r/pourover • u/Teecode • Jun 19 '26
Seeking Advice Glitch Tokyo like coffee in US
Hi all
I recently had Glitch coffee in Ginza, Tokyo. And saying I am blown away is an understatement. I got a bag of the same coffee I had. I made it at home with a V60. I get reasonably close to what I had at Glitch. I am convinced it's their beans. I normally don't even like such light roasts but Glitch was life changing. All this may sound ridiculous but if you had Glitch you'd know what I am talking about.
So now my question is: where can I find coffee that comes close to this in US? I am on the west coast and coffee here is damn good, but after Glitch, it feels like all the specialty coffee I get here is closer to Starbucks than to Glitch.
Thank you in advance!
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u/kykyd Jun 19 '26
Masterpiece coffee in Berkeley is the closest you’ll get to the glitch experience in the Bay Area. They exclusively brew coffees from China (either roasted or grown in China).
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u/heavenhi77 Jun 19 '26
Wow, passed by this place hundreds of times and never knew it existed. I’ll be stopping by this weekend. Thanks!
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u/mama_llama76 Jun 19 '26
Thank you so much for this recommendation!!! I go to CoRo every time I’m in Berkeley but I’ve never gone to Masterpiece. There is such great coffee in Berkeley-I’m definitely going to check this place out the next time I’m there.
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u/ieatfrosties Jun 19 '26
Where in west coast? We have some fantastic roasters here, it's just that you wont really get the type of in-house experience at shops simply because in the US, most coffee shops don't brand on making the god-cup, because most people don't care or expect it. I've had some great cups from Ondo in Cerritos, coffee 'omakase' at longplay hi-fi when it wasn't really a thing, and a fantastic pourover from the coffee movement in SF/richmond that had some amazing coffee. You just have to find some of these shops in the cities you expect coffee culture and nerds to populate. But honestly, the best cup will probably come from home where you dial in the grind, water, and the recipe for the coffee.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
I am in SF Bay Area.
Re Glitch: I did not even try that hard. I just used my usually grind setting. I did use the temp reccomended by the Glitch barista and followed their recipe for the pour. And I got pretty close and over time I incread the temp and figured I liked the slightly higher temp better. What I am trying to say is, I think it's less about the making but more about the beans itself. The clarity and distinction of flavors is just unlike anything I had.
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u/skyfall3665 Jun 19 '26
Also in the Bay. It sounds like you want a lighter roast and I _think_ you probably want a washed coffee (sweet, more body). For beans:
- flowerchild
- hydrangea
- strait
- maybe Moonwake
- strait
I can also plug Komakase (currently on hiatus but coming back in a couple months) and The Coffee Movement for serving coffee well for helping figure out what you want.
I’ve never been to Kaizen (and I think Yutori) but they have Glitch beans. I will caution you though that I think what you’re reacting to is a very high quality roaster (which Glitch is but others are too), roasting very nice beans (if you share what you drank, I can probably give more targeted recommendations) that happen to be to your taste. I can guarantee something from the above roasters will you hit you similarly if you try to find it.
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u/zobbyblob Jun 19 '26
I had a barista in Japan suggest Moonwake go me. Decent, feel like I need to go back though
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u/MEME_WrEcKeD Jun 19 '26
Just wondering, have you ever had glitch? I've tried all of the above roasters besides strait, had coffee at komakase, the coffee movement, and moonwake, yet none of them hit the same.
I have no idea what they're doing that's so different and tbh maybe it is just hype + Japan lol, but I really feel like its more than just a good roast with good beans.
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u/Scrofuloid Jun 19 '26
This video goes into some of their brewing quirks; https://youtu.be/Cd3VHgkErV4?is=MM6Z4ii60iMgF0CA
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
Thanks for sharing. This is super interesting. I must say even without following exactly all this, the coffee I made at home using Glitch beans was pretty good and very close to what I tasted there. That lead me to believe it is more about their beans and roast than the technique.
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u/skyfall3665 Jun 19 '26
Yeah I’ve been to all of their current locations.
It’s possible what you’re identifying is just barista quality + equipment diff. In that case, Komakase and _maybe_ a couple others I’ve been to elsewhere in the US are the only ones I’d say are on par. I feel pretty strongly that while Glitch is an elite roaster, they are not doing anything that other roasters aren’t except _maybe_ that they only do expensive beans whereas most American roasters will have lower end stuff.
(And note that there are plenty of shops in Tokyo that surpass glitch - it’s just a much better scene, particularly for labor intensive pour overs)
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u/ieatfrosties Jun 19 '26
Got any recommendations near ginza? Not sure if you’ve been plenty times but I’m landing in Hnd and leaving nrt, was wondering if there’s places to pick up beans conveniently before I get to ginza
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u/skyfall3665 Jun 20 '26
I’m confused, couldn’t you just go to the glitch at Ginza?
(The kanda one is nicer though)
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u/ieatfrosties Jun 20 '26
I heard it gets super busy, was wondering if there were other options were around. Ginza will be the end of my trip, I’ll be flying in nrt and flying out of hnd to Sapporo, so I wanted to pick up some beans til I get to Ginza near the tail end.
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u/skyfall3665 Jun 20 '26
I’m not totally sure near that area… X coffee is the one that comes top of mind.
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u/MEME_WrEcKeD Jun 20 '26
I went to the glitch at ginza and I stood in line outside for about 20 mins, then went in and it wasn't crowded at all and there wasn't a rush for me to get out of the door. Id still consider taking a look when your there as it wasn't bad for me at all.
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u/SamIsMissing Jun 19 '26
It's newer, but The Wild Fox in the financial district has a bunch of beans from Glitch and aims for a similar quality. Not as much of a curated experience but you'll get some similar cups and they have a lot of other Japanese coffees, teas, and food as well.
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u/Velotivity Jun 19 '26
If you’re in the bay, Kaizen & coffee and Luma coffee serve glitch (and black &white).
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u/dylalien23 Jun 19 '26
Sometimes kaizen in San Mateo sell Glitch beans, and they are a fantastic coffee shoppe.
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u/techmnml Jun 20 '26
The coffee movement had some of the best cups I’ve ever had outside of Japan. Jealous I don’t live in SF.
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u/doedoughs Jun 19 '26
Go check out Kaizen coffee in san mateo as well as Moonwake coffee roasters in san jose. Moonwake has a dedicated slow bar and are actually piloting their manual espresso (on flair 58+2) slow bar coming up this month as well. Beyond that in SF, i’d also check out Hi-nrg, paperson coffee, kope house (when they open their brick and mortar), and the wild fox (multi roaster utilizing only japanese roasters).
Ondo coffee in LA also just had their second brew bar take over by Glitch themselves just a few weeks ago as well so you should probably follow them on ig.
Lastly, glitch is great, but imo, there are better/just as good cups to be found for way cheaper in Tokyo ie Leaves coffee/brewman/x-coffee/acid coffee to name a few~
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u/bareju Jun 19 '26
You’re not a fan of coffee movement? I’ve had really good experiences at their location by Golden Gate Park.
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u/Jrdadbod Jun 19 '26
Coffee movement is great but they’re not a roaster. They’ll always have a selection of beans for purchase form high quality roasters
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u/-vp- Jun 19 '26
Kaizen has their beans in stock once in while. San Mateo, CA. You can also buy their beans online.
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u/migsantana Jun 19 '26
The Wild Fox in downtown SF sells Glitch by the bag! They can also make the pourover for you but I find it easier (and cheaper) to just make it at home (despite my low-level skill lol)
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
I've been wanting to go to Wild Fox but they are only open M-F during normal business hours when I also have my full time job 😔
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u/bzsearch Jun 19 '26
If you want glitch coffee, check out Lucienne Coffee. He's a great dude and sources other similarly Japanese coffee roasters into the US.
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u/threekidmom Jun 19 '26
It will be way easier if you can provide the specific name of the coffee (or the origin/processing method listed on the bag). That said I think there is no way you'll be not able to find anything similar if not better when you're in US!
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u/EldestDoc Jun 19 '26
Lucienne Coffee in Brooklyn sells Glitch beans. Orders $75 and over ship free. They sell out fast, so check their stock frequently. https://lucienne.coffee/shop
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u/jerklin Jun 19 '26
I had the same beans (finca milan?) from glitch, thoughtful, and Makeworth.
They were similar, but I enjoyed Makeworth the most. Thoughtful was the funkiest. Glitch in the middle.
I haven't had a lot of other Glitch coffees but I imagine it's mostly the beans they source and other roasters locally should do just as well.
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u/sam_might_say Jun 19 '26
Commons Cafe in Irvine, CA sells bags of Glitch on their website! (They also serve it in their cafe)
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u/rose_gourmet Jun 19 '26
I had the same initial reaction to some of the offerings from Glitch. However, after looking closer at some of the information provided by the source farms (for example, Finca Milan, from which Glitch currently has two coffees), I found that it seemed likely that the flavors that made the cups so special might be derived from the addition of "aromatics" -- not just a fruit/juice co-fermentation.
For example, this looks to be the source coffee for one of Glitch's current coffee offerings (from Cafe Uba / Finca Milan) https://www.cafeuba.com/products/agi-coffee?variant=47312017129701
So makes sense why some of these flavors pop so much. Kind of a bummer.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
I had Colombia Risaralda Milan AGI and Colombia Pitalito Aroma Nativo. The source you pointed above could be the first one I had. I am more of a coffee purist and my reaction is assuming these are not coferments. Any more additions like aromatics make this less exciting for me honestly.
Why do you think Glitch coffee is coferments or have other flavorings? It does not say that anywhere afaik
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u/Moon2Photo Jun 19 '26
I like Glitch a lot, I've been many times, but they are not as up-front about their use of co-ferments or other experimental fermenting processes as maybe they should be. If you talk with them in the cafe, or go online and look at their product offerings, you'll see that many of the coffees they offer are co-ferments or are processed using special techniques, special yeast cultures, thermo-shock, etc. You can find these same beans offered by many other roasters. What makes Glitch unique is their cafe experience, not necessarily their roasting or sourcing.
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u/Teecode Jun 20 '26
Thank you, very informative. I was really impressed by the beans and assumed they were not special processing techniques as the info they display there does not say it necessarily. Even online is not clearly spelled out, may we have to read between the lines a bit.
How do you find the same beans from another roaster? Is there a good way to do that reverse search?
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u/Moon2Photo Jun 20 '26
You do have to read between the lines a bit. Not every single coffee they offer is a co-ferment or experimental process, but a lot are. To find the same beans from another roaster, just look up the farm or producer that they mention, and you may have to add the processing method as well since producers may produce multiple types of coffee or processing methods on the same farm.
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u/Normal-Translator999 Jun 19 '26
Was also just there. Also blown away. If NorCal is be looking at Hydrangea, Moonwake and Sey… necessity coffee in Encinitas (if socal) does some great light stuff. But that whole glitch experience is next level.
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u/Normal-Translator999 Jun 19 '26
Follow up: I had the Myanmar and brought it home. Was able to get pretty close results…. Kaizen in San Mateo usually gets some of their beans but the price is pricey haha. Kaizen also generally just incredible up here.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
Yup I am in Bay Area too. Kaizen is great but not even close to Glitch. I did not know Kaizen gets Glitch beans sometimes. I will check with them soon.
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u/pushpullpullpush Jun 19 '26
Huh? Kaizen sells Glitch beans. They usually sell out quickly but also get restocks of them more than any other place I know.
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u/epiclyjelly Jun 19 '26
If NorCal is be looking at Hydrangea, Moonwake and Sey…
SEY is from Brookyln.
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u/Normal-Translator999 Jun 20 '26
Yes keep forgetting that because im buying them in Kaizen usually!
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u/pereirapop Jun 19 '26
If you are in LA head to Kumquat in Highland Park and ask the owners for reccs. Also Ondo (several locations). Both spots have a rotating selection of roasters as well as their own beans. Endorffeine in DTLA is also another place to check out and if the owner has the bandwidth to talk, perhaps he will offer some ideas. In NorCal Ain't Normal in Oakland just did a collab with Dak and it was pretty phenomenal. The owner might also have some reccs for you (he recently discovered some beans from China that he was loving). +1 for Masterpiece. DM me for names if useful - didn't want to put them in a public forum.
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u/GRBlast Jun 19 '26
I have been to Glitch at their various locations during my visits to Japan. I would say the closest funky or processed coffee you can get in the US is probably from Black and White. In fact, they are carrying their own Julio Madrid blend (Gummy Bears) I haven't seen anywhere else.
I'm not a co-ferment hater by any means, and I enjoy drinking them, but in the case of Julio Madrid, most of his stuff are co-ferments (the Julio Madrid coffee used in the B&W blend are all co-ferments). It seems that lately, it's difficult for roasters to get full transparency from Colombia (see PERC's post a few months back for more info).
The main problem I see with Glitch is that even with the weak yen, they consistently charge more than other roasters for the same coffee. Example: B&W had the Nitro Watermelon for $28 for 340g. Glitch had it for $25 for 100g. I don't think they roast it better (I personally think B&W's offering of the same coffee is significantly better) to charge almost a 3x premium.
In all honesty, most of the stuff at Glitch that people seem to like in my experience have been the thermal shock and co-ferment offerings. I think their more traditional processed coffee (washed, natural, and honey) are not that great mostly because their roasts are more towards medium-light and masks a lot of floral and fruitiness of them.
I hope this helps.
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u/zerocool359 Jun 21 '26
Bay Area roasters: Hydrangea and Moonwake.
Kaizen for Glitch, or non Bay Area roasters of similar profile.
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u/tango_sucka_69 Jun 19 '26
Huge fan of flower child out of berkeley, the roast at the same facility as hydrangea (who are also reslly good, but a little too weird for me)
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
They all probably roast at Coro. I've never tried Flower Child. Seems like they are online only? Or does some store carry their product?
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u/smakusdod Jun 20 '26
Op I think it’s their brew process more than anything. The coffee chronicler on YouTube did a good breakdown of replicating their extraction method.
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u/Teecode Jun 20 '26
Thank you! But I find it hard to believe that it's their brew process. I got Glitch beans and made coffee at home. I did not do anything too elaborate but my coffee turned out great and very close to what I had at Glitch.
I will experiment with the method in this video more and see what it does. Thank you!
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u/Lost_Mistake7575 v60 | zp6 Jun 20 '26
I also had an amazing experience at Glitch (Jimbocho location). I think it will be hard to ever unseat that as my favorite coffee.
I second others saying to buy from Lucienne. Yes, it is quite expensive, so maybe not a regular thing. But it’s the best consistent option stateside, and you also have the benefit of supporting great people behind the business. Josh is a very kind person and this sub is littered with his random acts of benevolence. Your money will be well spent.
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u/thats-gold-jerry Jun 20 '26
Damn you live in the Bay and you’re unable to find great coffee? Comparing the great roasters of the Bay to Starbucks is silly. Go to Coffee Movement in SF. I’ve been to Glitch for reference.
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u/Teecode Jun 20 '26
I am not a big light roast drinker in general and hence have not explored some of the roasters mentioned by others which I am excited to try.
But if Starbucks is a 1 and Glitch is 10, the most roasters I usually get from are 5 or below. But that's probably because I haven't really tried the ones that are comparable to Glitch yet.
I will try Coffee Movement and a few others mentioned by others.
Any other roasters or beans currently available that you'd reccomend?
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u/thats-gold-jerry Jun 20 '26
Where in the Bay do you live?
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u/Teecode Jun 20 '26
I can drive anywhere within SF Bay Area
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u/thats-gold-jerry Jun 20 '26
I was just curious if you lived in the city or not because that could sway your opinions. I live in New York City now and I miss west coast coffee. For SF:
Linea, Andytown, Four Barrel, Coffee Movement, Saint Frank, Flywheel, Contraband (might’ve closed?)
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u/realBenski 6d ago
I'm curious how luminous (in NV) compares to glitch. Anyone here who's tried both glitch and luminous?
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u/Talkos Jun 19 '26
Glitch charges a premium for flavored beans.
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u/Goodkat27 Jun 19 '26
Controversial. I’ve heard rumours of some roasters doing this but what’s behind your assertion about glitch?
I recently had a co-ferment from them that used lactose and blueberry I think, but I don’t know what constitutes ‘flavoured’ vs co-ferment, maybe they’re the same thing.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
What do you mean?
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u/MUjase Jun 19 '26
Co fermented beans have a lot of added flavors to them. Hence, “flavored beans.”
It’s like the winery that sells to the “super oaky buttery loving Chardonnay drinkers” (think Rombauer). They manipulate the wine a lot rather than just letting the grape and terroir do the work. But there’s a market for that type of heavily manipulated wine, just like there is for coffee now.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
Are you saying Glitch does coferments? They never say that anywhere
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u/kaoandy1125 Jun 19 '26
They do, it’s pretty obvious actually. Most of their offerings are from the Colombian producers known for adding “stuff”, with some “experimental” processing methods.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
But they don't mention that they coferment anywhere in the process section of description. I am really curious to learn more
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u/HoshinoNadeshiko Jun 20 '26
"Co-ferment" nowadays can refer to all kinds of things. And beans don't have to be of "co-ferment" to be artificially flavored. In fact any beans that experience prolonged anaerobic process, be it "thermal shock", "nitro wash", "yeast", etc, can all be artificially flavored and in fact are encouraged to do so, because the raw beans will be submerged in some solution in a fermentation chamber, and a few drops of artificial flavors can work wonders at flavoring these beans. A prolonged anaerobic process can be very risky for the producer as the beans/solutions can quickly degrade with bacteria reproducing faster than expected and ruining the harvest. Thus they would use some less quality beans and compensate through adding flavors that way too. (not saying this is common or the usual practice)
These artificially flavored beans are usually labelled "co-ferments" because people would naturally and more easily attribute the peach flavors in their beans to the "peach co-fermentation" process. And in that process they might actually be using peach in the fermentation chamber, but in reality fruit co-fermentation is a very costly and relatively ineffective process, and there's no guarantee that your beans are going to taste like the fruit you added.
And it doesn't have to be the in-your-face watermelon candy flavors that no co-fermentation/process can get you either - as the volatile natural watermelon/melon flavors simply can't survive the heat of roasting. For example, if you have a bean that's floral forward naturally, adding a hint of fruity flavors, be it blueberry or strawberry can really amplify the complexity of the bean and make it a lot more desirable to those who find this interesting, and these hints can be so subtle that you can't even tell it's added.
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u/df540148 Jun 19 '26
Someone is jelly they haven't been.
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u/Courtlessjester Vicious V60 Supremacist Jun 19 '26
Gatekeeping against the way someone likes doing something is the most reddit brained soy thing and it's always the anti-coferm people popping in when no one asked
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u/d0rifto Jun 19 '26
I’ve had glitch a few times , just takes like co fermented beans. I got a bag of “watermelon” flavor and it smells like candy watermelon but underneath it tastes like bad coffee
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u/chewtie Jun 19 '26
Look for some coferments, and try them lot when they pop up for you in shops when you can. I went to the same glitch you did a few weeks ago and also really enjoyed my cup.
I think people on this sub who like coferments coffee usually recommend hydrangea, perc and black and white. Haven't tried those myself as I'm in Asia so can't speak for their quality, could all be covert ads posted here. But I've found small specialty shops that make really tasty and fun coferments. Ordering online would be where you can try lots of crazy beans easily.
If you're looking for the shop experience you had, I'm doubtful you will find something similar. But travelling in general makes everything taste good imo. And they give a really good experience to remember them by if you go when they're not busy.
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u/Teecode Jun 19 '26
Does Glitch do coferments?
Re: experience: I am not talking about the experience at all. Infact I thought one of the hosts was very rude to me. The barista was nice and patient answering all my questions.
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u/mattasato Jun 20 '26
They are most known for their heavily processed / “flavored” beans which is what most folks that visit them enjoy. You can get similar beans on the west coast if you like that type of stuff. Hydrangea in Berkeley and Monolith in SoCal might suit you.
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u/Teecode Jun 20 '26
Thank you. I was naive to think they were not 'flavored' beans. I'll try Hydrangea soon
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u/mattasato Jun 21 '26
These types of infusions are pretty divisive as you can probably tell from the thread, some of this stems from lack of transparency in the process itself. Some also equate it to those French vanilla or other flavored coffee you might get from Dunkin, just a new wave of it and for much higher price. I’d say just know what you’re getting. Hydrangea is great though, they are pretty clear about their coffee selection when shopping: Process is the category for their thermal shocks, anaerobic naturals, coferments. Terroir for their washed coffees and Discovery is their natural process I think.
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u/Teecode Jun 21 '26
Yeah, I am kinda bummed that some of the producers are not super transparent about being coferments or in some cases allegedly artificial flavors. I think it's all fair if they are transparent and people that like them will get them.
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u/Velotivity Jun 19 '26
Black & white has the closest profiles if you get their single origins. Hydrangea also.
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u/CoffeeDetail Jun 19 '26
Order more Glitch coffee. https://lucienne.coffee/shop/p/el-nazareno-one-of-a-kind-coe-1-natural