COVERT COFFEE — Restaurant in Tokyo

TL;DR They have a lot of lovely and interesting coffee beans done in a variety of different processes--all light roast. They take only card, and they speak pretty solid English. If you like a third wave coffee shop experience, this is a solid option. Serving lots of GLITCH coffees.

First off: Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue was when we walked in. Immediately happy with the atmosphere. The person behind the counter. The human behind the counter spoke to us in English (and because I spoke to him in Japanese, he used Japanese)! They were really well versed in the coffee beans they were serving. Right away they asked what kind of beans / flavours I was interested in, then gave me suggestions and let me smell the beans based on what I told them. Then they brewed it and brought the cup right to our table with a nice little card describing basically everything about the coffee; country of origin, farm, tasting notes (plus a little visual graph of the coffee profile), the roaster, the varietal, the process and the altitude. I had a lot of fun smelling and sipping the coffee to gauge for myself what notes I was getting and one of them (Costa Rica, Llano Lost Angeles) smelled SO powerfully of cinnamon it really took me by surprise! I loved it!

I watched them with other customers while I sipped a enjoyed my time with my friends, and it was lovely to hear the person behind the counter ask everyone what kind of flavours they were looking for in a coffee and price. They took customer groups one at a time and as new customers arrived, buddy behind the counter asked the new customers to take a seat until the counter was cleared of the current customers, then he would call them when it was time to give them the lovely one-on-one experience with choosing the best beans for them!

If you don't like light roast / fruitier coffees, and / or you are looking for a quick cup of coffee to go, you may not find what you're looking for here. But if you like interesting, complex coffees that are lighter roast, with a lovely atmosphere, you're gunna have a good time. :)

Also used the bathroom! It was exceptionally...

My friends and I had a frustrating and frankly baffling experience at this coffee shop. We came in tired and just looking for a place to sit down and enjoy a simple black coffee. The café was nearly empty, and we were told to sit down and wait our turn — which seemed reasonable at first, but then we ended up waiting over 15 minutes just for the single customer ahead of us to place their order.

When we were finally called up, one of my friends tried to place the order: black coffee for all of us. Instead of taking the order, the staff insisted that each of us come up individually to smell every single variety of beans and listen to an explanation about their origin — supposedly to “respect the bean farmers.” While that might be an interesting option for someone who wants a full coffee education, we were just looking for a cup of coffee.

Still, we played along. My friend smelled the beans, chose one, and tried again to order for all of us. But no — we were told that each person had to pick a different bean variety, again in the name of “respecting all the farmers.”

At that point, we had been in the shop for a while with still no coffee in hand. The staff seemed more interested in enforcing their unusual rituals than actually serving customers. They showed zero flexibility, even when we politely explained we were tired and just wanted to enjoy a drink in their café. Also asking for their recommendation on the beans seemed like an insult to them.

We eventually gave up and left without ordering anything — tired, frustrated, and completely confused by what had just happened.

As we left, another couple who had arrived after us — and had quietly observed the entire situation — also got up and said they were leaving because they too just wanted a simple coffee

Not every customer wants to be lectured or forced into a ceremony. No wonder the place was so empty.

In addition, this wasn't a language issue. The staff members spoke very...

Unfortunately the service can be improved by a lot. The crew here is super tense and - as someone noted in the reviews before - indeed act as if it’s a Michelin restaurant. When I stood up to get a look at the espresso machine, I was asked to sit down as it wasn’t my turn yet. I’ve been a specialty coffee enthusiast for almost 15 years and have visited countless of specialty places, so I’m not particularly impressed by unique coffees anymore. I do however remember kind encounters with enthusiastic coffee people that make me feel at home.

Reading other reviews here, I know I’m not the first to note this. Unfortunately it seems as if this place doesn’t take the feedback at heart. Instead, they write that their rigid attitude is part of the coffee experience with the rarest of beans. Having visited dozens of specialty bars around the world, the best experiences were with kind baristas that make you feel at home and want to share their coffee enthusiasm with their customers. They never act as if they do me a favor.

One piece of advice; the coffee or “experience is not more important than...