Near Sugamo station is a local coffee bean roaster called Honey Beans. Most helpfully they also have a recommended pour-over temperature noted on each bean which I’ve found to be pretty spot-on.
We stopped by here twice, so have had the opportunity to try a couple of beans out:
- Costa Rica’s Red Honey: light roast
- China’s Yunnan Tenku Farm: medium roast
- Ethiopia’s Mocha Guji Shakiso: light roast
- Kenya’s AB Karimikui: dark roast
Out of the four, we found that we definitely didn’t like the general taste of the Yunnan bean, and it was hard to get the Red Honey to not taste overly acidic (but that may just be a skill issue on my part).
But we did really like both the Ethopian and Kenyan beans. The Ethopian Mocha Guji took a bit of experimenting with the temperatures, before we realised we should have just gone with the store recommendation to begin with (88°C). Even though beans always say things like “floral” or “citrus” on the label I’ll admit I’ve never been able to actually notice that for myself, but I did actually get distinct floral scent from it!
And although technically you’re supposed to go for lighter roasts for making pour-over coffee, we find we still quite enjoy dark roasts (especially if you’re not a fan of a sour/acidic taste). And with the recommended temperature being only 75°C for the Kenyan AB Karimikui, you can get a very smooooth tasting cup of coffee.
The beans are also reasonably priced - around 1500 - 1600 yen for 200 grams.
Things to do in Sugamo
So, what else is there to do in Sugamo? Sugamo is one of the stops on the Yamanote train line, and if you’ve spent any time in Tokyo, you’ve probably at least heard of the Yamanote - it’s the green line that does a loop around inner Tokyo.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t heard of Sugamo itself, as it’s not too much of a tourist destination. Its claim to fame is the Koganji Temple, which is home to a rather large statue of a buddhist monk or “jizo”. The statue makes Honey Beans quite easy to find - its back is facing the shop’s entrance.
Directly next to the statue is a long shopping street called Jizo-Dori, which is apparently also known as “Granny’s Harajuku”. I’ll be honest and say I wouldn’t come out of your way just for a visit here - it’s a rather unassuming shopping street. It may also be that I am still well outside of its target demographic.
If you do happen to drop by for some beans though, the nearby Rikugien Gardens can make for a nice date spot, and they also do night-time illuminations in autumn.
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