Turkish coffee shop ranked among top 5 cafes in Tokyo

ISTANBUL

A Turkish coffee shop has been selected as one of the top five best cafes in Japan’s capital, Tokyo. The Mosque Coffe, operating as a Turkish coffee shop in Tokyo, was ranked among the five best cafes in the region by a British daily newspaper, the Financial Times.

Turkish coffee made in copper pots on a coal fire by Masanori Koyama, the manager of the cafe, which was transformed from a minibus and decorated with Turkish motifs, draws both local and international attention.

Speaking to daily Milliyet, Koyama said that he visited Turkey nine years ago for the first time and became an admirer of the Turkish and Islam culture.

“For the Japanese, the Islamic world and Middle Eastern culture are truly exotic. If you set foot in Turkey, you will really like it,” he said.

Traveling through Istanbul and the northwestern province of Edirne during his second visit, Koyama learned how to make Turkish coffee and later opened his own coffee shop in Tokyo three years ago.

“There are 11 types of Turkish coffee on the menu of my shop. We also sell Turkish sweets such as Turkish delight as well as various flavored sodas [gazoz] available in Turkish bazaars,” Koyama noted, adding that the price of a cup of Turkish coffee ranges from 400 Japanese yen ($3.60) to 800 Japanese yen ($7.20).

Explaining that Japanese people show great interest in Turkish coffee, Koyama said he believes that Turkish coffee will also become a part of the lifestyle of residents of Tokyo.

“I started this business because I wanted a new experience, and I’m still in the middle of an experiment,” he said.

Turkish coffee, which was accepted by UNESCO as a cultural heritage last year, stands out with its unique style of cooking and service, unlike the coffees in the West.