Guest Blog: Bacha Coffee opens its first location in Japan
Image credit: Yumi Nakatsugawa
Bacha Coffee, the Morocco-based global specialty coffee brand opened its first shop in Japan in December 2025. The location – Ginza in Tokyo, the most fashionable and prestigious commercial area – was carefully selected to suit this luxury coffee house. The shop has successfully attracted coffee connoisseurs from the beginning, and a long queue still continues in front of the shop.
The three-story store covers a total area of 377 square meters. It consists of a coffee boutique on the first floor and coffee rooms on the second and third floors with a maximum capacity of 40 seats. The coffee boutique sells over 200 varieties of 100 percent Arabica coffee beans, as well as coffee-related accessories. The coffee room on the second floor is named ‘1910’, and the other on the third floor is called ‘Marrakech’. These names signify the history of Bacha Coffee, which originated in Marrakech in 1910.
It was founded as part of the Dar el Bacha, a grand collection of stately buildings in the centre of the Marrakech medina (old town). Freshly brewed Arabica coffee was served there in the traditional Moroccan style and enjoyed by celebrities from around the world. However, the Dar el Bacha closed after World War II and the ownership reverted to the Moroccan government. After substantial restoration work, it reopened as the Museum of Cultural Confluences in 2017.
At the same time, Taha Bouqdib, a French Moroccan, was given the opportunity to renovate and reopen the coffee house in the courtyard of the museum. Bouqdib is the president, CEO and co-founder of the Singapore-based company, V3 Gourmet. This global luxury gourmet lifestyle group also owns TWG Tea, which has over 70 shops in 17 countries and regions as of March 2026. Bouqdib’s strategic capabilities in building brands in gourmet retail, fine dining, global distribution and digital experiences led to an invitation to restore the legendary coffee house in Marrakesh, which was then renamed Bacha Coffee.
Soon after the reopening of the original Marrakech location in 2019, Bacha Coffee opened its first overseas branch in Singapore that same year. Since then, the business has expanded around the world, with 43 shops in 16 countries and regions as of March 2026. Those outlets are operated through various structures, including subsidiaries, franchises and partnerships. The franchisee in Japan is Tokyu Gourmet Front Co., Ltd, which has operated TWG Tea in Japan since 2010 and now has eight stores.
Bacha Coffee purchases coffee beans from 35 coffee-producing regions, directly from farms and cooperatives selected by its own coffee procurement team. All green beans are transported to its roasting facility in Marrakech, where each coffee is carefully roasted in small batches, according to an individual suitable roasting profile within the medium roast range. Traditional drum roasters are used at lower temperatures.
In the coffee rooms, coffees are served in signature golden gooseneck coffee pots inspired by Arab design in the early 20th century. Each brew is accompanied by Bacha Coffee chantilly cream, raw sugar and cracked vanilla bean, rather than syrup, milk or any flavour-altering additives. No espresso drinks are served in the coffee rooms. Therefore, guests can enjoy the fullest flavour and aroma of each coffee in a traditional Moroccan manner.
Bacha Coffee intends to open more outlets in major cities in Japan and increase to 50 locations globally over the next ten years.
Tokyo-based Yumi Nakatsugawa is a long-time contributor to Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, covering both coffee and tea. She may be reached at: [email protected].
