where Japanese baristas from an age that had not heard of the term ‘hipster’ take their time with their brewing.

Old Grandpa here brews coffee using a flannel, with steady hands and his eyes on his handiwork. It’s a performance, and watching him at his craft is a pleasure.

Will we be able to drink the difference?

The beans they serve here are certainly special; many of their treasured lots are older than we are, aged from years to decades.

But still: will we be able to drink the difference?

The thick aroma of strong, black coffee; the vigorous flavours; the pleasure of knowing we are drinking a brew made from beans with more years than we share: we do taste the difference, and it is glorious.

We have visited a pure café and invite you to experience this too. Taste the difference, and may it be glorious.

這是一家很‘純粹’的咖啡館；
純粹得連一點食物都沒有，除了咖啡，還是咖啡。
踏入館內，裡頭一片昏黃的燈光，加上長長的吧台，
不像一家咖啡館，反倒讓我有種來到酒吧的錯覺。
有別于一般常見的虹吸或濾斗式手沖法，這裡用的是法蘭絨。
老師傅煮咖啡時專注的神情，倒水時那穩健的雙手，
看他煮咖啡，宛如觀賞一場表演；是一種享受。
而這的咖啡豆子也很特別，不少的豆子都是‘上了年紀’的“老豆”；
從幾年到幾十年不等。
是的，幾十年，有些豆子的年紀比我還老。
渾厚的口感，濃郁的咖啡香；
是老豆子給我的第一印象，和我平時愛喝的截然不同。
如果你喜歡這種口感強烈的咖啡，
又或許對老豆子所沖煮出來的咖啡有興趣，
下次來東京時，不讓來這試試。
記得吃飽了才來喝咖啡，
因為，這是一家很純粹的咖啡館。