Everyone has a relationship with coffee. What’s yours?

Born and bred in Singapore, I was used to drinking coffee enhanced with sweetened condensed milk - a common way Southeast Asians drink their coffee. However, two years of looking busy at the staffroom of Japanese schools have changed my coffee habits forever. Then, I helped myself to coffee from the pot that was brewed for staff and always miraculously replenished by kind teachers throughout the day. I used to find Japanese coffee dull and watery. However, when I returned to Singapore, I realised that there was no way I could return to kopi C Siew dai (coffee with less condensed milk). The only flavour that enticed my tastebuds was kopi o kosong (black coffee).
The end result is the same. Since I got used to strong and bitter kopi o kosong, I find Japanese coffee a tad pared down. Hence, when I came across a thread when self-confessed coffee snobs shared their recommendations for great strong coffee in Japan, I took down the following notes. Maybe you’ll find them useful.

1. Starbucks Reserve - try the whisky infused
2. Tullys - ask for a double shot of coffee
3. Doutor
4. Hoshino Coffee
5. Blue Bottle coffee
6. Streamer Coffee
7. Starbucks double expresso at local convenience stores. Convenience stores pour in the beans into the grinder and you get a fresh cup of coffee every time!!

8. Canned coffee from vending machines

9. Caffe Foglio in Daikanyama, Tokyo
10. Blue Tokai in Tokyo
11. Bongen Coffee in Ginza, Tokyo
12. Go into a cafe inside high end hotels like Cerulean Tower, Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, the Peninsula, Grand Hyatt Tokyo
13. Turret Coffee inside Tsukiji Fish Market
14. Iron Coffee near Gotokuji Station
15. The Tourist Hotel and Cafe in Akihabara
16. Segafredo in Shinjuku - excellent lattes
17. Excelsior in Hibiya
18. Obscura Coffee Roasters in Shibuya. They roast their own beans and can grind them for your preferred brew method if you buy a bag.
19. Brooklyn Roasting Company in Tokyo and Osaka
20. Fuglen in Tokyo
21. Passage in Tokyo
22. Onibus in Tokyo
23. Little Nap Coffee Roasters in Yoyogi Park
24. Yonemoto Coffee Cafè in Tsukiji
25. Ogawa Coffee Laboratory in Shimokitazawa