This One Made Me Go Daytona Mad

It's been nearly over two years since I first lay my eyes on a manual Daytona. It was an instant love affair that defied rationality and caused some criticism when I sold the majority of my existing collection to fund some more Daytonas.


Looking back I remain a content man.

Kōhī コーヒー Equals Japanese For Coffee

Japanese coffee culture is exceptionally sophisticated. The Japanese are the true pioneers of ‘canned coffee’. Canned coffee can be found almost everywhere from Vending machines to Convenience stores.


Depending on the time of the year they may be heated for consumption. They can be quite sweet to bitter depending on your taste. The most famous canned coffee is made by the Pokka company since 1973.

The even bigger craze in Tokyo are ‘syphon coffee’ stores which could certainly give some of the global coffee chains are run for their money. Most people compare the look of the syphon brewer to something you’d see in a science lab, as the dual glass chamber ‘defies gravity’ by pushing water up the central tube to the upper chamber for extraction.

Once the extraction is complete and the heat source is removed, a vacuum is created and the resulting brew is sucked back down through a cloth filter to the bottom chamber, separating the grinds from the brew. It’s mesmerising to watch and it’s hard to ignore the ‘wow’ factor.
A more elaborate syphon coffee set up.

The resulting black brew is divine in terms of purity of flavour and total lack of bitterness. This must be the most perfect black cup of coffee I’ve ever tasted.

Some people believe that the flavour is maximised as the coffee brews at about 2ºC below boiling point, without ever actually boiling.

The specialty coffee supply shops one finds are just as amazing.

Another coffee shop in Omotesando, a major up market shopping avenue in Harajuku, Tokyo. This is where all the international fashion brands have stores. If Paris or Milan are the centre of world of fashion design, then Omotesando is the centre of world fashion consumption.

The ultimate coffee shop in Tokyo however is in the side streets of Ginza. Here we enjoyed our coffee and chocolate cake with a shot of Cointreau.

We also indulged in some Ladurée Macaroons in Ginza. Amazing how last year when we were in Tokyo there were no Macaroon shops or European chocolate shops, this year we found many of each just in Ginza. On our final day in Tokyo there were queues outside any western cafes and the local sweet shops were practically empty.

Hopefully this report will send your taste buds into a frenzy.