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February 6, 2015
EAT: Blue Bottle Coffee Opens Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Store on Friday, February 6. Aoyama Store to Follow on Saturday, March 7.
EAT | The Buzzworthy Third Wave Coffee Shop Makes Its Overseas Debut, With a Shibuya Location to Follow in March
Blue Bottle Coffee Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Roastery & Cafe Opens
The Blue Bottle Coffee Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Roastery & Cafe will open on Friday, February 6th. The opening of the Aoyama store is also scheduled for Saturday, March 7th. This marks Blue Bottle Coffee's first venture outside of Japan.
Text by HAMADA Masaru (OPENERS)
Third wave coffee, characterized by its focus on bean origin and ingredients, and meticulously brewed cup by cup via pour-over, is a hallmark of shops like Blue Bottle Coffee, founded in 2002. The company currently operates 16 cafes across the San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. It has garnered attention from the business world, receiving investment from major venture capital firms and investors, and is even referred to as the "Apple of the coffee world."
The Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Roastery & Cafe, the brand's first overseas location, is situated midway between Kiyosumi Garden, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and Monzen-Nakacho. Similar to the roastery in its home base of Oakland, California, coffee beans are roasted daily on-site. The cafe serves coffee made with beans roasted within the last 48 hours, and also features a selection of freshly baked pastries to complement the coffee. The Aoyama store is located down a side street from Aoyama Dori, a short walk from Omotesando Station. Despite its urban setting, the area is rich in greenery, offering a sense of the changing seasons to enjoy with your coffee.
Founder James Freeman commented, "While Kiyosumi-Shirakawa might seem like a unique choice for our first location in Japan, it's an ideal place for production. It has a relaxed atmosphere and is a hub for the daily lives of local residents. Aoyama, on the other hand, is a very sophisticated area, and we believe it will allow us to showcase a different facet of Blue Bottle Coffee."
Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Roastery & Cafe
Address | 1-4-8 Hirano, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Hours | 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM (Open year-round)
Opening Date | Friday, February 6th
Aoyama Cafe
Address | Masuda Building 2F, 3-13-14 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Hours | 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM (Open year-round)
Opening Date | Saturday, March 7th