Koffee Mameya is a coffee destination that is extremely popular with tourists. The Omotesando shop has a counter that can handle 3 sets of customers at a time, so be prepared to potentially wait a while even on weekdays if there are people in front of you.
- https://tokyocheapo.com/restaurant/koffee-mameya/
- https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/32406
- https://tokyocoffee.org/2018/12/12/koffee-mameya-omotesando-koffee/
All the baristas are bilingual and step you through an ever-changing menu. They have a set spiel to introduce people to specialty coffees and ask for your preferences.
I told them about some of my bean preferences (used to very high quality specialty beans, like natural/alternative processing for wilder flavors, enjoy more mouthfeel and body than something too bright). I saw a picture from a month ago that they actually had a Cerro Azul in, one of my favorites, but sadly that was gone already. There’s basically a constant rotation of beans.
This was the per cup pricing (the Irish Estate Geisha was off-menu):
¥3200 Ona Reserve Coffee Panama Iris Estate Lot Symmetry Geisha CM Natural (sold out, ~27/100g)
The Geishas were made with V60s and the Pacamara was made with a Kalita simultaneously with dialed in grind sizes and custom timings at I believe, 93C. The general technique was a 30s bloom, and then interleaved, relatively steady pours to keep the water level about even with drawdown at about 1-2cm above the bed. Overall, was about 3min.
I didn’t take very good notes for the tasting. Although again, I’m sad to report that the most exclusive/expensive Iris Estate Geisha was my favorite. The beans had a very rich dark chocolate/raspberry smell, and that translated into a slightly lighter, but still very sweet brew, with a fruity flavor with a slight hint of lavender and a almost wine-like finish. My second favorite, however was the Injerto Pacamara - it was extremely juicy, but had a sweetness that reveals itself as you moved it around the mouth. Pacamara apparently has its own signature flavor notes. Apparently the Finca Deborah has been quite popular on the competition circuit lately. There are natural anaerobic versions, but the beans I had were washed. It was also very tasty, and I’m sad now that I didn’t write down my tasting notes, since I had more to say, but they’ve gone now. I remember being a bit underwhelmed though. It was crisp and clean, but lacking the wilder character and more substantial mouthfeel of the other two. I’m a bit curious though to try out the natural version, though (not at $80/100g though, yeesh)…