In Kyoto, @bluebottlejapan’s exclusive Studio offers an intimate tasting experience that unfolds like a kaiseki course. Open until Dec 11, now is the perfect time to savor these single-origin brews with a view of the autumn leaves.

“As I take my seat at the counter, barista Yuta Miyagawa places a recording of the Keith Jarret Trio’s “Still Live” album on the turntable, marking the start of the prix fixe tasting course. Alongside all the other meticulous details that define the experience, the musical selection has been curated by Blue Bottle founder James Freeman…

The session opens with a trio of cold teas steeped with different parts of the coffee plant: the leaves, flowers and cherries — the pulp surrounding the coffee beans. The unique infusions showcase a spectrum of flavors, from the astringency of the leaves to the soft sweetness and pleasantly acidic tang of the cherries.”

The second piece in my two-part coffee feature for The Japan Times #kanpaiculture:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2023/11/26/food-drink/blue-bottle-kyoto-coffee/...