Yazawa Coffee Roasters in Tokyo (Tsukiji Outer Market)
After being electrified by the sights and smells and bombarded by the massive crowds of Tsukiji Market, you might need to take a moment to recover. Thankfully, there’s coffee.
Understated and incredibly small, the self-titled “Secret Coffee Stand,” Yazawa Coffee Roasters sits curbside in the Tsukiji Outer Market. Like, literally on the curb. There’s no counter, no chairs, no frills, just coffee. Extraordinary coffee.
Run by coffee wizard Kenichiro Hirota, his message resounds the same simplicity as his establishment: to share speciality coffee with the market masses. Each cup created with the utmost effort and consistency in a systematic pour-over method he’s perfected over years of study and work.
When we stumbled upon Yazawa, I accidentally ordered from the wrong menu. The front of the menu was intended for that day’s service and of course, as if I’m not awkward enough, I requested something that was intended for another day, on the back of the menu. “Yirgacheffe, please,” I said only half confidently, as I do in most of my conversations with locals. Hirota, perplexed, pointed to the menu, the side I should have seen, and said, “Different menu today.” How do I always mess this up? I thought. As I gathered myself and tried to think of something else to order in what probably was only a matter of seconds but felt like a lifetime, he said, “But I’ll make it for you today.” Whew. “Thank you so much! Arigato-gozaimasu!” I said, bowing like a total gaijin.
I stood around and watched as the fantasia of copper cups, paper filters, coffee, and water all shuffled through Hirota’s hands. Expressionless. Focused. Like in another dimension, this man worked to deliver everyone in line a perfect cup of joe.
He presented us our orders and we walked across the street a few feet and sat down on the curb. While our coffees cooled, we watched an old man chain smoking in his upstairs apartment, hanging out of his window curiously eyeing the crowd. We saw women riding bikes in stilettos and kids throwing tantrums. And then everything stopped when we put our cups to our lips.
Notes on taste: The coffee was surprisingly bright and citrusy, with slightly floral yet fruity notes, despite being served in a paper cup. I was nervous about this as Yirgacheffe is a relatively delicate coffee but it shined through anyway. I’m normally a medium to dark roast kind of girl but this? In all its acidic citrus berry deliciousness? You can keep your French roast, I thought, imagining the bag of Starbucks beans I had at home before finally blurting out in all my American grace, “This is fucking good.”
Tips to know before you go:
Bring cash!
English menus are posted around Yazawa, just be sure you order from the right one.
Parking, well, driving in general in the Tsukiji Market is a no-go. I recommend taking the train to Ginza Station and walking. It takes about 10 minutes and you can easily make a morning or afternoon of the market. Click the map below to start planning your trip!
Have you been to Yazawa Coffee Roasters? Are you a total coffee snob? Just have a remark? Leave a comment below!
