Before the Coffee Gets Cold cover art

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

By: Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot - translator
Narrated by: Arina Ii
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.99

Buy Now for $16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

The million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s uplifting Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?


In a cosy back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe 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.

Prepare to meet the next four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’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 Alzheimer's
- see their sister one last time, and
- 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 cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

‘This book broke my heart, took the pieces, and put them back together in a messy and beautiful way. . . '
-@well.read.woman on Instagram


Continue the beautifully moving storytelling with Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, Before We Say Goodbye and Before We Forget Kindness - all out now!

©2019 Toshikazu Kawaguchi (P)2019 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
City Life Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Science Fiction Time Travel Urban Fantasy Heartfelt City

What listeners say about Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    104
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    127
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    90
  • 4 Stars
    51
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional

I love the premise and it is beautifully written/translated. The performance is appropriate to the vibe of the stories and characters. I am looking forward to books two and three.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very Japanese

A friend recommended this book. I found myself speeding through it as it was quite slow to get moving & I feel lacking substance. Didn’t ‘dislike’ it but was glad to get it finished which I feel isn’t the point of reading.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A delightful listen

I enjoyed the book, performance and especially story. As I dive into more literature like this, I look forward to what is in store.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable story of hope and possibilities.

A well read story of hope and possibility. Interesting characters with depth and personality. Looking forward to a sequel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mid

The story itself had an awesome concept, however it was executed poorly and the writing was a bit sloppy at some points.

All of the stories followed some sort of grief, whether it was a breakup or loss of someone they loved. The first story wasn’t my favourite, the main character being so annoying. However, the other three stories I found good, and even shed a few tears over

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoy your coffee

What a beautiful story and the narrator really makes it perfect. Highly recommended. Slow and cosy but worth every second

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly touching

I absolutely loved this book. It was moving, captivating and very well written. Be prepared for some tears!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Book club read

This wasn't my usual read. A little slower paced, but lovely messages inside, around regret, sorrow and loss. It could make you introspective. I had to listen at 1.4 speed and will likely not follow up with the others in the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Remarkable story

the stroyline was very touching, but the narrative was so insentient and lifeless... the audio book would have been more interesting with a different narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Different, deep & beautiful

Different, to what I would normally read, but this was a bookclub read.
A little slow at times, and took a while to get into, and found the characters a bit hard to work out who was who to start with. But each chapter was beautiful and finished with a lovely feeling. Worth the listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.