The story of kissaten

My wife would ask me for a recipe whenever she wanted to brew a cup. Eventually, I thought: there should be a little place for this.

That was the beginning of kissaten. A simple app to keep brewing recipes close at hand, with a place for my brewers and the coffee I was drinking.

I released a very small first version. Then people started using it. Something I had made for our everyday life was finding a place in other people’s mornings, too.

I wanted to take it further: somewhere to keep all my beans, remember what I liked, and find a recipe that brings out the best in each coffee. A little less trying to remember everything. A little more enjoying the cup in front of me.

Why kissaten?

A kissaten, 喫茶店, is a Japanese coffee shop. The name has roots in drinking tea, but these places have long been part of Japan’s coffee culture. Some are neighbourhood meeting places. Others are devoted to a particular way of brewing, or to the music playing inside.

What stays with me is the care. Someone takes the time to make your coffee. There is a rhythm to it: the preparation, the pour, the small wait before that first sip.

I wanted kissaten to carry a little of that feeling. To help you pay attention to what you’re brewing, and enjoy the time it takes.

A little about us.

I’m Aziz, the person making kissaten. My wife, Burcu, is the baker behind Pide Kamakura, a tiny sourdough bakery in a former police box in Kamakura, Japan.

I’m usually brewing coffee somewhere. Out camping in Japan with my AeroPress, or at home choosing between the eleven brewers I’ve somehow collected. The setting changes, but I always make time for a cup.

Bread and coffee are part of our everyday life. We spend a lot of time making things, tasting, and trying again. The bakery and the app are different things, but they come from the same small world.

I hope it helps you make a cup you’ll want to make again.

✌️, Aziz