International Coffee Trends Like Coffee Jelly Becoming Increasingly Popular Across National Borders – CoffeeTalk

Koto Jelly Coffee, a small specialty cafe in Seattle, has opened its doors on Broadway near Seattle University. The cafe, which opened in December, is the only coffee jelly specialty shop in the United States, but its version of the Japanese dessert is tweaked from the original. The jelly is put in a cup and topped with milk or ice cream, and you drink it through a straw as it melts. The texture is unique, not thick like a milkshake or chewy like the tapioca balls in boba tea. It’s akin to sucking up thin gummy worms that taste strongly of dark-roasted coffee.

Koto also offers matcha jelly, black tea jelly, and a milk jelly, which was originally intended as a kids item but can now be served with hojicha or genmaicha syrups for a slightly nutty, roast-y green tea flavor profile. The shop also serves espresso, either on its own or as a jelly topping.

The owners of Koto Jelly Coffee believe that American customers might not know what to make of jelly coffee, but for Japanese people, it could be a welcome reminder of home. The amount of work that went into jelly coffee before launch makes Koto feel like a polished brand, as do the professional-quality photos of the jellies on the website and the shop walls. However, this is still a homespun operation. The furniture in the shop is actually Chan’s camping equipment, and he also took the photos. The jelly is made in an offsite commercial kitchen by a team of moms, who work in the few hours they have between childcare dropoff and pickup. The front of house team is largely students, and some of them hang out in the shop when they’re not working.

The owners want Koto to be “meaningful” not just for them, but for anyone who works for them. They believe that unless people enjoy something, are motivated, and if it’s meaningful for them beyond money, then it won’t continue. So they want to make sure people are happy and motivated.

Read More @ Eater