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Shogun Coffee Soft Serve is a divine ice cream for modern-day samurai in Japan

Oona McGee Jun 3, 2024
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Saza Coffee captures the essence of traditional Japan in a sweet dessert.

If you’re looking to try a coffee with Japanese flair, many locals will recommend Saza Coffee. Known for its signature Shogun Blend coffee, which takes its name from Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the final shogun of the Tokugawa Dynasty, this home-grown chain started as a small coffee shop in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1969, with its ethos inspired by the “Saza” method of sitting and enjoying tea during a Japanese tea ceremony, inspired by the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism.

Today, people across the nation enjoy the act of sitting and enjoying a cup of Joe at Saza Coffee shops, and one of its top sellers, the coffee jelly, is to die-for.

▼ With people leading busy lives these days, customers can now get their Saza Coffee to go as well.

Many of the chain’s stores are conveniently located inside train stations, and our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma happened across one as he was making his way through Shimbashi Station. What caught his eye was the sign outside the store, which read: “Saza Soft Coffee Soft Cream“.

▼ “Soft” in Japan means “soft serve ice cream”, and this one looked particularly delicious.

The dark cone and rich, coffee-infused ice cream looked too good to resist, so Masanuki delved around in his pocket for some change. Pulling out a 500 yen (US$3.19) coin, he wasn’t able to afford the version with cacao nibs for 570 yen, but he did have just enough for the original 500-yen soft serve.

▼ When he received it, he had no regrets about spending his only coin on the sweet treat, as it looked stunning.

The coffee-hued ice cream paired beautifully with the black cone and gold walls of the store, giving it a classy, elegant aura.

The ice cream contains milk sourced from Oita Prefecture, along with the chain’s signature Shogun Coffee, and because it’s so soft, there’s not a lot of time to enjoy it before it melts.

Taking a bite out of the soft serve sent Masanuki to ice cream heaven, where he bowed to the members of the Tokugawa family before descending back to Earth again.

The Shogun Coffee had a beautiful bitterness that blended well with the sweetness of milk, and he could tell that both components were incredibly high quality. Masanuki described it as “insanely delicious”, with the ice cream having a strong yet smooth coffee flavour and a rich yet refreshing aftertaste that disappears elegantly on the tongue, making you yearn for another mouthful.

▼ Heaven in the middle of the train station.

It’s a frozen treat that caffeine lovers will fall head over heels in love with, but if you prefer a lighter coffee flavour, you can always ask for it to be mixed with vanilla, which adds more sweetness. It’s a seriously well made ice cream from an esteemed Japanese coffee store, so keep an eye out for it during your travels — like Tokyo’s edible flower soft serve ice creams, these treats will be highly sought after this summer!

Related: Saza Coffee
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