Coffee Amp

It's hard to believe that a neighbourhood like Koenji managed to go for so long without having a single decent coffee shop. Coffee Amp has addressed that deficiency, and it's done it with panache. The roaster is the first thing you'll notice on entering – space is at a premium in this narrow shop, with weathered floorboards and seats for just over a dozen people, none of them especially comfortable. There's not much opportunity for dawdling at the bar: drinkers are given a simple choice of latte, mocha, espresso or regular coffee, the latter served in a cafetiere and with a choice of different beans. The latte we try packs a bitter crema with wafts of tobacco, and doesn't fizzle out into milky dregs the way that lattes do at some other places. Good sweets, too, and you can also buy beans to take home.