Newest Coffee Shops in Hong Kong
With the proliferation of new cafés in recent months, coffee appreciation in our city is at an all-time high. But with appreciation comes competition—and these coffee masters are setting themselves apart from the crowd.
Space to Drink
It’s true that Hong Kong has been obsessed with coffee for quite some time now, but it wasn’t until earlier this year that coffee appreciation officially extended beyond the product itself, to embrace the lifestyle that it represents. Some of the most popular indie cafés last year were cozy spaces like Knockbox on Tai Ping Shan Street (now relocated to a more spacious venue at G/F, 21 Hak Po St., Mong Kok, 2781-0363), Il Caffe in Sheung Wan (now a two-story space at G/F, 50 Gage St., Central, 2545-6663) and Rabbithole in Central (now settling into a bigger facility at 3 Landale St., Wan Chai, 2528-0039)—places which arguably focused more on the science and techniques behind making a good brew, than on creating a comfortable environment to enjoy it in. The three shops have all since moved on to bigger and better spaces.
The new coffee shops of 2013, by contrast, are starting out as sizeable units right off the bat. Newcomer Lof 10 (G/F, 1 U Lam Terrace, Sheung Wan, 2540-2210) has taken the pains to import a whole culture—in this case, the West Coast lifestyle—to a lofty, airy space up on the isolated southern slopes of Sheung Wan. “Everyone in Hong Kong is so rushed,” says owner Eugene Chan, who runs his minimalistic and uniquely zen coffee shop alongside partner Marcus Liu. Having both spent time in Los Angeles, Chan and Liu decided to spread the West Coast gospel of chillaxation to time-pressed Hongkongers, with a venue that encourages patrons to linger.
The nearby Common Ground (19 Shing Wong St., Sheung Wan, 2818-8318) is another example of the West Coast influence. Proprietor Josh Ng, who runs the rustic-looking coffee and retail shop with his twin brother Caleb, says: “Hong Kong needs more neighborhood cafés, California-style, where you can hang out for a long time without someone hurrying you away.” Farther west, Opendoor Café (G/F, 120 Connaught Rd. West, Sai Ying Pun, 3460-3880) in Sai Ying Pun is a high-ceilinged venue that offers a relaxed setting to thoroughly enjoy a brew while browsing provocative wall pieces by artists, like graffiti maestro Mr. Mena. Bonus: Opendoor also offers almond milk-based drinks for coffee lovers who are lactose-intolerant.
The Real Deal
While knowing the origins of your beans is now an integral part of the coffee-drinking experience, one Hong Kong entrepreneur is taking it full-circle—by sourcing the cream of the coffee crop in one of the world’s most highly prized coffee-growing regions, and then labeling the final product as our city’s very own.
Sensing a gap in the market, Jim Coke decided to leave his cushy banking job to start Lily Kerridge and become a full-time coffee manufacturer. He sources his beans from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. “The terrain, altitude and climate make Blue Mountain pretty ideal for growing coffee,” Coke explains. The Blue Mountains produce arabica beans, deemed the more superior varietal in the coffee hierarchy. Coke makes sure his raw beans are certified by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica, then ships them to his plant in the New Territories, where he roasts them to the “Cinnamon roast” level, just before the first “crack”—named for the sound the beans make when they reach 200°C.
The whole manufacturing process takes place in Hong Kong, with the coffee products packaged in hemp sacks made by a crafter in Tin Shui Wai. And the coffee itself? The flavor profile is generally mild and delicate, with less intensity and acidity than beans from, say, Kenya or Ethiopia. The aftertaste is smooth and rarely bitter. But don’t be fooled by the many purported Jamaica Blue Mountain products on the market, because in reality a lot of them don’t have official approval from the Jamaican government. Coke advises consumers to look for an authentic logo from the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica on any Blue Mountain coffee product, or to cross-check the item against the government website to ensure authenticity. Meanwhile, you can sample Coke’s own coffee products at Think Café (Shop B, 19/F, Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Rd., Causeway Bay, 2155-9677): proudly made in Hong Kong.
Method Men
Shiny, fancy espresso machines—which force pressurized hot water through a “puck” of coffee grounds—might help a barista look the part, but cafés that strive to differentiate themselves further will also offer plenty of other brewing methods to the discerning drinker. “Hand-drip coffee has many layers, and expresses different characteristics at different temperatures,” says Nick Wan, owner of the small, trendy Tamper Coffee Company (Shop G3, 3 Granville Circuit, Tsim Sha Tsui, 9728-1285). Wan carefully measures the coffee grounds, uses an exact amount of water and filters everything through a Hario V60 drip cone to make each cup of hand-drip coffee. Generally these coffees are more subtle and nuanced compared to your intense machine-made espressos. Coffees can also be made by vacuum-driven siphon makers—Jim Coke’s Blue Mountain coffees are served this way at Think Café—and a myriad of other methods: think cold “ice drip” coffee, Turkish brews or “Aeropress” hand-pumped shots. Cafés that take their brewing seriously will be offering you at least a handful of these options—it’s partly showmanship, but also a way for genuinely passionate coffeemakers to get the best out of every kind of bean. We’re living in a coffee renaissance. Grab a cup, and start sipping.