In Japan, The Cream of the Crop and Company is a company known for importing and exporting Pierre Marcolini chocolates to Tokyo.
The popular Belgian chocolatier is known for creating luxurious chocolate and the Cream of the Crop and Company made sure his chocolate was in Tokyo by establishing the first store location in luxurious Ginza back in 2002 and later to other locations throughout Japan.
The company then established another brand, Bedjman and Barton which deals with tea at Marunouchi Nagareku Building in 2012 and a month later, established The Cream of the Crop Coffee locations with a roasting factory at Shirakawa, Koto and a sales shop at Shibuya Hikarie.
The Cream of the Crop Coffee takes pride in choosing the best coffee beans, simmer and roasting it.
Utilizing their expert roasting engineer who roasted the coffee beans at Pierre Marcoline Cafe, the goal is to harvest ripe fruit and select the best coffee beans in the world.
The shop believes in utilizing hand dripping fragrant coffee and providing the best coffee possible.
I decided to visit Shibuya Hikarie to try their coffee as I would have preferred theirKiyosumi-Shirakawa location, their roastery is out of my way.
The Cream of the Crop Coffee sells beans from El Salvador Santarita, Ethopia Yurgachefe, Indonesia Mandheling, Costa Rica Candelilla Honey, Original Blend (Hot) and Ice/Espresso.
The Drip Coffee goes about Y450 for small, Y560 for medium; Cafe Au Lait is Y470 for small and Y580 for medium, Caffe Latte is Y500 for small and Y600 for medium and espresso is Y350 for small and Y560, and they also sell Betjeman & Barton Tea for Y450 for small and Y550 for medium.
For the most part, the coffee at this location is very good. Considering that most coffee aficionados would head to the Harajuku or Ura-Shibuya area for coffee beans, around the Shibuya Scramble outside of Starbucks, there are few choices to purchase coffee beans and possibly the best in that area nearest to Shibuya Station would be The Cream of the Crop Coffee location. But in terms of coffee shops, there are many of them, many who are also into the hand-dripped. pour-over technique. But the advantage for The Cream of the Crop Coffee is its location at Shibuya Hikarie (if you shop there).
You’ll notice the dog featured on the cups and merchandise. Of course, it made me wonder why they used a dog as their mascot for their logo? Owner’s dog? Not sure. I did think it was a poodle, but it’s actually a Lhasa Apso, a dog which originated in Tibet and were used as interior sentinel dog that were kept at Buddhist monasteries to alert monks if any intruders entered.
For the most part, the location is clean but it’s a busy location due to the large amount of people who are shopping or visiting Shibuya Hikarie, I just got my coffee and didn’t stick around that long. I wanted to as many people have said the cake set (Y800) is awesome but it was far too crowded and wasn’t able to eat their cheesecake.
I will say though, a lot of people were there for their ice cream (soft cream) and you can also order types of food, pastries and baked goods from their menu as well.
But for the most part, the fact that they have their own roastery and is a shop that stays busy is a plus, but the fact that it’s at a trendy, fashionable shopping location and is quite busy, for those looking for a place to kick back and hang out with friends, this is not the place to be.
But if you want coffee, buy coffee beans or grab a quick bit to eat, then definitely give The Cream of the Cup Coffee at Shibuya Hikarie a try!
