Glitch Coffee Brewed @ 9h

Glitch Coffee Brewed, from the wall behind the counter, with the Glitch Coffee logo above and the Nine Hours hotel logo below.I first came across Tokyo’s Glitch Coffee & Roasters on my around the world trip in 2018. Then, I knew it as a small coffee shop/roaster, with a passion for light roasts and filter coffee. When I returned to Tokyo in September this year, I learnt that there was a second branch of Glitch, in Asakaka, closer to my hotel, so on my final day in Tokyo, I set out to explore.

Glitch Coffee Brewed is in the basement lobby of Nine Hours, a newly-opened capsule hotel, both hotel and coffee shop having opened in May this year. There’s not much seating, just nine stools at a U-shaped counter, with a bench inside and another outside. It doubles down on Glitch Coffee & Roasters’ filter obsession, only offering pour-over (via the V60), with a similar range of beans and tasting flights. If you can’t wait, there’s also batch-brew during the week.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • A quiet backstreet in Asakaka: not somewhere you'd expect to find a top-notch...
  • ... speciality coffee shop. But wait! What's this? The Nine Hours capsule hotel?
  • That's right. A capsule hotel, newly built and open from May 2019.
  • There's a clue on the A-board outside the front. It's the home of Glitch Coffee Brewed...
  • ... the second branch of renown coffee shop/roaster, Glitch Coffee Roasters.
  • If you look closely through the window, you can see Glitch in the lobby.
  • But how to get there? Well, look to the right and you'll find a long, shallow ramp...
  • ... which leads down to a door on your left, about halfway along the building.
  • The door, seen from the inside.
  • There's a bench immediately next to the door against the back wall...
  • ... while the bulk of Glitch is at the front of the building, to your left.
  • You can sit at one of two window-bars which run around the outside of Glitch...
  • ... or you can sit at the counter itself, either along the front, or tucked around the corner...
  • ... which is where I ended up. The view is pretty good though.
  • You get good views of the business end of Glitch from here as well!
  • There's plenty of reading material available, while the seating's reserved for coffee shop...
  • ... customers during opening hours. The rest of the time, hotel guests can use it.
  • Nine Hours is very happy for you to use the WiFi by the way!
  • In case you forget where you are!
  • Before we get down to business, here's a (very) quick tour of the hotel. This corridor...
  • ... leads to the capsules at the back. I'm not sure I'd last a night in one of those though!
  • Let's go back to Glitch!
  • The menu and a small merchanise selection are at the corner of the counter...
  • ... with the choice of beans displayed along the front of the counter.
  • Each single-origin has its own V60, dedicated scales and serving jug.
  • The grinder & kettles, meanwhile, are tucked away in the corner at the front. There's no...
  • ... espresso machine, by the way. It's filter-only (the clue's in the name).
  • I ordered a Geisha tasting flight:  here comes the first of my two Geishas.
  • That's the Colombian, a naturally-processed Geisha from La Masa La Maria.
  • Now for the Bolivian Geisha, which, in contrast, is a washed coffee.
  • There's something quite magical about watching coffee being poured into a cup.
  • All done.
  • Now all I have to do is drink them. I love trying different coffees side-by-side like this.
  • I'll leave you with my two empty cups, the sign of a well-spent afternoon!
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You need a little bit of faith to find Glitch Coffee Brewed (and the hotel). Located on a typically narrow Tokyo back-street, a short stroll from the bustle of Asakaka, it’s not where you’d expect to find a speciality coffee shop, but there it is, on your right as you walk away from Asakaka. Even then, you need to know what you’re looking for, since only the small A-board on the pavement proclaims the presence of Glitch.

However, look carefully and you’ll see the coffee counter through the windows of the sunken lobby. A broad, sloping ramp runs down the hotel’s right-hand side, with a door on the left at the bottom. This brings you into the back of Glitch, which is off to your left, with reception straight ahead of you, at the back, a corridor to the right leading to the hotel proper.

Not that any of that need bother you if you’re just here for the coffee. Glitch is organised around a U-shaped seating area. A window-bar runs along the right-hand side of the space, continuing along the front, where it joins seamlessly with the counter, which runs down the left-hand side. Seating is provided by nine broad stools, two of which are on the back of the counter, next to the reception desk. There’s also a bench by the door against the back wall, and another, smaller bench outside.

Although Glitch Coffee & Roasters is small, Glitch Coffee Brewed is smaller still, with only a single barista, which means you get a much more personal service. My barista, Miho, the manager of Glitch Coffee Brewed, was very happy to chat, seeing conversing with customers as a large part of her job. Given that I speak no Japanese, it helped that her English was excellent, the result of working in Australia for four years!

The menu is similar to Glitch Coffee & Roasters, with five single-origins on offer (two Ethiopians, washed and natural, a natural Rwandan, a washed Kenya and a natural Colombian Geisha), which can be had by the cup, or in tasting flights where you can compare two or three different beans side-by-side. Although it wasn’t explicitly on the menu, Miho was very happy to serve me the Geisha tasting flight I’d seen at Glitch Coffee & Roasters.

Soon I was tucking into the Colombian Geisha alongside a washed Bolivian Geisha. Compared to the tasting flight at Glitch Coffee & Roasters, I felt there was a lot less contrast between the two, despite the different processing methods. Both were excellent, however, smooth, subtle coffees, although I fear much of the subtly was lost on me! Of the two, the Colombian was my favourite, offering a sweeter cup.

4-3-14 AKASAKA • MINATO-KU • TOKYO • 107-0052 • JAPAN
http://glitchcoffee.com +81 (0) 3 5545 1565
Monday 08:00 – 18:00 Roaster Glitch (filter only)
Tuesday 08:00 – 18:00 Seating Window-bar, Counter, Bench; Bench (outside)
Wednesday 08:00 – 18:00 Food None
Thursday 08:00 – 18:00 Service Counter
Friday 08:00 – 18:00 Payment Card + Cash
Saturday 08:00 – 18:00 Wifi Free (with code)
Sunday 08:00 – 18:00 Power No
Chain Local Visits 15th September 2019

If you liked this Coffee Spot, then check out the rest of Tokyo’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to Tokyo.


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3 thoughts on “Glitch Coffee Brewed @ 9h

  1. Pingback: Glitch Coffee & Roasters | Brian's Coffee Spot

  2. Pingback: Tasting Flights at Glitch Coffee | Brian's Coffee Spot

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