Blue Steam Coffee vs. Café Pigment
Shibuya at dusk. A bidet and a bar of soap. One of them was playing music.
Blue Steam Coffee
Blue Steam's third outing revealed the limits of the playlist. Audible through two walls and a fire door, it cost three Silence points. The Aquarius performed as before. The yuzu was unchanged. The playlist, regrettably, was also unchanged.
Café Pigment
Café Pigment arrived in Shibuya with the same lemongrass bar and the same kiln hum. The INAX Satis G outperformed the Aquarius on two of five measures, a result this publication attributes to the quiet confidence of Japanese industrial design.
Scorecard
The verdict
Café Pigment wins on Silence and Scent — the two categories least amenable to technology. Blue Steam's 5 in Silence is the season's low point and a direct consequence of the playlist. The publication offers no further comment on the playlist.