The Coffee Market Lab, Osaka

The Coffee Market Lab

Kitakyuhojimachi, 2 Chome−2−11 1F

Osaka, Chuo Ward,

Japan, 〒541-0057

The Coffee Market Lab in Osaka is a recommendation provided just before we flew off to Japan. It also happened to be really close to the hotel we stayed at so we made it a point to drop by to check it out. I tend to be a bit skeptical when the shop is full of tourists and I must say most of the people in the shop were tourists with a few locals coming in to do take aways. However, that skepticism went away the moment we had our first sip.

Entrance of The Coffee Market Place

Alright, let's get started. The coffee scene in Japan is pretty phenomenal. Most of the very outstanding places are in Tokyo but Osaka is popping up with some pretty fiesty and competitive specialty coffee places. The Coffee Market Lab is a standout specialty coffee place which combines a cafe experience with on-demand roasting. What do I actually mean. See the selection of beans in the front of the cafe and the pipes that run in the background, thats where the actual roasting takes place. There are mini roasters set up and if you are keen to buy your beans, you can select the flavour profiles you like (fruity, floral etc), light roast, medium roast etc and the team at the Coffee Market Lab will roast it to your preference. If you know exactly how you like your beans, this is definitely a place to get your beans.

Interior of the cafe

It is a 2 man show at this cafe, where the team of 2 is coordinating between roasting, counter duties, espresso duties as well as brewing duties. It was lovely to watch them do all these so effortlessly.

For our coffee selection, we went with the smaller but very carefully curated selection of coffee on offer. In particular, we went for the Brazil National Winner Natural #3, Sitio Sao Pedro as well as a Colombian Los Patios, Colombia Geisha Honey Peach:

Our Coffee Choices

Now back to our coffees:

The Brazil National Winner Natural #3 from Sitio Sao Pedro is a highly acclaimed coffee that represents some of the best in Brazil's specialty coffee scene. Catucai varietal that is grown in a mountainous area and processed naturally. As indicated in the flavour card, we had a clean, vibrant profile which was tea-like and had a delightful tartness.

The Colombian Los Patios Geisha Honey Peach is from the La Plata region in Huila, Colombia and is known for their experimental and innovative processing method called "Peach Co-Fermentation" which includes a secondary fermentation involving peaches. This process accentuates the Geisha's floral and fruity characteristics. It is delightfully sweet, juicy, floral and has plenty of peach and apricot. I absolutely loved this coffee. One of my highlights of the trip and I still think about it.

Booking

No indication that there are reservations available. We were able to get a table quite easily and wouldn't expect a very long line. If there is, take away is always an option.

Accessibility

The Coffee Market Lab is located a 3 min walk from Sakaisuji Hommachi Station and easily walkable.

The Damage

1200 JPY for a more premium cup, which is considered very reasonable, especially when some places are charging twice or triple the price for the same beans.

Would We Recommend?

Absolutely yes! Both coffees we had were exceptional and it is really quite nice to see a place that is no frills. No fancy brewing equipment, no fancy cups but the flavours are still glorious. This is real skill and confidence in their roasting and brewing capability. A place that we will keep in our list to revisit again and again and again.