Tokyo · Japan
Glitch Coffee & Roasters
Glitch Coffee & Roasters is one of 7 Tokyo roasters tracked on day9, in Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Since 2015 · Kiyokazu Suzuki
Overview
Glitch was opened in April 2015 in Tokyo's Jimbocho district — a neighborhood of secondhand bookstores and historic kissatens — by Kiyokazu Suzuki, who trained for twelve years as chief barista and head roaster at Paul Bassett's Tokyo operation before going independent. The shop deals exclusively in single-origin light roasts brewed via hand-drip, framing Japanese pour-over technique as the brand's contribution to global specialty coffee culture; Glitch has expanded to additional locations in Akasaka and Nagoya, with Suzuki personally controlling all roasting.
Known for
- Single-origin only, no blends — light roast hand-drip exclusively
- Suzuki's twelve-year Paul Bassett lineage
- Jimbocho location among Tokyo's historic secondhand-bookstore district
- Eight Glitch alumni who have opened their own coffee shops (with company support)
- Reviving Japanese hand-drip culture as global specialty contribution
Why it matters
Glitch sits at the center of Tokyo's third-wave coffee scene and is one of the most internationally recognized Japanese specialty roasters, deliberately positioning the Japanese hand-drip tradition as something to export rather than import. Suzuki's reluctance to scale beyond a small number of locations — to preserve flavor consistency under his own roasting — is itself a notable counter-position to the typical specialty growth path.
Production
- head roaster
- Kiyokazu Suzuki
- roastery location
- Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Café
Kanda Nishikicho 3-16, Kamura Building 1F, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0054
Recognitions
- Among Tokyo's most internationally recognized third-wave specialty roasters
- Featured by TYPICA, Time Out Tokyo, and CROWD ROASTER as a leading Japanese specialty operation