PROJECT chicaGO: Sawada Coffee
A letter to my new friend
Dear Military Latte from Sawada Coffee,
Hey there, dirty green drink! It was so nice to meet you the other week on a bright Saturday afternoon. This is just a short letter of apology, confession, and thanks I wanted to share with you as we are just embarking into building our new friendship.
First off, I just wanted to say thank you for your warm hospitality. Your place is definitely one of its kind. The rust, lights, big glassed windows and tall ceiling—I love every detail of it. It was great hanging out with you at your cozy and personable space with simply 15-seaters.
I know your boss Brendan Sodikoff likes to keep his places feel away from the world outside and cherish the “dream inside” by intentionally choosing to have few windows. But with your space, Sawada Coffee, the huge glassed-windows that cover almost the entire side of a wall actually allow people to feel disconnected from the busy streets outside as they sit down to stare at what’s all the hassle for.
I have to say, when I went up to the counter to meet you, I was a little surprised. $5.75 (12oz)!? I saw my friends post selfies with you, raving about how delightful you are. But including tax, you were easily over $6. SIX DOLLARS!
So I decided to skip dropping some tip into the big glassed jar. As I did, I glanced and noticed that small Japanese beverage can that holds pens next to the tip jar. For some reason, this tiny thing brought me back to my memories from my trip to Kobe, Japan that I went two summers a go to visit my extended family.
I have this cute little diva niece in Kobe, who’s 1/4th Korean and 3/4th Japanese. When I visited her that summer, she was in second grade. On the last day of my trip, she dragged me aside at a department store, pointed to me an aisle with different matcha on display, and demanded me in her broken Korean to pick one that I want. I don’t speak or read Japanese. So I asked her for help to explain to me how each matcha is different from another. At the end, I picked one that she recommended—a kind that’s sweet and dissolvable in cold water—then she grabbed one packet of it, went up to the counter, bought it, and presented it to me as a goodbye gift. Her mom, my cousin, later whispered and told me that it’s very unusual for her to buy a gift for others out of her own pocket. Apparently the kid keeps her money away from everyone and saves one penny at a time. Hilariously adorable, right?
Anyways, okay, back to talking about us. So the bottom line is, I was judging. You felt a little too bougie for me. People kept telling me that I have to go meet you and that I’m going to love you. But, to be honest, I wasn’t sure. I was hesitant to believe how great you are from already seeing your astounding and beautiful portraits from social media. The layers of white and green feathers of milk foam and dots of brown espresso along your round chin—you just looked too perfect and beautiful. “Never judge a book by its cover,” you know? Plus, I’ve already tasted great matcha from my trip to Japan and that in my mind, nothing was going to beat the taste of matcha that my niece got for me that I cherished drinking at home one cup at a time over a good year or so. But, I’m here to confess to you—I was wrong and I’m sorry.
You are absolutely kind, good at listening, gentle, and deep. I can’t wait to hang out with you again sometime. I am normally a black-coffee drinker. But you are authentic and true to your colors. And I had to take a shame-less/bandwagon selfie with you because you are beautiful inside and out. Maybe next time you can introduce me to your friends, Boozy Steamers and Cold Brew too. Thanks for taking time meeting me for the first time! I hope to see you soon.
Till next time,
Jo
P.S. I wonder what my niece would think of you. She’s still a little one, so no dirty drinks/coffee for her yet. But I bet she’d go right ahead and introduce herself to you and tell you proudly that she’s also from Japan. She’ll judge you hardcore too. haha I’ll let her know about you the next time I’m on the phone with her.
Sawada Coffee
112 North Green Street
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sawadacoffee/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SawadaCoffee/
