Koffee/SD1
Most coffee shops go the same way: you walk in, grab something, maybe sit down, leave. Mameya Koffee is not that place.
It is a single room with a counter and a line, always a line, with canvas silkscreened bags displayed in a grid behind you, coffee beans displayed in a grid on the counter underneath you, and some unbelievably experienced people talking you through coffee. There is no bathroom. There are no pastries. There is no water. There is no wifi. There is no tea. There are no chairs – so there are no for-here cups, which is a bit sad. Really, there is only coffee, and there aren’t very many forms of coffee: pourover, a couple of limited espressos, that’s it.
Note, first, that Mameya Koffee became successful enough that they expanded to Hong Kong and a coffee tasting experience near the contemporary art museum. These are both more conventional sit-down experiences, and while great they are not what we’re discussing here. Really you’re in Omotesando, wandering around retail, going to the gardens of the Nezu Museum, and eventually you need coffee. Mameya Koffee is the best option in a very wide radius. Like most good places in Tokyo, there is always a line. Unlike most good places in Tokyo, the line moves slowly. A ten-person line means you’ll wait for about a half-hour.
The reason becomes obvious. Mameya Koffee is not the sort of place, like many in Tokyo, that want to efficiently process you and eject you back onto the road. No. You talk. You ask questions. You’re presented with options, then more options, because that whole grid of canvas bags represents different coffees. Someone really smart about this is in front of you, and their whole job is to figure out what you want and give you the time of your life.
Before you reach the front, Mameya Koffee may be the best line in the city. I spent the whole time talking to others in the line about Japanese coffee, where they’re from, what they like in the city. I go every time I visit, and it’s always been like this. A coffee shop where you talk to strangers is usually unthinkable, right? It shouldn’t be that way, but it is, right?
And so, yes, if you are in Tokyo, you will probably find yourself near Mameya Koffee, and you should spend an hour going there. It is worth it. The beans are worth it. The service is worth it. The connection with other humans is worth it.
SD1
Anyway, I’m saying all of this because the last time I was there, I noticed the barista using a new-to-me dripper, and I asked some questions and ended up buying it. The Suprima Instruments SD1 is from a new company, and I’m pretty sure it’s not available in the United States. It uses V60 filters, so I already have the setup that I need locked in. Instead of the V60 cone’s vertical grooves, though, you’re dealing with a flat cone with a series of concentric ridges near the tip that are built to slow a pour. The result is somewhere between a Chemex and a Clever Dripper, making the result both more heavily extracted and more consistently foolproof.
I’ve come to use the SD1 for my smaller single-person brews, and the Hario when I’m making coffee for several people. I will probably also take the SD1 with me when I’m out of town for long periods of time, for it’s fairly lightweight and easy to travel with relative to my hypersensitive folding fella.
I don’t need the SD1, but it makes my life a little nicer. And every time I use it, I think of Mameya, and that line, and that conversation with the barista, who focused on me, answered every question, and never tried to rush me along.