Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Nihonbashi is the Place to Perch for a While
Tasted in this Los Angeles-style expansive space, the fine-foamed cappuccinos and lattes are superb. Single-origin coffee, which uses only beans from one plantation, with no mixing, delivers the flavor of a different growing region each day.
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, out of LA. The first branch in Japan is in historic and traditional Nihonbashi. The venerable Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya department stores are close by, and the increasingly popular Nihonbashi cruise dock is right next to CBTL. There’s a full range of food too, ideal if you’re feeling a bit peckish.
Store manager Kaori Tanaka says the customers who drop in at CBTL are “might not be so keen on coffee but love their cafe time, so they choose us for our great lineup of teas”. “It’s not home, not work, not school. It’s somewhere special, not any of the usual places, and people use it as their place to relax”, she adds.
Let’s take a look at the popular menu items.
On the coffee side, cappuccino is popular. With single-origin coffees, their unique scents and flavors stand out. They’re chosen with attention to variety and growing region, and not the kind of thing other companies often handle. Cappuccino is characterized by its fine and fluffy foam. It’s so thick, you can scoop it up to eat off a spoon, and its CBTL’s showcase offering.
On the tea side, tea latte is popular. The tea leaves are brewed a cup at a time in an espresso machine, to better bring out the fragrance and taste. Manager Tanaka says “We make the steam bubbles by hand. Finely foamed milk that stands on the spoon is a great selling point. Another reason for its popularity is that you can add honey and enjoy it twice”. Chai tea latte is well liked among the tea lattes, and a lot of our female customers keep coming back for that warm sweetness in winter”.
