% Arabica

% Arabica, also styled as % ΔRΔBICΔ, is a Japanese specialty coffee chain headquartered in Kyoto. The brand combines coffee retail with a highly recognizable visual identity: bright, restrained interiors, a prominent percentage-symbol logo, carefully composed storefronts, and location-specific architectural details. Its international flagship in Kyoto’s historic Higashiyama district also serves as the company’s global headquarters, linking the brand’s international image to a distinctly Japanese design context. The business was founded by Kenneth Shoji. After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake destroyed his house in Fukushima Prefecture, Shoji moved to Hong Kong and began developing a coffee business. He traveled to Hawaii and purchased a coffee farm, establishing a connection with coffee production in addition to café operations. The first % Arabica café opened in Hong Kong in 2013. In 2014, the brand opened its Kyoto flagship, which became the principal reference point for its Japanese identity and global presentation. % Arabica’s offer centers on espresso-based beverages, brewed coffee, coffee beans, and related coffee equipment. The brand is particularly associated with craft preparation and custom-made espresso machines manufactured in Seattle. These machines are intended to give baristas greater control over extraction and drink preparation. Its stores generally emphasize a limited, focused coffee menu rather than a broad food-service format, with beverages such as espresso, Americanos, lattes, and other specialty coffee preparations forming the core of the customer experience. The chain’s retail environment is a major part of its positioning. Stores are designed around clean lines, simple materials, and a restrained palette influenced by Japanese concepts of simple beauty. At the same time, the company adapts individual locations to their surroundings, using local architectural references and collaborations with architects and design studios including B.L.U.E. Architecture, ciguë, Nendo, Precht, and Puddle. This approach gives the chain a consistent global identity without making every café visually identical. International growth has largely occurred through franchise operations, while the three Kyoto locations are corporate managed. The network expanded from Hong Kong and Japan into markets across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Africa. Major expansion milestones included Thailand in 2020, the United States in 2021, and Taiwan, Indonesia, and South Korea in 2022. The first U.S. café opened in Dumbo, Brooklyn, on June 11, 2021. In August 2025, reference material reported 242 stores worldwide, including 88 in mainland China, making China the brand’s largest international market. The brand has cultivated a reputation as a design-led specialty coffee chain and has been described by Eater as a Japanese cult-favorite coffee shop. Its international profile has also been reinforced by industry recognition: during the 2022 London Coffee Festival, it won the Most Notable New Cafe award in the UK Coffee Awards. The company’s continuing challenge is to preserve a premium, locally sensitive café experience while scaling through a geographically diverse franchise network.

% Arabica emerged from Kenneth Shoji’s decision to build a coffee business after relocating to Hong Kong following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which destroyed his house in Fukushima Prefecture. Shoji traveled to Hawaii and purchased a coffee farm, giving the developing business an agricultural and sourcing dimension as well as a retail ambition. The first café opened in Hong Kong in 2013. This initial location established the brand outside Japan before the company had opened its signature Japanese site. In 2014, % Arabica opened a flagship café in Kyoto’s historic Higashiyama district. The site became both the company’s international flagship and its global headquarters. Kyoto provided a strong setting for the brand’s visual and cultural positioning: the café could present specialty coffee through a Japanese design lens while benefiting from the city’s international tourism and architectural heritage. The Kyoto locations remain distinctive within the business because the three cafés there are corporate managed, whereas most of the broader network operates through franchise arrangements. The company’s identity developed around the combination of coffee craft and visual simplicity. % Arabica uses custom-made espresso machines manufactured in Seattle, equipment designed to give baristas more control during preparation. Its cafés generally use clean, uncluttered interiors and adapt the basic brand language to local contexts. Rather than imposing one identical store design worldwide, the company has worked with architects and design studios including B.L.U.E. Architecture, ciguë, Nendo, Precht, and Puddle. These collaborations have helped produce location-specific spaces that retain a common minimalist character while responding to local architecture and surroundings. After establishing its early presence in Hong Kong and Kyoto, the chain expanded internationally through a primarily franchise-led model. Growth accelerated across Asia and the Middle East and later reached Europe, North America, and Africa. Thailand became a new market in June 2020, when the company opened a 250-square-metre café at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM. The location was described as the chain’s 48th global outpost. On June 11, 2021, % Arabica entered the United States with a store in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The network continued to widen in 2022. In August, the company opened its first Taiwan location near Taipei’s Elephant Mountain and its first Bali location at Kuta Beachwalk Mall. The Bali café was notable for being the first % Arabica store to eliminate plastic cups, a practice the brand stated would become a standard for future stores. In September, the chain opened its first South Korean location in Seoul’s Gangnam district; that opening was identified as the brand’s 113th global location. Mainland China became the company’s largest international market. By August 2025, reference material reported 242 stores worldwide, including 88 in mainland China. The international footprint also included Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Malaysia, Morocco, Hungary, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, France, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Oman, Taiwan, and South Korea. The brand’s reputation has been shaped as much by design and atmosphere as by its beverages. Eater characterized it as a Japanese cult-favorite coffee shop, while its 2022 UK Coffee Awards recognition at The London Coffee Festival provided external acknowledgment of its café concept. % Arabica’s history therefore reflects a hybrid growth strategy: a Kyoto-centered corporate identity, a franchise-based international network, specialty coffee production and preparation, and a store-design program that treats each café as part of the brand experience.

1. 2025Global network reaches 242 locations

   By August 2025, reference material reported 242 stores worldwide, including 88 in mainland China.

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2. 2022Taiwan and Bali expansion

   The first Taiwan café opened near Taipei’s Elephant Mountain and the first Bali store opened at Kuta Beachwalk Mall in August.

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3. 2022South Korea market entry

   The first South Korean café opened in Seoul’s Gangnam district in September, becoming the chain’s 113th global location.

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4. 2022UK Coffee Awards recognition

   % Arabica won the Most Notable New Cafe award at the UK Coffee Awards during The London Coffee Festival.

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5. 2021First U.S. location opens in Brooklyn

   The company opened its first United States café in Dumbo, Brooklyn, on June 11.

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6. 2020Thailand market entry

   A 250-square-metre café opened at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM in June, marking the company’s entry into Thailand and its 48th global outpost.

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7. 2014Kyoto Higashiyama flagship opens

   The company opened its international flagship in Kyoto’s historic Higashiyama district. The site also became the brand’s global headquarters.

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8. 2013First café opens in Hong Kong

   The first % Arabica café opened in Hong Kong, establishing the brand’s initial retail presence outside Japan.

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9. 2011Tōhoku earthquake influences the founder’s direction

   After the earthquake destroyed his house in Fukushima Prefecture, Kenneth Shoji moved to Hong Kong and began developing the coffee business that later became % Arabica.

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A premium, design-led specialty coffee chain combining Japanese minimalist aesthetics, craft coffee preparation, custom espresso technology, and globally localized cafés.

• Espresso-based beveragesCoffee beverages

  Espresso-based drinks form the central product category across % Arabica cafés. The brand is associated with carefully prepared espresso, milk-based drinks such as lattes, and other craft beverages made using custom espresso machines. The equipment is intended to give baristas greater control over preparation and extraction.

• Brewed and specialty coffeeCoffee beverages

  The café format also includes brewed and specialty coffee offerings. These products support the brand’s specialty-coffee positioning and allow stores to present coffee beyond conventional milk-based espresso drinks, although the exact menu varies by market and location.

• Coffee beansRetail coffee

  Coffee beans are part of the brand’s retail and specialty-coffee offer. The founder’s purchase of a coffee farm in Hawaii gave the business a connection to coffee cultivation as well as café service. Specific farm ownership arrangements, blends, and current sourcing details are not established in the supplied material.

• Coffee equipmentCoffee equipment

  The company uses custom-made espresso machines manufactured in Seattle. These machines are a notable part of the operating model because they are designed to provide baristas with more control while preparing craft coffee drinks. The supplied material does not identify a consumer equipment product range sold under the brand.

• 2022Adopt plastic-cup-free service at new locationsStrategy

  The company was opening new stores in Taiwan and Bali while continuing to develop its international operating standards.

  What changed. The Bali store at Kuta Beachwalk Mall became the first % Arabica location to forgo plastic cups, with the brand stating that the practice would be followed by all stores in the future.

  Aftermath. The policy was presented as a future standard for the chain, although the supplied material does not provide later implementation data.

  Source
• 2022Expand into Taiwan and South KoreaStrategy

  The chain was continuing its international rollout across East and Southeast Asia.

  What changed. It opened its first Taiwan café near Taipei’s Elephant Mountain in August and its first South Korean café in Seoul’s Gangnam district in September.

  Aftermath. The South Korean opening was identified as the company’s 113th global location.

  Source
• 2021Enter the United StatesStrategy

  Following expansion across Asian and Middle Eastern markets, % Arabica pursued a presence in North America.

  What changed. The company opened its first U.S. café in Dumbo, Brooklyn, on June 11, 2021.

  Aftermath. The Brooklyn store became the brand’s first United States location.

  Source
• 2020Enter Thailand through a large-format flagship-style caféStrategy

  The company was expanding its international franchise network and had reached 48 global outposts.

  What changed. It opened a 250-square-metre café at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM in June 2020.

  Aftermath. The opening established Thailand as a new market for the brand.

  Source

• 2025% Arabica reaches 242 stores worldwide

  Reference material reported that the chain had 242 locations globally by August 2025, with 88 stores in mainland China.

  Other
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• 2022% Arabica receives UK Coffee Awards recognition

  At The London Coffee Festival, % Arabica won the Most Notable New Cafe award in the UK Coffee Awards 2022.

  Other
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• 2022% Arabica expands to Taiwan and Bali

  The chain opened its first Taiwan café at the foot of Taipei’s Elephant Mountain and its first Bali location at Kuta Beachwalk Mall in August 2022.

  OtherProduct launch
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• 2022% Arabica opens first South Korean café

  The brand entered South Korea with a café in Seoul’s Gangnam district in September 2022. The opening was identified as the company’s 113th global location.

  OtherProduct launch
  Source
• 2021% Arabica opens first United States café in Brooklyn

  The brand opened its first U.S. location in Dumbo, Brooklyn, on June 11, 2021, extending its international café network into the United States.

  OtherProduct launch
  Source
• 2020% Arabica opens its first café in Thailand

  The chain entered Thailand in June 2020 with a 250-square-metre café at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM. The opening was reported as the brand’s 48th global outpost.

  OtherProduct launch
  Source

1. % Arabica