Let's talk about coffee shall we? I don't want to talk about Doutor or Tully's, those places don't hold a candle to THE coffee of Ibaraki. I would like to discuss the Ibaraki coffee giant that started in Hitachi Naka and has spread to other cities and prefectures around Japan (mainly Saitama and Tokyo). Today, let's get into Saza Coffee!
Saza Coffee in Tsukuba University
There are a lot of Saza Coffees spread around Ibaraki. Just to name a few places: Tsukuba, Mito, Hitachi Naka, and Oarai. For this Saza post, I am going to be talking about two big locations. I decided to split this into two parts since I have a lot of pictures and a lot of things to say about both places. This week, I will be talking about the Saza Coffee in Tsukuba University.
Tsukuba University's roads are a gigantic maze to me. I am not sure how the students at the University find anything there. There is a Saza Coffee shop in that maze that the wife had heard about it and wanted to check out. Thank God for google, because the GPS lead us right to it. We found the Saza Coffee next to the university's Kasumi supermarket. Both buildings look brand new so I am sure these places were recently built or renovated.
We made our way into the Saza Coffee and checked out the shop and menu.
Wanna See How They Make Coffee?
The inside of this particular Saza Coffee is really nice. Again, everything looks really new. If you look toward the side of the inside of this Saza Coffee, you will see a gigantic coffee making machine. I am guessing that sometimes, the staff goes in there and makes grounded coffee. I have never seen it be done before but it might be an interesting show.
Gentle Breeze and Nice Area
Even though the inside of the Saza Coffee is really nice, I prefer the outside area. The last time I was there, there was a nice cool breeze blowing through the outside benches and it was a really nice day. Imagine sipping a cup of coffee while watching those trees sway in the wind. Sounds like a nice afternoon to me. I do wish they had more tables for the outside area though. There are only two tables and six benches I think.
Coffee Menu
So many different coffees to choose from, what should you order? I am very grateful to Tsukuba University's Saza Coffee for completely translating the coffee menu. It makes it way easier for me and a lot of other people living here to order. From this menu, I can tell you that I have ordered and tried the Cappuccino and the Hot and Cold Tokugawa Shogun coffee. I will be talking about the cappuccino on this week's post and the shogun coffee on next week's post. There are also special coffees that I will be talking about that are not on this menu. Some of them are a limited time deal and are probably off the menu by now. But some of them are happening right now for your coffee pleasure.
Drink and Food Menu
From what I saw in the food menu, everything seems to come in sets. The bread and stew set, the quiche set. Unfortunately, I will not be talking about the sets or other dishes on this post. Please look forward to next week's post where I will talk about the quiche, stews, bread and other delicious dishes from Saza Coffee. I promise I will go more in depth next week.
Iced Bobba Coffee
Bobba Coffee? I did not know what to make of this.This coffee was a limited time menu item and I believe it is not available at this time but it may come back. The wife really wanted to try this limited time drink so we ordered it way back in early spring. The first time the wife tried it, she took a sip through the straw provided and had a weird look on her face. When it was my turn, I took my sip, chewed on my bobba beads and understood why she had that look. It was weird. The fusion of coffee and bobba tea felt...wrong. It wasn't entirely bad but just nothing went right in that plastic cup. The coffee flavor with the bobba beads was really strange and they just didn't go well together. A mad scientist in Saza had an interesting idea with this drink but it just didn't turn out well. I wasn't a big fan of this bobba coffee and neither was the wife. So I am kind of glad it is off the menu.
Guatemala Roast
Now we get to the great coffee. The Guatemala roast is not in the Saza coffee menu pictured above. I wanted to give this coffee a try and see on what level it would wake me up. Japanese canned coffee and other Japanese coffee companies are ranked 1 or 2 out of 10 when it comes to waking me up. This coffee however, I would give it a 7. It did give me a niece boast of energy later that day and it was delicious. It is a strong coffee which is what I like. It is a coffee that doesn't play around but at the same time has that aroma and flavor that makes you want to sit on a rocking chair and watch the sun rise with that cup in your hand. I really enjoyed this roast and hope I can drink it again soon.
Cappuccino
Next we move on to the Saza's cappuccino. "Nice cappuccino art," I thought to myself as my cappuccino was brought to me. I took a sip of my cappuccino and I was transferred to a world of cappuccino bliss. I was very impressed with Saza's cappuccino. The strong coffee taste with that hint of sweetness was perfect. It didn't need any added sugar at all. The wife has not had a chance to try the Saza cappuccino yet, but I am sure she will love it. Saza's cappuccino is probably the best cappuccino I have had in Ibaraki. Every time I took a sip of that cappuccino I loved it more and more to the point that when I had finished it, I was a bit sad it was over. I plan to keep drinking more of these whenever I visit a Saza Coffee.
Pao de Queijo
I will be talking about one food menu item. The pao de queijo, which is Brazilian cheese bread. The wife and I ordered this to have with our coffees. They were good. Nice and warm with that cheesy flavor that pao de queijo usually has. But it isn't the best Brazilian cheese bread I have ever had. For that, you have to head to Joso city and get some from TK Mart.
Coffee Shake
It is getting warmer recently and summer will soon be upon us. Why not cool down with Saza's coffee shake? I had this shake on a hot Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago. The wife couldn't join me that day so unfortunately she has not tried it yet. I got my shake to go because that particular afternoon, Saza coffee was pretty packed. I took my first sip in my car and got that Saza coffee taste with some delightful sweetness to it with amazing whipped cream. It was like the bitterness of the coffee and the sweetness of the sugar were perfectly balanced ("like all things should be" Thanos). I really enjoyed the shake and was happily sipping it while driving back to Tsuchiura. It was when I was half way through my shake that I noticed something. I can't believe I am going to say this but, the shake has too much cream. Even thinking that feels wrong because cream is awesome. But once I got half way through, all I got was coffee cream. It was honestly a bit much. The shake is great and it was really refreshing but once you get to the bottom of the cup, all you have left is coffee cream which isn't a bad thing but I kind of wished there was a bit more liquid in there. I believe this shake is a limited time deal, so get it before it is gone.
Coffee Zerii
This is a surprise entry. I recently tried Saza's coffee zerri and I wasn't sure I would make it in time to put it in this post.
I was told by many Ibarakians that Saza's coffee zerii is the best in Japan. After giving it a try, I have to agree with that statement. I was honestly not expecting much from this dessert. "It's coffee zerii, I am sure it won't blow my mind or anything." I thought ignorantly. After getting a spoon full of that zerii, it blew my mind. The zerii had that Saza Coffee taste and was only enhanced by the nuts and cream on top. I keep saying "zerii" because it is called ゼリー zerii, in Japanese. It is actually more like a coffee jello. The zerii was not too soft and not too hard, it felt so great to have it rolling around in my mouth. The wife was able to try this amazing dessert and she loved it as well. I will 100% be ordering this coffee zerii again in the near future.
For everyone in Tsukuba, if you want to have a lovely cup of coffee with some amazing coffee zerii, you need to head on over to Tsukuba University's Saza Coffee. I am sure you will have a very nice afternoon or morning with a spoon full of Saza's coffee zerii and a delicious cup of Saza Coffee.
Well, that's it for this part of the Saza Coffee post. Tune in next week when I talk about the very first Saza Coffee restaurant ever built and why that is my favorite of all the Saza Coffee places in Japan.
For more information on Saza Coffee, check out their website:
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