• Japanese $1 convenience store coffee






    Japanese convenience stores started freshly brewed coffee serving in the past years and it's actually pretty good. It's only a dollar (100yen) and the machine grinds your beans and drip your coffee in a minute. If I want to get a decent quality coffee but don't want to drive, I always go get convenience store coffee. If you are imagining those American convenience store or gas station coffee, no no! Japanese convenience store coffee is pretty good quality.





    I always wanted to compare the coffee from 3 major convenience stores: Seven Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart. And I finally did it! I had to walk around to get coffee from each one of the store. Here we go!





    You order your coffee (hot or cold, and size), pay, then they give you a cup. You go to the machine, then select your coffee. The machine starts grinding beans, then starts brewing! The machine is pretty straightforward to use.





    So! I actually like their coffee a lot. It's dark and nutty, but clean and easy to drink. If you want an iced coffee, you go get a cup filled with ice cube in the freezer to the cashier. Ok? By the way, Seven Eleven in the states is kinda disgusting, but Japanese Seven is super fancy! So if you're coming to Japan for the first time from the US, ENJOY!




    Same deal as Seven Eleven. You order your coffee... hot or cold (and they have latte too). And then pay, then they give you a cup. You go to the machine, then select your coffee. Here's the difference. FamilyMart coffee machine doesn't grind your coffee beans like Seven. It's espresso extracting, not drip coffee. It only takes 45 seconds!





    Even though it says espresso (so technically Americano?), it tastes quite moderate. If you're not fan of strong coffee, this is your coffee. BY THE WAY, do you see "FRAPPE" buttons on the right? I am super hooked on their Frappes! They have espresso, strawberries, milk tea, chocolate mint, and matcha! You choose a flavor (it's frozen) from the freezer and bring it to the cashier. Then use this machine to make Frappe! How? Press the "milk" then the machine makes steamed milk and pours into the cup. Who needs Starbucks Frappuccino anymore?



    Lawson is a bit different from other two stores. You order a coffee and pay at the cashier, then the staff will make coffee for you. They have actually use espresso to make their coffee, so it's more like Americano. Also they have the most variety of coffee here, they even have decaf coffee too!


    I actually like making (not quite making, just pressing buttons though) my own coffee at convenience store, so I felt kinda sad just to look at the staff making coffee for me. I guess it's like gas station, you got too used to pump your own gas, then you go to full service gas station and don't know what to do inside the car:) Ok, so the coffee is dark roast, but not too bitter. Very balanced coffee.



    Alright hope this helps! My favorite is Seven Eleven!






          
        
        
    Posted by Ryoko on April 20th, 2017 Filed in: Reviews


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