Located in the Jingumae area of Harajuku is a cafe/store that many people regard as one of the coolest coffee shop places to visit and it’s Deus Ex Machina.
But before we talk about the cafe portion of the store, Deus Ex Machina began in 2006 as an Australian shop selling customized motorcycles, custom parts and more.
With the headquarters in Sydney, the shop has grown worldwide getting into various areas such as surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, art and fashion.
Their brand is sold worldwide but they have flagship stores in Camperdown, Sydney; Canggu, Bali; Harajuku, Tokyo; Los Angeles (Venice, California); Milan, Italy and retail stores in Oberoi, Bali; Byron Bay; Penrith, NSW and Warringah Mall in NSW.
I have heard so much about the Deus Ex Machina “Deuce Cafe” and “The Residence of Impermanence” concept store, which opened back in December 2014.
The three story building was once the home to vintage clothing specialists Santa Monica and was partially demolished and rebuilt to create the store that it is now.
So, for this post, I will focus on Deus Ex Machina’s “Deus Cafe”.
When I was looking for Deus Ex Machina, it took awhile for my Google Maps to get situated as anything in Shibuya, Google Maps tends to go haywire.
But going up Jingumae, I was able to find the shop through it’s gray building.
Deus Cafe is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and they sell special blend coffees and Mama Lulls’ granola.
But my primary reason for visiting Deus Ex Machina was for two things. One was to visit the store as they were celebrating their third anniversary, second was to meet Stevie Gee for “Deus Presents #RADEUS” and the other to see the head barista Yoshi in action, as I was in Japan also for my coffee tour.
In fact, while I was in Japan, they had the Latte Art Showdown and thought it was cool to see an art rendition of Yoshi.
Yoshi is well-known for being the “Bean Whisperer” and I’ve heard the man has some mad skills when it comes to preparing coffee.
At first, I was expect to see the guy with the mustache and beard, but Yoshi still has the mustache sans the beard.
I ordered the matcha latte, which I’ve heard so much but also ordered breakfast. While I waited, I decided to take photos of the interior.
According to Deus Ex Machina:
A special collaboration was commissioned between Truck Furniture and Stephen Kenn for the sofas in the building. The fit out uses recycled Japanese cedar, Corten steel that have been designed to age and change appearance with time and wear. The signature cast concrete communal table anchors the cafe space and a new piece from Robert Moore graces the main wall.
After taking photos of the cool interior, it was time for my matcha latte and breakfast.
Breakfast and the matcha latte were equally delicious, but now I know why associates have recommended this place. The vibe is very cool, the setting was nothing that I’ve seen before with various concepts throughout.
It was no doubt an experience and I’ll be posting tomorrow for part 2 of my coverage of Deus Ex Machina but all I can say is, the cafe was awesome, the atmosphere was the best!
