After visiting the Yanesen area a month ago while walking between Ueno and Nippori, we made a re-visit, this time checking out the recommendations of some friends who live in the area. First stop on the list was armadillo bakes&coffee, a little cafe near Sendagi station.
They made a good first impression with their armadillo mascot (look at that cute guy on the front of the store!) and we were excited to see that they had some pour over on the menu - and there were quite a few beans to choose from.
You could also buy a bag of beans, but my home was overflowing with beans from some prior coffee roaster visits, so unfortunately I had to give it a miss and just get some pour over to go.
I was swayed by their “light roast” Armadillo blend (although the packaging mentions it’s actually a medium / high roast - just one of the quirks of how some Japanese roasters categorise their roasts).
And actually I forget what bean my husband bought but I think it was the Ethiopia. Considering all the pour overs cost the same 620 yen, whether you get the single origin or blend, I probably should have gotten a single origin bean as well since they always tend to taste better.
And yep, the cup that my husband got tasted great while mine was so-so. 620 yen feels fairly reasonable for a cup of pour over that’s made on the spot as well.
Afterwards, as I took a scroll through their reviews on Google, I saw they mostly got reviewed and rated for their cakes and pastries - and aren’t actually “known” for being a good pour over coffee spot. I feel like it doesn’t even have the right to taste this good in that case!
But doing a bit more digging (and actually looking closer at the coffee bean packaging) I can see that the beans are from a separate cafe and roaster called Ammonite Coffee Market and there’s also a connection with another cafe called Minjinco Coffee - I think all 3 are owned by the same company/person so I suppose they have leaned on the know-how of both to start up this one.
In any case, that makes me keen to go check out Ammonite coffee. Taking a look at their online store, Armadillo is doing absolutely 0 markup on the beans they are selling from Ammonite so that’s a ++ from me as well.
Hi, I'm Emma!
I'm a long-time lover of coffee - back in Sydney my go-to drink was always a soy cappucino. After I moved to Tokyo 4 years ago, I discovered the wonders of pour-over coffee and now I'm always on the lookout for new coffee beans to try. So far I've checked out 21 coffee shops and roasters here in Japan.
If you found this post useful, you can also show your support by buying me a coffee ☕
See other coffee spots nearby
Leave a comment