Coffee Tei, nestled in the streets of Ikeubukuro in Tokyo, is a place of exceptional coffee and exquisite interior. Dim lights, oak beams and fancy cutlery give the place a rather British feel, and those who serve are more like cultivated butlers as opposed to coffee baristas. Classical music frequently fills the air at a pleasurable level of sound, with Mozart known to be a favoured choice. This is an upmarket place, whereby the coffee is more expensive than your regular coffeeshop; but here you are paying for high-class coffee, in a high-class setting full of sophistication.
At Coffee Tei, 25 grams of coffee beans are used for a cup of coffee, brewed by a special method called 'Arabiki-Ittoudate'. This is a method of continuously pouring out hot water into coffee-powder without any breaks. The method is said to bring out the primary taste and fragrance of the coffee. The coffee is then placed in beautiful cups that sit on top of elegant saucers, cutlery royalty wouldn't turn down their noses on.
New to so many choices of coffee, I was advised to opt against 'Kilimanjaro', said to be rather sweet, and go for a cup of 'Sumatra Mandheling'. The advice came from a man who looked as though he had danced with the coffee gods, won their approval and brought back down their beans from a higher realm. My coffee arrived with fresh milk and he had advised me well.
Coffee can be complemented here with tasty looking deserts, such as cheesecake and Mont Blanc. My cup of coffee came to ¥760, but the taste, wonderful and friendly service, along with the swanky atmosphere, made it worth paying such a price. If I was living in Tokyo this wouldn't be somewhere I would get my coffee fix everyday, but certainly somewhere to treat yourself once in a while.
Coffee Tei is located very close to Ikebukuro Station in a side-road next to Zara. It is open from 11am-22:30pm with last orders being at 22:00pm, with German beer also being sold.
