what to read.me
Sample page Before the Coffee Gets Cold cover 📖 peek inside

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

★★★★☆ 3.65 (719 026 ratings)
2015 · 213 pages · ~3h 33m read · Fiction

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café that 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. Through four interconnected stories, visitors confront their pasts to find closure with loved ones. With strict rules-including the necessity to return before the coffee gets cold-this poignant novel explores the enduring power of regret, hope, and the human spirit.

Widely read around the world. Estimated 5 million readers.

Atmosphere: FantasticalVibe: TenderPacing: Fast-paced
philosophyfamilymagic

Notable Quotes

"At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present doesn't change."
"Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity. Emotions also seem to act according to gravity. When in the presence of someone with whom you have a bond, and to whom you have entrusted your feelings, it is hard to lie and get away with it. The truth just wants to come flowing out. This is especially the case when you are trying to hide your sadness or vulnerability. It is much easier to conceal sadness from a stranger, or from someone you don’t trust."
"I was so absorbed in the things that I couldn’t change, I forgot the most important thing."

Built by Dominik. I couldn't find a simple way to pick what to read next - so I've made this.

© 2026 what to read.me