Tokyo Guide > Tokyo Restaurants > Japanese Sweets & Cafes > Chatei Hatou

Chatei Hatou 茶亭 羽當 Japanese Sweets & Cafes / Shibuya

1 Review

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Nico


  • Chatei Hatou
  • (2007-05-30)
  • Chatei Hatou offers one of the best “old-school” coffeeshop experiences in town. I worked as a barista for a while, lived in Vancouver -- the city with the highest ratio of coffeeshops per capita in the world -- and I have never been to a place that takes coffee-making as seriously as Chatei Hatou.

    The coffeeshop is located approximately five minutes from the buzz of Shibuya station, but, once past the doors, you are whisked away into a world of soft classical music, luxurious china and that sense of conviviality that only some coffeeshops manage to pull off.

    The counter provides front-stage seats to watch the baristas at work and engage them in conversation. The person next to me was commenting the day's newspaper with the staff and customers around him, while a later patron discussed the merits of smoking pipe versus cigarettes while lighting his own.

    On to the coffee: The menu offers a few house blends (sumibi original, old beans, gobancho and nire) and some varietal coffees (Guatemalan, Kilimanjaro, Blue Mountain, etc.). They also offer cafe au lait, cappuccino, wiener coffee, chocolate coffee and iced versions of everything.

    Once you order, the barista measures the beans and grinds them. Then, he (my barista was a man) filled a drip bag with the grinds and spent a minute correcting their layout to make sure that there were no air pockets left behind. Following that, he transfered barely boiling water from a bigger kettle to a smaller one and carefully wet all the coffee without letting a single drop fall off the bag yet. Finally, he started pouring water through the coffee very slowly to give it time to infuse. The barista warned me that it would take approximately ten minutes to finish making a small espresso-sized cup, and he patiently poured the water at what seemed a ridiculously slow pace to make approx. 50cc of coffee. Once the coffee is done, it's heated back to the correct temperature and served in beautiful porcelain. If anything, this coffeeshop is worth a visit alone to admire their porcelain cups.

    I had an “old-beans” coffee, which are beans that have been aged for three years before roasting and comes in a choice of mild and bitter. The coffee was exceptionally good and the care with which it was made showed. While I wouldn't say that this is the best cup ever, once you add the experience of the coffeeshop, it certainly adds up to an unforgettable coffee moment.

    For non-coffee lovers, there is a small selection of teas and fresh fruit juices made to order. They also serve sandwiches, chiffon cakes and cheesecake with hand-whipped cream.

    Chatei Hatou is an expensive cup. Most drinks range between ?800-1000 and the cakes are a bit cheaper. This is a place to indulge and impress. Bring a date, a business partner or enjoy some alone time in this oasis of quiet in Shibuya.
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