Sawada Coffee-kan - serving extra strong coffee
Time for a cup of coffee?
"Sawada Coffee-kan" is a coffee shop in Hirano-machi, located in the business district of Yodoyabashi. Its comfortable and peaceful atmosphere is well appreciated by many of the office workers in the area. In fact, if you look around the shop, you can see that some people have come beyond the area just to enjoy a cup of coffee in this shop filled with rich aroma of coffee.
A piece of wire makes good coffee
Most of the customers order hot coffee, served in two flavors; strong and soft. When they simply order "hot coffee ", they are referring to strong coffee. Eguchi Teruo, the owner of the shop, gracefully makes coffee in an atmosphere which seems as though time passes slowly along with the elegant music. Teruo is the second generation owner. His father and predecessor, Eguchi Hiratarou, is the founder of this shop.
Sawada Coffee-kan used to be in Taisho-ku, and moved to the present location in 1946. No one knows why it moved; only the late owner knows. Hiratarou didn't drink any alcohol. His favorite drink was coffee. Back in those days they didn't have as much equipment as we have now, so he came up with unique ideas to make the best coffee he can serve. According to Teruo, "all you need is a piece of wire". These words must come from the strong influence of his father and the love he has towards coffee.
Hot and strong
The "hot coffee" that is ordered by their frequent customers have a strong and pronounced flavor. It is the taste that has been loved since the days of when Hiratarou was making coffee. "The people of Osaka prefer real strong coffee. I think it may come from the fact that whatever it is, the people here want to get the most of each chance they get." For over 60 years, the shop has been observing, serving and pleasing the people of Osaka with their extra strong coffee.
"You can see lots of franchise coffee shops around us. Unfortunately I'm not good at expanding business. I can't focus on just the profit. I take pride in what I serve, so I only serve what I think is best for the customers. If I were good at doing business I bet I'd be an owner of a larger shop." Coffee lovers being served by a REAL coffee lover - that's what satisfies the customers of Sawada Coffee-kan. The customers favorites are not only their strong coffee but their Wednesday special too; limited offer of 50 cups of Blue Mountain coffee that is sold out before noon. When we visited the shop, Teruo's two grandchildren were playing out front. Who knows? Maybe in the near future, they may be the ones behind the counter pouring the next cup of strong coffee.
Place / 3-2-3 Hirano-machi, Chuo-ku, OsakaPhone / +81-6-6231-1086
