Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Emotional
Touching
Meaningful

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

What would you change if you could go back in time? In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café's time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know. But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . . Toshikazu Kawaguchi's beautiful, moving story - translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot - explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?
Sign up to use

Reviews

Photo of Mai
Mai@maireads
5 stars
Jan 6, 2025
Sweet
Touching
Exciting
Addictive
Feel good
Page turning
Heartwarming
Photo of Ash
Ash@godlessrage
4.5 stars
Dec 22, 2024
Photo of anatolian
anatolian @nurrur
3.5 stars
Dec 20, 2024
Photo of victoria lim
victoria lim@vickiminaj
4.5 stars
Nov 13, 2024
Emotional
Meaningful
Photo of Raya Barreiro
Raya Barreiro@rayabarreiro
5 stars
Nov 13, 2024
Unique
Candid
Vibrant
Creative
Original
Photo of Sophie
Sophie@ferawynslibrary
5 stars
Nov 8, 2024
Deep
Layered
Charming
Fascinating
Page turning
Photo of marie
marie@marievol6
5 stars
Nov 8, 2024
Photo of Tali 🧸ִֶָྀི𓂃
Tali 🧸ִֶָྀི𓂃@cuntscapade
5 stars
Oct 25, 2024
Pure
Creative
Fast paced
Unpredictable
Photo of yna
yna@ynana
3.5 stars
Oct 2, 2024
Photo of debbie <3
debbie <3@debbiereadslittle
3.5 stars
Oct 2, 2024
Deep
Meaningful
Photo of gitsa
gitsa@saturned
5 stars
Sep 29, 2024
Photo of Alexandra
Alexandra@librairy
5 stars
Sep 20, 2024
Touching
Beautiful
Emotional
Insightful
Heartbreaking
Photo of Kayla Pham
Kayla Pham@okay_reads
4 stars
Sep 17, 2024
Photo of Sarah Chauvidon
Sarah Chauvidon@sassofsarah
4.5 stars
Sep 7, 2024
Sweet
Unique
Charming
Touching
Original
Beautiful
Inventive
Easy read
Feel good
Delightful
Meaningful
Refreshing
Page turning
Heartwarming
Photo of Emiley Jones
Emiley Jones@emileyjones
3 stars
Aug 25, 2024
Sweet
Repetitive
Photo of Demi
Demi@demijayy
4.5 stars
Aug 10, 2024
Heartbreaking
Photo of Maureen
Maureen@bluereen
3 stars
Jul 27, 2024
Photo of Katerina
Katerina@katerinasbooks
4 stars
Jul 24, 2024
Photo of Lea
Lea@holyfolktales
4 stars
Jul 22, 2024
Photo of Nat
Nat@fawntone
5 stars
Jul 18, 2024
Photo of Anna
Anna @ann_omalia
2 stars
Jul 13, 2024
Photo of Kiran Aftab
Kiran Aftab@sworddesired
3 stars
Jul 10, 2024
Photo of haewon
haewon@wontonbook
5 stars
Jul 9, 2024
Photo of Gelaine Trinidad
Gelaine Trinidad@gelaine
4 stars
Jul 5, 2024

Highlights

Photo of Aina
Aina@ainer
Page 148
Photo of Aina
Aina@ainer
Page 5
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of Srijita Sarkar
Srijita Sarkar @srijita
Photo of yearner.
yearner.@shinestar
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of yearner.
yearner.@shinestar
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of demeter <3
demeter <3@aura_books
Page 141
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of akshita
akshita@akuuzky
Photo of akshita
akshita@akuuzky
Photo of demeter <3
demeter <3@aura_books
Page 104
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Jessica Turner
Jessica Turner@jessturn06
Page 148
Photo of Julia Rutgers
Julia Rutgers@juul
Page 148
Photo of Rebecca Lum
Rebecca Lum@reblum
Page 192
Photo of Rebecca Lum
Rebecca Lum@reblum
Page 122
Photo of ℛ.
ℛ.@moilady
Page 60
Photo of ℛ.
ℛ.@moilady
Page 60
Photo of Ingrid
Ingrid@ingrid
Page 234
Photo of Zoe Kelly
Zoe Kelly@zkelly1999
Photo of Hatice.reads
Hatice.reads@hatice
Page 9