Cafeography
スペシャルティコーヒー · Kobe

Specialty coffee in Kobe

Self-roasters around Rokkōmichi and Motomachi, a charcoal-roasting tradition and single origins by the cup.

Photo: Gu Ko, Pexels License

The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan judges specialty coffee in the cup: flavor that drinkers find delicious, a bright acidity and a sweetness that lingers after swallowing. Behind that it expects quality control at every stage "from seed to cup", green beans with very few defects, and sustainability and traceability as requirements.1

Kobe treated single origins as a menu category early. Nishimura Coffee says it was the first in Japan to offer straight coffees, one origin brewed at a time, because its founder thought the best beans too distinctive to blend; it now keeps about ten, and it counts itself a pioneer of cappuccino, Vienna coffee and coffee jelly in Japan.2

Local tip: BEYOND's Kitano roastery serves only simple drinks until 14:00; for the full list, cocktails included, go to its Nakayamate-dōri kiosk after 15:00.5

Where these cafés are: Nada & Rokkōmichi (4), Motomachi & Nankinmachi (3), Mikage & Sumiyoshi (2), Shinkaichi & Hyōgo (2), Sannomiya (1).

At a glance

12Cafés listed
0With opening hours
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Where Kobe's roasters cluster

Nada & Rokkōmichi has the most: Coffee Roast at Sakuraguchi-chō 5-2-1, Lagom Coffee Roastery at Sakuraguchi-chō 2-1-12, Kaffee Fika's Rokkō shop at Morigo-chō 2-3-11 and Midori no Mame (緑の豆) at Fukuzumi-dōri 3-7-7. Forest Coffee Roasters is a little further east, in Mikage-yamate.

Motomachi and the Hyōgo and Nagata wards to the west come next. Beans Coffee Roaster is at Motomachi-dōri 1-9-5, Coffee Labo Frank on the second floor at 3-3-2, and Y's Coffee Roaster & Baked Shop in Hanakuma-chō; in Hyōgo and Nagata wards, Liminal Coffee Roaster is at Higashiyama-chō 4-23-6 and Mametaku (豆匠) at Sugahara-dōri 2-108. Mikage Coffee Labo is at Mikage-honmachi 4-12-4.

Blends built on graded beans

Kobe's roasters still sell blends, but on graded beans. Kaffee Fika builds its blends on Q-grade specialty coffee to get more body and aroma than a single bean would give, vacuum-packs each order, and sells through its shops in Rokkō and Mukonoso.3

Forest Coffee Roasters opened in Mikage-yamate to show what origin and roast do to a cup; in June 2026 its new arrival was a red-honey Costa Rica from the Vista al Valle farm. It opens 09:00–18:00 and closes on Thursdays.4

A roastery moves to Kitano

BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS moved its head office and roastery to the Kitano ijinkan district in September 2026, at Kitano-chō 3-11-14. The main store is a roastery and bean shop serving only simple drinks, 10:00–14:00.5

Its kiosk at Nakayamate-dōri 2-18-10 pours a wider list, cocktails included, from 15:00 to 19:00 (18:00 on Sundays); both close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and sell the same beans.5

What beans cost

Bean prices run from neighborhood to boutique. In 2026 Mametaku in Nagata sold 200 g of its house blend for ¥900 and its espresso blend for ¥950, and Coffee Temple sold two 180 g bags of its Temple blend for ¥2,100 and 180 g of Guatemala Buena Vista for ¥1,300.67

Mametaku sorts its beans by roast, from light through medium, high and full city to French.6 Kaffee Fika cuts its list price by 20% per 100 g on orders of 200 g or more and by 30% from 500 g in the first 20 days of each month, takes 30% off everything in its two shops from the 20th to the month's end, and ships online orders vacuum-packed.3

Sources

  1. スペシャルティコーヒーの定義, Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ), accessed October 2026
  2. 神戸にしむら珈琲ストーリー, 神戸にしむら珈琲店 (official site), accessed October 2026
  3. KAFFEE FIKA 自家焙煎珈琲, KAFFEE FIKA (official site), accessed October 2026
  4. Forest Coffee Roasters, Forest Coffee Roasters (official site), accessed October 2026
  5. BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS, BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS (official site), accessed October 2026
  6. 豆匠, 豆匠 (official site), accessed October 2026
  7. 自家焙煎珈琲テンプル, 自家焙煎珈琲テンプル (official site), accessed October 2026
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Bakery cafés

11 cafés

By area: Motomachi & Nankinmachi Sannomiya Nada & Rokkōmichi

FAQ

Specialty coffee in Kobe: questions

Where are the specialty coffee roasters in Kobe?

Most are around JR Rokkōmichi in Nada Ward: Coffee Roast and Lagom Coffee Roastery on Sakuraguchi-chō, Kaffee Fika in Morigo-chō and Midori no Mame on Fukuzumi-dōri, with Forest Coffee Roasters a little further east in Mikage-yamate. Motomachi has Beans Coffee Roaster and Coffee Labo Frank, and BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS moved its roastery to Kitano in 2026.

How does Japan define specialty coffee for Kobe roasters?

The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan defines specialty coffee by the cup: flavor drinkers find delicious, a bright acidity and a lingering sweetness. It also requires quality control from seed to cup, green beans with very few defects, and treats sustainability and traceability as requirements.

How much do coffee beans cost at Kobe roasters?

In 2026 Mametaku in Nagata sold 200 g of its house blend for ¥900 and its espresso blend for ¥950. Coffee Temple sold two 180 g bags of its Temple blend for ¥2,100. Kaffee Fika takes 30% off all beans in its Rokkō and Mukonoso shops from the 20th of each month.

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