This cosy café between Asakusa and Ueno serves freshly-brewed coffee creations by latte
art champion Takehiro Okudaira, who trained in Australia’s coffee capital Melbourne.
You can choose between two types of beans, either a Brazilian and Colombian dark roast
with a chocolate-like aroma, or a single origin light roast with a fruity taste. Note that the
single origin coffee sets you back an additional ¥50 per cup. Most cafés use machines that
can only brew at one temperature at a time, but Okudaira’s Sanremo Café Racer, imported
from Italy, lets him brew the two types of beans at different temperatures to bring out the best taste of each.
Okudaira participates in latte art competitions around the world. After winning several
competitions around Japan, he ranked third at the Coffee Fest Latte Art World Championship in Denver in 2018. He can turn any cup of joe into a mini artwork as long as steamed milk is involved – you can also opt for oat milk for an additional ¥150.
Choose between a caffè latte (from ¥550), caffè mocha (from ¥600), salted caramel caffè
latte (from ¥600), or even a cocoa (from ¥550) or a matcha latte (from ¥600), which will
either feature a detailed rosetta made when the milk is poured, or a cute motif created from
the crema and foam.
If you’re feeling peckish, pair your drink with a homemade sandwich (¥600), a piece of cake
or a canelé (both from ¥350).