Books & Coffee roasts its own coffee on-site, which changes things the moment you walk in: the smell gets there before anything else. The room mixes leather sofas, wooden tables, books you can pick up and read, and tea tins stacked everywhere. The menu runs to 130 tea references. The house coffee "Amour à Kyoto" was named Best European Espresso Blend at the Global Coffee Awards. Brunch runs on weekends. What happens here is fairly specific: the people who come tend to take what they drink seriously. They have a take on brewing method, they read the label before ordering. That kind of common ground shows up fast, and it makes people want to talk.