Streamer Coffee Company, Tokyo

Coffee is a circuitous path.

Shibuya’s Streamer Coffee Company is a Seattle-style café run by champion latte artist Hiroshi Sawada. He was the first Asian barista world champion, grabbing the highest score ever at the 2008 Free Pour Latte Art Championships in Seattle.

We found about Streamer Coffee from one of our barista pals, Michael Tan (formerly of RAW Coffee in Kuala Lumpur and currently pulling shots at Tiong Bahru Bakery in Singapore). Tan is a huge fan of latte art and the intricate swirls Streamer Coffee is famous for excite him to no end.

Which is why, on a balmy summer day, we tracked down the café off a side road in Shibuya. The place itself looks nondescript from the outside but there is a steady stream (pun intended) of customers coming and going with their takeaway cups.

Inside the café is stark with a clean, unfussy design. Sawada’s signature triple rosetta latte art hang from the walls. There are T-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise sold near the counter.

This is a shrine to believers.

How are the famous swirls achieved? The trick is in using a bowl-sized coffee cup which offers a greater surface area for latte artists to play with. Coffee here is their in-house Streamer Blend made from beans roasted using a 40-year-old Probat. A very smooth cup, if a tad milky; certainly the prettiest we’ve seen anywhere in the world.

Believers and baristas, make your pilgrimage here if you haven’t already.

位於涉谷區的Streamer Coffee Company是家西雅圖式的咖啡館。
喜愛咖啡拉花的朋友對這里應該不會太陌生，
因為這的咖啡師澤田洋史 Hiroshi Sawada，
是第一位在西雅圖花式拉花錦標賽奪冠的亞洲人，
而且還獲得了有史以來最高的分數，風頭一時無兩。
我們對咖啡拉花並不熱衷，平時也沒怎麼留意這方面的新聞，
會知道這裡要多虧了一位熱愛咖啡拉花藝術的朋友，
通過他的介紹，我們才會在一個風和日麗的下午來這喝咖啡。
咖啡館的外頭看起來並不起眼，
裡頭則乾淨簡潔，除了掛了一些褲子海報作為裝飾外，
墻上還有一幅澤田洋史的標誌三重樹葉型拉花。
在櫃檯附近則放置了馬克杯和T卹等商品。
雖然沒有漂亮的佈置與裝潢，但卻無損這家咖啡館的人氣，
來這喝咖啡或是外帶的顧客可是源源不絕，
連朋友托買的T恤都買完了。
來到Streamer，當然要試試他們的奶式咖啡，
這樣才可以看到那精巧細緻的拉花。
據說秘訣是來自這些碗狀的杯子，
它為咖啡師提供了更大的表面積以作拉花用。
這裡用的是自家烘焙的綜合豆，
而這些豆子可是由一家四十歲高齡的烘豆機所烘焙的呢。