Mojo Coffee- NZ Flat white in Kagurazaka area

The cafe entrance

I have to admit it, the first time I ever tasted, or actually, even heard of a flat white, was in Penang airport in Malaysia, of all places.  The cafe I had it at?  McCafe, if you can believe it.  Ever since, I've been trying to have flat whites everywhere and anywhere I can.

Now I have McDonald's brewed coffee every now and again, especially when I'm in a rush-  there's one on my way to work and it is cheap, costing only 100 yen.  Sometimes I even get free coffee there as they hand out vouchers at the station.  Unfortunately, they don't have flat whites here in Tokyo at McCafe.

Flat whites were invented in Australia and New Zealand and is an espresso based drink. It's similar to the latte or cappuccino in the sense that it has steamed milk, but the end result is quite different.  It has a thicker, more velvety texture as the steamed milk is more creamy and less foamy and is folded into the coffee. Generally, as far as I know, they are smaller in volume (and thus the flavour is stronger).

Well, I had been looking for a good one in Tokyo - you may or may not have seen in my previous post about Omotesando Koffee. - and I appear to have found something that hits the spot.

Last week, I visited Mojo Coffee.  It is located in Kagurazaka, not far from the metro station, but not exactly on the main street...you'll probably need to look up the directions (check their website linked at the bottom of this page).

Mojo originated in Wellington, New Zealand in 2003 and just came to Japan last year in 2012.  Now I've never been to New Zealand, but knowing that flat whites came from around that area, I had to give it a try.

Menu

The cafe actually appears to be the ground/main floor of a converted condominium- they roast coffee on the half-basement floor and have an office on the second.  The place is quite small- it has one large bar counter table, and several smaller tables.  It was fairly busy when on a Sunday afternoon, so my partner-in-crime and I sat at the bar.  We both ordered flat whites.

Flat white

Mojo actually does more than coffee.  They have some light meal options as well as a selection of NZ snacks and treats. They also have on hand some NZ wine and beer for those inclined. I was there for the coffee, however.  You can also buy their coffees and mugs, if I remember correctly.

The coffee definitely hit the spot.  It looked great, and tasted great too.  It was smooth and creamy and the flavours were well blended together.  If there is one thing that I can nit-pick about, it would be that it was ever so slightly lukewarm- I kind of like it when you have to take the first few sips carefully.

The price was 370 yen- tasted infinitely better than what you get at Starbucks.  Not saying that Starbucks is horrible, but sometimes you don't get what you want.

So, am I going to go again?  You betcha.  There are a bunch of other items on that menu that I want to try, and hopefully will get the chance to. I'm not in Kagurazaka that often, but knowing that there's a place like this may make me visit more.

Visit their website for more info:  http://mojocoffee.jp/
\or on tabelog: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130905/13152614/dtlrvwlst/5252434/

〒162-0817　東京都新宿区赤城元町４−１１
The cafe is located 5 minutes from exit one of Kagurazaka metro station.