High-quality of Coffee is Available at “cafe MONDOOR” Near Itoman Public Market

Itoman City is known as “the fishermen’s town,” and the fishing industry is flourishing in this city. The traditional events of Chinese calendar take place here, and the tradition and custom remain here. Takumi Ikoma and his wife Yuko fell in love with this city and opened “cafe MONDOOR” near Itoman Public Market. 



Mr. & Mrs. Ikoma traveled around the world together. Takumi said, “We had been thinking about opening a café in Itoman for 5 years. But first, we wanted to break down stereotypes. After living in Australia for 2 years, we traveled 32 countries. By seeing and learning many things, and drinking coffee in many places, we thought we can do something interesting and apply this experience to manage our café. That was why we traveled to many countries and returned to Itoman. Itoman is one of them, but we realized old towns are interesting after traveling the world.” He told me the reason why he decided to open the café in Itoman quietly but passionately. 



To apply their experience through their trip, they added a coffee called “Mondoor Blend” (HOT 450 yen / ICE 500 yen) on the menu. “Usually, the image of blended coffee is reasonable and same old coffee. But we wanted to break down its stereotype. That is why we only serve a blended coffee with high-quality, as known as specialty coffee.” Takumi explained.



2 kinds of Ethiopian coffee beans (the origin of coffee) and Costa Rican specialty coffee beans are used for “Mondoor Blend.” The characteristic of it is its unique and sweetness and bright coffee aroma. This unique shape of coffee cup was made by an up-and-coming potter Yoshiaki Imamura who also owns a studio near Itoman Public Market. The handle has the shape of doorknob. When I grabbed this handle and had a coffee, I felt like its aroma and flavor are seducing me to travel far far away.



Also, the blended coffee beans are also used for making espresso. “Espresso Tonica” is popular as well. The drink is made with cold espresso cooled with ice shake and mixed with tonic water. Once customers order it, they order it repeatedly. 



According to Takumi, “Some people might not like espresso when they had a sip, but they can drink and finish this cold drink, and it is perfect for the climate of Okinawa.” The aroma of lime spreads immediately, and it is easy to drink since it is semi-sweet. Also, the taste gets different when you drink it with a straw, so why don’t you try it?



And, the most popular menu is “Gateau Chocolat (400 yen).” It is baked by adding a little bit of espresso that I mentioned earlier. It is soft, and it feels like it melts once you put it in your mouth. Takumi told me, “I remember that a customer from Sapporo said it feels like the snow in Hokkaido melts.” Not too sweet but bitter taste can be enjoyable from this cake.



Would you like to have a coffee in a port town with a calm atmosphere? You might feel like traveling all over the world.

 

Address: 967-11-2F Itoman, Itoman City
Business Hours: 11:00-20:00 (Lunch Hour: 11:00-15:00) 
                       *opens until 15:00 only on Tuesday
Tel: 080-3187-2319
URL: http://www.mondoor.net/


Okinawa CLIP photo writer Hiroshi Kuwamura