Unlimited Coffee Bar, Tokyo

Coffee is limitless.

That’s the way it feels at Unlimited Coffee Bar, Tokyo. Founded by World Barista Championship judge Daichi Matsubara and roaster Rena Hirai in July, this nearly five-month-old café in Sumida (not too far from the famous Sensoji Temple of Asakusa and the Tokyo Skytree tower) is perhaps the freshest face on the scene where Japanese specialty coffee is concerned.

Yet when we enter this coffee shop, it welcomes with warm tones from dark woods used in its décor and a sure touch with friendly and professional baristas. Petite and cheerful Atsumi Yamashita brews some filter coffee using Colombia Naranjos Fully Washed beans. Her dashing colleague Kota Sato pours us a delightfully winey cold brew coffee made from Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Aricha (Natural).

These are some of the best coffees we’ve had in Japan!

Later, Atsumi makes us a cappuccino made from Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Shefo Heirloom beans, smooth and velvety. Kota shakes up a caffeinated cocktail — which comes with the oh-so-cool moniker of Espresso Martini. (Somehow we think Mr. Bond would approve, since it’s shaken, not stirred.)

A slice of homemeade chocolate cake made from single origin Columbia cacao is the perfect pairing for our coffees.

There is even a barista training workshop upstairs, on the second floor, but even if you limit your experience to the ground floor, it’s quite enough. The baristas are warm and considerate (we observe Atsumi grabbing some blankets for a quartet of young girls in short skirts sitting at the next table), and the coffee is simply magnificent.

Watch out for Unlimited Coffee Bar’s stag logo if you spot them on a bag of coffee or two. It’s good stuff, these antlers.

每次到訪東京我們都會順道去拜訪一些咖啡館。
在近來的這趟咖啡之旅中，最大的驚喜則來自Unlimited Coffee Bar。
這家才開業五個多月的咖啡館位於淺草站附近，
距離東京著名的景點淺草寺和晴空塔不遠。
老闆是世界咖啡師錦標賽的評判之一Daichi Matsubara 和合作夥伴烘豆師 Rena Hirai。
Unlimited Coffee Bar共分兩層，樓下是咖啡館，樓上則是咖啡師培訓室。
館裡頭沒有過多的裝飾，除了簡單的家具外，
印象最深的就是那長長的木質吧檯。
前半部是泡製熱咖啡的地方，而後半部則有點像雞尾酒吧。

我們先點了手沖哥倫比亞和冷泡衣索比亞。
前者帶點核果香氣和我喜歡的酸度，後者則帶有淡淡的酒感。
在吃了一份巧克力蛋糕后，我們又去續了兩杯咖啡；
一杯卡布和一杯咖啡雞尾酒。
適中的溫度，順滑的奶泡，加上單品衣索比亞豆子的香氣，
讓這杯卡布變得很精彩。
而濃縮咖啡遇上馬天尼，再經過咖啡師的巧手一調，
則成了這杯風味獨特Espresso Martini；
微寒的天氣里還一杯，肚子暖暖的很是舒服。
單是好喝的咖啡，其實還不至讓我們那麼驚喜，
更難得是遇上會主動親切聊天的友善咖啡師，在日本還挺少見的。