There’s a bright and sunny demeanour to Little Darling Coffee Roasters and it feels like you’ve been transported to California. This spacious café and roastery is part of the Share Green Minami Aoyama retail and event space, whose beautiful grounds feature repurposed warehouses and a manicured lawn adorned with lush greenery courtesy of the neighbouring florist and nursery, Solso Park.
Head barista Naoya Akagawa, who was a Coffee Fest Latte Art World Championship Open finalist, handpicks five beans and roasts them on-site two to three times a week, after which they are packaged into 100g and 200g bags. The house blend, with the twee name ‘My Bestfriend’s Crush’, is a medium to dark roast of beans from Brazil, Ethiopia, Laos and Colombia. If you’re drinking in, you can choose your preferred brewing method, whether it’s American press or filter. For snacks, the Chinese-inspired bao sandwiches with a variety of fillings are a crowd-pleaser; otherwise, there’s also coffee soft-serve and pastries (including a selection from Beaver Bread in Nihonbashi).