All posts tagged: cafe

A Shot of Summer — Iki Espresso

Published by

  Following the Aussie coffee culture, Iki espresso serves generous cups of excellent coffee in the centre of Chigasaki. This coffee stand is a successor of Allpress that is originally based in New Zealand, where coffee culture is said to be one of the best in the world. Allpress roasters opened their mega successful stores in cities such as London and Melbourne and very recently they expanded with a branch in Tokyo. Iki espresso embodies the idea of coffee stand with a look of abandoned coffee warehouse. Minimalistic concrete interior, a great collection of Kinfolk magazines and Off Season newspapers make you feel like out of Japan. No need to say about coffee as Allpress roaster is already acknowledged and loved by millions of people around the world. With the help of La Marzocco, Allpress roasted beans and creamy milk, Iki Espresso latte will never be enough. The coffee shop has been opened for more than two years and recently they have got something exciting behind the counter. Rapidly gaining popularity among Tokyo trendy coffee shops, coffee tonic is said to …

Discovering Beauty in White Forest

Published by

In this simple, pure space a guest can savour his coffee and let his mind flow in tranquility. The minimalism culture that had been nurtured in Japan since ancient times has adapted modern influences in Tokyo. Ki Café is a true fusion of modernism and minimalism somewhere in between zen philosophy and urban city. Hidden one station away from Shimokitazawa, a commercial and entertainment district in Setagaya, Ki Café invites Tokyoites to run away from crowd to a mesmerizing white forest. Ki (木) means ‘tree’ in Japanese and details of it can be seen around the shop. While most of the design magazines describe Ki as cafe with an abstract tree theme, it is much more than that. According to the owner, Yuko, the main inspiration is ‘white’, which spreads tranquility and at the same time invites to reach a mental state of no-mind (無心). At the entrance, you will be asked to take off your shoes as if you enter a sacred space. There is no music in the background. No excessive details either. …

Rejoice in the Land of Purist Coffee: Lanark Coffee

Published by

  London’s coffee purists stick to simple little spots that fully concentrate on quality in the cup. Lanark is one of those cafes with the shortest menus ever: espresso, espresso with milk or filter. It is a perfect spot to hide from hustle and bustle of Columbian Road and Broadway Market as its minimalist design and simple menu help guests to turn their attention to the complexity of specialty coffee.     True coffee guru would know Greg Boyce’s coffee-making abilities from Alchemy and Black Box. Lanark Coffee is his new coffee venture launched in 2014. Greg does not settle with one kind of beans but you can fully rely on his selected coffee from top micro-roasters. At the time of my arrival, behind the counter Greg has got beautiful Rwandan roast from Alchemy and East London’s Dark Arts Coffee waiting for its turn. Lanark is a coffee bar with its particular pure coffee approach: no soya milk or tea options here and sugar is available only on request. A tiny coffee bar inside is …

Berlin’s True Coffee Heroes

Published by

Cursive letters that reads, Bonanza Coffee Heroes, on the greyish blue painted walls could be easily mistaken for a stylish boutique. Its minimal, yet stylish interior and exterior attract one’s eye, but the smell of freshly brewed coffee makes every passersby of Oderberger Straße a coffee addict. While for most foreigners the Barn’s name associates with the third wave coffee in Berlin, in fact, Kiduk Reus and Yumi Choi, baristas behind Bonanza, were the first to bring the legendary coffee movement to Berlin. This original roaster has been setting standards in the German capital for almost a decade and its coffee beans can be found in many coffee shops in Berlin. The inspiration behind Bonanza is London and one of the first specialty coffee shops, Monmouth Coffee Company. Monmouth is well known internationally for its approach to roasting coffee from single farms and directly trading coffee beans. While nowadays we can easily find specialty coffee shops on almost every corner, before the mid-2000s it would be a hard task to find a good cup in …

Curators of Coffee, Art and Flawless Design

Published by

A small group of Antipodeans has gathered together for another coffee venture, where design infused with art of coffee brings space for local artists and coffee aficionados. Opened in 2014 summer, ‘Currators Coffee’ has been ‘loud’ since then. Blessed be Fitzrovia for its best selection of coffee shops in London and ‘Curators Coffee’ has absolutely deserved to be on this list. The Curators Coffee design fueled with creativity and innovation has brought two beautiful spaces to the City. However, Curators Gallery is the one that gets the most attention for its unique concept and flawless design. An airy space devided into ground floor and basement was designed by interior designer and stylist Ana Foster-Adams. A former clothing store on Margeret Street has been retransformed into a modern cafe and gallery space.  A design of careful thought and detail is the perfect environment for local art to be displayed and admired. Apart from artistic canvas, another form of art that is taken for granted in Curators Gallery is the art of coffee. Either coffee extracted by La Marzocco Strada or one of the neatly rowed Chemex, …

Home, Atelier, Cafe ー a space for inspiration

Published by

“It is rather the building fits our lifestyle than we fit the building.” – with this kind of approach Takeuchi family designed a space where they can live every day with happiness and inspiration. The aesthetic world of two people are not shut between white walls. They are a big part of community through a cup of morning coffee and a love for art. The space is a combination of studio, cafe, living space and even museum, which they recall as ‘Museum of Art’.

Curiosity’s Day Planner: London

Published by

London is praised as the greatest city in the world. Stop here. Been there, done that, boring. If you are a keen world traveller, you probably think of London as a very ‘normal’ city with too many tourists and too many queues. However, London is so much more than that. Big Ben or Tower Bridge are not the things that make London special. Unfortunately, there is no single answer why this city is worth living/visiting, but The Curiosity has a possible solution of spending a great day in London.

A bouquet of sunshine

Published by

Where to start and where to finish. Let me begin by saying that PIPIPI is the most adorable and personal cafe I have ever been to. Japanese are well known for their madness for cute things, also known as kawaii culture. However, when you take a train from Tokyo towards South, the understanding of ‘cute’ is absolutely different. Colourful clothes, hand-made decorations, vintage teaspoons, flowers and anything basically related to beach – those are some of the things that are highly appreciated and referred as cute in Shonan.