Namtastic Gourmet and Cafes
In addition to Namtastic’s Top5 Specialty Coffee Cafes in Osaka, here you can find an introduction to cafes, coffee and gourmet culture in Japan.
Namtastic’s Top5 Specialty Coffee Cafes in Osaka
- Takamura Wine and Coffee Roasters (Higobashi)
- Brooklyn Roasting Company
- Unir Specialty Coffee
- Mondial Kaffee 328
- Mondial Kaffee 328 – Kitahorie (Near Shinsaibashi)
- Mondial Kaffee 328 Gold Rush – (Fukushima)
- Mondial Kaffee 328 – Diamond Cross (Nishinomiya Kitaguchi)
- All Day Coffee (Grand Front Osaka)
Special Mentions
- Craft Coffee Stand (E-MA Building, Umeda, Osaka)
- UCC Coffee Museum – (Kobe)
- Northshore Cafe and Dining (Kitahama)
- PompomPurin Cafe Osaka (Umeda Hankyu)
Power outlets and Wifi
There are two specific things I look for in a cafe besides good coffee:
- Power outlets
- Battery technology is struggling to keep up with other advancements in our mobile devices. Our mobile phones and laptops are constantly needing recharging, so a cafe with power outlets is a high priority for people on the move who want to get work done. Even if you want to take a break from screens and enjoy some specialty coffee, it’s great to have your phone charging while you rest.
- Wifi that works
- Second to power outlets, a reliable wifi connection is excellent for people who want to get work done remotely.
- A cafe may advertise that it has wifi, but many wifi connections in Japan are not free. They require mobile provider subscription, a credit card, or at least an email or social network sign up before you are given access. The best wifi connections have security like a login password, but are simple and work. With wifi, you can work on online without worrying about exceeding your mobile data quota. Cloud services like YouTube videos and online photo editors can be used with great efficiency. Showing friends or clients online media is much easier too.
A variety of coffee beans
There are a number of cafes that have one standard drink: coffee. To me this is the equivalent of a bar serving one type of beer, or a restaurant serving one type of wine, not very interesting. A cafe that lets you try from a selection of coffee beans and increase your knowledge through experience is a great choice.
Cafe Culture in Japan
Starbucks and other chains are still very popular and do great business in Japan. I think in general “Espresso Drinks” make the most profits for cafes. However, with the Third Wave Coffee trend, several specialty cafes have become successful marketing coffee made from single origin coffee beans in drip (pour over), and espresso forms.
