Introduction

I am a coffee lover. I prefer espresso, but I also like other brewing methods. This site is a guide to help people decide where to have their espresso when traveling around the world. I am definitely not an expert, however I believe that this guide will be useful to non-professional authentic coffee lovers. Moreover, I do this only as a hobby, so this guide is based on my few trips especially around Asia.

Non-comprehensive list. I cannot possibly visit all the coffee shops in every city I go. Therefore, there might be other options, even better than my recommendations.

My preferences might not match yours. I really dislike dark roast. It hides the flavor of the beans and it ruins the experience. I also prefer single origin beans for my espresso.

Timing. Between the moment I visited a place, and the moment you read this, many things might have changed. Some places might even not exist anymore! Although, I believe that a very good coffee shop will not (and should not) lower it's quality.

Address. I provide the address from Google Maps, not their official website.

Rating system. This is highly subjective. I will classify the coffee shops in four categories according to their espresso (not latte, not food, not pour over, etc).

• Drinkable: It might `save your life' in certain cases, but definitely avoid if possible.
• Descent: You will not regret it. However, you feel that you would like to have a conversation with the barista to help him improve.
• Good: Absolutely no complain. You will not want to try any other coffee shop in that neighborhood.
• Great: An exceptional and amazing experience that makes you want to learn their secret.

I will use one additional description to make sure you don't go to the wrong place.

• Trap (shops might or might not receive it): This place has wonderful reviews. However, those reviews might be for their location, food, latte art, pour over, etc. Their espresso quality did not match the expectation I had based from reviews.

There are two reasons a shop might be missing from this list . First, I did not check it out because I already assume that it is going to be bad (i.e. Starbucks). Second, I did not have the opportunity to go because of time or distance.

Also, I live in Japan, so my reviews on places outside Japan might be noisy and influenced by my low caffeine levels.

Finally, I will add a few words regarding each shop. Although I may mention some features like food, location, pour over, etc., the rate I provide is based only on their espresso.

I hope you find it useful.

J.