I learned about the Tokyo Coffee Festival 2016 that morning from my barista AirBnB guest. The promise of 50+ independent coffee and food stalls from around Japan was the perfect excuse to cycle across town to Aoyama, close to Omotesando and Shibuya. For 1000 JPY, I got 5 tasting cups for any of them. Most stalls have a designated tasting brew, served either hot or cold. A handful actually let you choose the beans.

The bean selections included everything from the standard Rwandan, Kenyan, Guatemalan, and Yirgacheffes to the higher end beans such as Konga and Ethiopian Tchembe. Since most of these are roasters as well, they have clearly labelled origins, washes, and roasts.

Carmein, Lini and I teamed up to try 9 hand-brewed coffees. We began with a Yirgacheffe from AND Coffee Roasters, and Tokyo’s celebrated Nozy Coffee near the entrance before moving inwards. In the end, we sampled beans from Four Barrel Coffee by Merry Time, Trunk Coffee, Nagasawa Coffee, Glitch Coffee and Roasters, and about the only Konga that was available for sampling (rather than a full 700 JPY fee).

The event was held on Saturday and Sunday at the UN University building. The energy of the crowds, friendly shop keepers, and ample shaded seating made it the perfect sunny weekend hang-out activity.

Below is a photo essay, with coffee shop names in the captions.

Rows and rows of excellent independent cafes from all over Japan AND Coffee Roasters from Kumamoto Nozy Coffee from Tokyo Hono Roasteria from Tokyo Tokyo Coffee Festival 2016 Doggie! Hono Coffee from Tokyo The Modern Coffee (ザ モダンコーヒー) from Kanagawa Nagasawa Coffee from Iwate Nagasawa Coffee from Iwate Foret Coffee from Nagano Tera Coffee and Roaster Mini roast demonstration! Fresh coffee beans AND Coffee Roasters from Kumamoto Glitch Coffee and Roasters from Tokyo Ethiopia Tchembe premium beans Glitch Coffee Roasters The remains of our coffee tasting Glitch Coffee and Roasters from Tokyo

If you want to try some local Tokyo cafes check out the list of East Tokyo’s Cafes and cafes West of Off Center Tokyo Cafes.

The list of participants at the Tokyo Coffee Festival 2016 is: