Have you ever had to go to the Mito Immigration Office? If you are a foreigner reading this page, then the answer is most likely yes. Going there and getting your documents in order could be quite stressful and time consuming. That's where I went a few weeks ago on a Monday. My wife had the day off and my visa needed updating. We were in that office for about an hour. Afterward, we both wanted to relax at a cafe somewhere and have some coffee. We drove around central Mito and stopped at a really small cafe that called out to me. It wanted me to come in, relax, and have a nice cup of coffee. That place is called Mood Coffee and Espresso.
Mood Coffee and Espresso
Mood Coffee is located in the Minamimachi area of Mito. It is about a five minute walk from Mito station. If you come by car, there are plenty of pay to park parking lots in the area.
We both parked very close to Mood and walked in.
Inside
I immediately loved the atmosphere of Mood Coffee. There was a huge coffee grinding machine to the left of the entrance, a table full of different coffee beans for sale, and just a very relaxed ambiance to the place. Unfortunately, Mood Coffee is a very small place. It can only fit up to six people max and maybe two people outside.
The Menu
Great news everyone! The menu is in both English and Japanese! The outside menu is all in Japanese but the inside menu is in both languages. The menu has drip coffee, espressos, and other types of coffees. For food, there are only two choices: bagels and sweets.
Ethiopia Blend Long Black
I decided to get a long black espresso. A long black espresso is a bit different than a regular espresso. I believe the hot water comes before the espresso while a regular Americano is the opposite. I had two choices when it came to the beans. One was the house blend or Mood Blend as it is called there, or the Ethiopia blend. I went with the Ethiopia blend. The long black was pretty good. Strong, like an espresso should be, but a bit bitter. I did like the fact that the iced long black was refreshing for that somewhat warm stressful day.
Avocado Bagel
Before I go into my wife's coffee. Let me talk about the bagels. We ordered the two bagels that are on the menu. This is the avocado bagel. I know what you are thinking. "It's not a real bagel right?" In my opinion, it is close enough. Is it the best bagel I have ever had? No. It is a good bagel though. What really surprised me was the avocado. It was pretty tasty. It was very creamy and went perfect with the plain bagel. A little too much salt, but other than that, I would love to have this bagel again. The bagel comes with some lettuce and salad dressing on the side.
Tuna Cheddar Bagel
This bagel is OK. Honestly, that is all I can say about it. It's tuna and cheddar cheese which cancels each other out. It was OK.
Mood Blend Espresso Macchiato
My wife's coffee not only looked beautiful, it was fantastic. My wife ordered her espresso macchiato with the mood blend. She let me try her coffee and I loved it. Sipping that coffee made me sit back, relax, and enjoy my day. When I closed my eyes, it felt like I was sipping this coffee outside of a log cabin on a nice sunny day. It warmed my soul. I liked the mood blend so much that I bought a 100g bag of mood blend beans to take home and brew later.
The Cookie
Now we move onto the sweets. Look at this cookie. What do you think? Nothing special? I know that Mood Coffee made great coffee, but I had no idea they were angels from cookie heaven. I loved this chocolate chip cookie. It was a bit hard around the outside but nice and soft in the middle. When you bit into one of the chocolate chips, it was gooey and melted in your mouth. This cookie with my strong long black espresso was one of the highlights of my day.
The Muffin
The next sweet is the muffin. Yes, those are Oreos baked into the muffin. This muffin was so soft and warm that it broke apart at the slightest touch, which was great for sharing. The Oreos in the muffin were an excellent addition. Plus, there were chocolate chips in there as well. The same ones from the cookie. My wife absolutely loved the muffin. She saw that there were four muffins baking in the small oven Mood Coffee has, and almost asked for all of them. She decided against that in the end, but I would have backed up her decision if she went for it.
Different Blends for Sale
Mood Coffee is an amazing little coffee place in central Mito. It has a great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and amazing sweets. It is a great place for a small lunch or to grab a cup of coffee in the middle of your day or in the morning.
So if you are in the MOOD for some great coffee (see what I did there) and an out of this world muffin, why not give Mood Coffee and Espresso a chance? Who knows, you might see me there, sipping on my espresso while my wife orders all the muffins.
Enjoy!
For more information on Mood Coffee and Espresso, check out their website:
Event Announcement
Ramen Event
Wanted to let my fellow Ibarakians know that there is a ramen event happening in Tsuchiura during the first weekend of Golden Week. It's happening at Kasumigaura Suigo Park which is in Tsuchiura. This event is going on from April 28-30. The park is a bit of a hike from Tsuchiura station so better to come by car, bus, or bicycle. My favorite ramen place, Ryuusuke, should be there along with 11 other ramen shops. This is a good chance to try the best ramen in Tsuchiura. Hope to see you there!
Here is a link to the event:
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