Higuma Doughnuts x Coffee Wrights

There are a few branches each of Higuma Doughnuts and Coffee Wrights around town and I had planned on hitting each at some point this trip. Serendipity brought their collaboration shop along my path on the way to sushi lunch with an old friend in Aoyama.

After imbibing all or part of six or seven coffees of varying quality, starting with Little Darling and ending with Mameya, and walking a fair distance on a mostly empty stomach, I realized that a kinako doughnut was just what I needed to make it there without fainting. (Of course I had to try their espresso as well.)

The doughnut – a light, chewy, slightly sweet yeast doughnut dusted with kinako (roasted soybean powder) – was a delight. The coffee however suffered greatly from comparison with my previous stop, the justly-lauded Mameya. Although well-extracted, the muddy espresso had no highs and no lows and no acid – it just was – and I felt no compulsion to finish it.

The space itself is beautiful, with multiple types of seating arrangements, on multiple levels, open to the air, lots of light. A great place to read and gaze upon the Omotesando street life.