tōno coffee project

Coffee first, probably the best in this area. You can taste that they are passionate about good coffee and know what they’re doing. They only use oat milk as a default, but it tastes wonderful with the espresso. Simple, small set up. Has pastries, an array of chocolates. Even some really exotic flavors like lemon ants and durian. Must try if you’re a coffee lover. They have outdoor seating, some tables and chairs. Ambiance is perfect for a weekend coffee.

Parking is easy and free with street parking around San Jose Japantown. I like coming here in the morning for a hot black decaf coffee. The barista seems to change between morning and afternoon. The café is located in an apartment lobby, so there’s no indoor seating, but the outdoor seating is quiet and relaxing. They only offer oat milk, which is good to know in advance. It’s decaf, but it really tastes like regular coffee. I’ve had it about seven times so far, and only twice it tasted a bit weak. Overall, the quality has been quite consistent.

Love Tōno! I call the white coffee as the feel-good-coffee. Love the subtle, light, and balanced sweetness of it, which I can drink anytime of the day (unlike the super strong Vietnamese coffee.) The owner, I think 🤔, is quite friendly and making small talks to the customer with his gentle soothing voice. There's no restroom available as it's like a pop-up shop, but the tiny bar is very well-kept and super clean. The atmosphere was calm at 9am. Easy parking on the street as well. Definitely come back for the matcha next time!

It does only one thing, and that is coffee which is great for coffee purists. It’s located in the lobby of a residential building, so there isn’t much space indoors to sit, but they have some chairs and tables outside, which is nice on a clear day. The menu is super simple. You can either choose coffee or coffee with milk or non-coffee drinks. I got the ice latte, which is simply espresso and oat milk and then sweetened with simple syrup. I asked for flavours but did not have any and they also did not ask me my choice for milk which makes me assume that they do all the drinks with oat milk, which is not a problem for me at all. The latte was super creamy and smooth. My only issue with the latte was that it wasn’t strong enough for me. I probably would have liked one more shot of espresso.

Tōno is a pretty cool little spot to grab a coffee. Not a huge selection of stuff, but given that it’s kind of a popup situation, that’s to be expected. What they do have is quite nice, however. The latte was delicious, and the PB&J rice crispy treat was quite good as well. Definitely recommend checking this place out. Do check their IG for hours, though. Google seems to be showing this place as being temporarily closed, but as of writing this, they aren’t.