How to Purchase Fresh Coffee at 7-Eleven Convenience Store in Japan - New Year's Japan Travel Day 3

Monday, February 26, 2018

How to Purchase Fresh Coffee at 7-Eleven Convenience Store in Japan - New Year's Japan Travel Day 3

My husband and I traveled Japan during this New Year's holidays. As I mentioned in my previous entry, we took a complete medical checkup, ningen doc (人間ドック), at a hospital located in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. After that, we went to 7-Eleven convenience store and had small bread and fresh iced coffee. That coffee was so good! :)

Did you know that fresh coffee from convenience stores has been very popular in Japan? Their fresh coffee is affordable and tastes actually better than coffee from Starbucks! If you have ever had coffee from a 7-Eleven in the U.S., you know how cheap the quality of convenience store's fresh coffee is (Sorry, but it's true!), but Japanese 7-Eleven's coffee isn't like that. If you are in Japan and haven't had 7-Eleven's fresh coffee, you really should try one! Today, I'm going to share how to get fresh coffee at 7-Eleven in Japan with you. :)

How to Get Fresh Coffee at 7-Eleven in Japan

1. Pay it first

For Hot Coffee or Hot Cafe Latte
If you would like to have hot coffee or hot cafe latte, you can tell a cashier that you want hot coffee (or hot cafe latte) and its size. The cashier will give you an empty paper cup.

・If you would like to have regular size hot coffee, you can say, "Hot coffee no regular size kudasai (ホットコーヒーのレギュラーサイズください。)".
・If you would like to have large size hot coffee, you can say, "Hot coffee no large size kudasai (ホットコーヒーのラージサイズください。)".
・If you would like to have regular size hot cafe latte, you can say, "Hot cafe latte no regular size kudasai (ホットカフェラテのレギュラーサイズください。)".

For Iced Coffee or Iced Cafe Latte
If you would like to have iced coffee or iced cafe latte, you can take out a plastic cup which contains plenty of ice cubes from a freezer, and take it to the register.
アイスコーヒー: Iced Coffee
アイスカフェラテ: Iced Cafe Latte
アイスカフェラテ (ビーズ): Iced Cafe Latte : The cup contains micro beads of rich milk for superior taste.
When we visited 7-Eleven, they also had Iced Caramel Latte (アイスキャラメルラテ), which contains micro beads of caramel. I think Iced Caramel Latte is only available locally for now.

The cups for iced coffee are next to an ice cream freezer.

2. Brew Your Coffee
Then, go to a 7-Eleven's coffee maker.

Open the clear plastic door of the coffee maker, and place the cup in it. (Before placing the plastic cup, remove the plastic cover of the cup.)

If you purchased hot cafe latte or iced cafe latte (a clear iced cafe latte cup), place the cup in the left area. If you purchased hot coffee or iced coffee, place the cup in the right area. If you purchased iced cafe latte with micro beads (a black plastic cup), place the cup in the right area.

Press the button. If you purchased a regular cup, press "R" button. If you purchased a large cup, press "L" button. The machine will start grinding coffee beans and brew fresh coffee for you.

Take out your coffee from the machine.

Straws, lids, syrup and cream are located next to the machine. Enjoy!

After getting coffee at 7-Eleven, we went to JINS to purchase his eyeglasses. As I mentioned in my previous entry, Must Go to Place in Japan - Affordable Eyeglass Stores, JINS and Zoff, if you wear eyeglasses and are planning on visiting Japan, you should check eyeglasses stores there. I'll write about it next time. :)