Hong Kong's 12 Best Coffee Shops
The past year has seen a wellspring of quality coffee shops emerge, to our overcaffeinated delight. Here are a few great new finds along with some long-time favorites.
Knockbox Your Socks Off
Having since retired from its Sheung Wan digs in 2011, Knockbox Coffee has become one of the standing fixtures of the Mong Kok hipster enclave on Hak Po Street. This place takes its coffee seriously: what you get is an artisanal cup of top-grade coffee—and friendly, knowledgeable service. Knockbox serves single-origin grounds traceable down to the lot and estate, which they roast in-store every week. Coffee geeks will be pleased to find a full arsenal of artisan brewing tools: so pick your poison from Aeropress to pourover to syphon techniques. They’re also one of the only coffee shops that serves Cascara—a light, refreshing tea made from leftover coffee cherries, often steeped with spices. Pay a visit on Friday nights from 6-10pm to taste-test unlimited specialty coffee with a shot glass in hand ($80 per head, open to all).
Cost of a cuppa: long black $28; iced drip $40.
G/F, 21 Hak Po St., Mong Kok, 2781-0363, knockboxcoffee.hk.
Filter it Out
Walking into Filters Lane is a little intimidating: there are all kinds of contraptions straight out of some kind of steampunk exhibition, and the coffee is equally as complicated. It’s certainly not your average café, taking extra care with its hand-poured coffee—with some that taste more like delicate, floral teas than your usual bitter, dark roast. The milk-based drinks are especially notable, as the baristas here don’t use any syrups: the mocha is made with real chocolate, and the green tea latte uses matcha powder.
Cost of a cuppa: filter coffee $55; mocha $48.
111 Caine Rd., Mid-Levels, 2517-1868.
Get in the Filter Lane
Hershey’s Kisses
It might not be the best-kept secret in town but if you don’t know about Hazel & Hershey, get over there ASAP. It’s been serving up direct-trade beans straight from farmers and roasts all of its beans in-house. Not only does it have fantastic coffee, but the shop also doubles as a retail boutique, featuring awesome gear from brands such as Mazzer, Kitting, Bonavita, Kalita and Hario. Geeking out? Enroll to learn more about the art of coffee making—Hazel & Hershey is an authorized Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) professional training center that works with baristas from all over.
Cost of a cuppa: long black $30; cold press $60.
Shop 3, 69 Peel St., 3106-0760.
Stay Grounded
Despite being tucked away in the back of Gough Street’s painfully cool WOAW lifestyle store, Elephant Grounds is not obnoxiously hipster. Don’t get us wrong: it is hipster, but the design and atmosphere is done well—friendly baristas, an approachable menu and a pleasant little outdoor balcony. “All the ingredients used in our espresso-based drinks are homemade using natural ingredients,” says barista Kevin Chow. “We even make our own chocolate ganache, though generally we try to go light on the sugar.” Indeed, the vanilla latte stays well away from candy bar territory, while the Yivgarcheffe Adada drip coffee packs fruity, complex flavors you’d never find in a run-of-the-mill Americano. Visit from Friday to Sunday for a weekend special: the homemade ice cream sandwiches are worthy of a special pilgrimage.
Cost of a cuppa: drip coffee $60; latte $40.
11 Gough St., Sheung Wan, 2253-1313.
Coffee not elephants in this room
Liquid Gold
With a café in Quarry bay for the past six years or so, a more recent extended kiosk in Fortress Hill, and another branch soon to open in TST, Espresso Alchemy has become a permanent fixture with the local bean brigade. Sourcing from around the world, the company also sells wholesale, with owner and “certified coffee grader” Ambrose Peter Law the brains behind the blends. Barista Leo recommended a hand-drip brew, using a Colombian origin bean, which he produced through an elaborate process involving several receptacles, one of which looked like it was borrowed from a science lab. The water temperature for this particular brew had to be 92°C, important because different temperatures affect the taste. In this case, it was sweet and well balanced, with low acidity and just enough of a caffeine kick.
Cost of a cuppa: latte $33, long black $30.
Shop 8, 4-6 Hoi Wan St., Quarry Bay, 2613-2638; G/F, @Convoy, 169 Electric Rd., Fortress Hill, 2508-6661.
Do or Zai
Literally meaning “strong black coffee” in Cantonese, Zai Fé does what it says on the tin. The Italian-style espresso bar was founded by three coffee lovers—Freda Lai, Wendy Tsui and Tim Shepherd—who wanted an alternative to artificially flavored coffee drinks. The café serves up unapologetically strong and fresh coffee, as well as natural “infusions” such as lavender and lemon or spicy chili.
Cost of a cuppa: espresso $21; long black $26.
22-28 Finnie St., Quarry Bay, 2169-3003; 1/F, 73 Wyndham St., Central; APM LG Millennium City 5, 418 Kwun Tong Rd., Kwun Tong.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Kick back and relax at Rabbithole, which comes complete with a whole bunch of different coffee machines for making different styles of brews—as you would expect any coffee shop worth its salt. Keen to take your coffee addiction to the next level? Rabbithole also offers a variety of classes: learn basic knowledge in hand-drip coffees ($460); master latte art skills ($420); or fuel your addiction further in a coffee tasting class ($480), in which you get to try rarer types of coffee beans from around the world.
Cost of a cuppa: long black $33; single-origin espresso $30.
3 Landale St., Wan Chai, 2528-0039.
You Go Blend Coco
Blink and you might miss this narrow coffee shop on Queen’s Road West. Though Coco Espresso has since branched out to include three much more spacious locations, the original shop is a long-time HK Mag favorite. The tiny spot has all kinds of brewing techiques, including a science-lab worthy siphon to produce Australian-style coffee. “We are also seeing a lot more people looking for drip coffee,” says head barista Kayten Ho. “It is almost more like drinking a tea or a juice, because the slow process creates many layers and subtle flavors.” But the highlight here is the cold-brewed coffee, which takes 18 hours to make a batch of just 10 servings. Ho says that the lengthy process creates a much more unusual black coffee, that’s strong and full-bodied—served over ice, it’s a great secret weapon to combat a heavy Hong Kong summer.
Cost of a cuppa: drip $45; cold brew $65.
197 Queen’s Rd. Central; 2 Anton St., Wan Chai; Shop D, 50 Stanley St., Central; 7/F, Vanta Industrial Centre, 21-23 Tai Lin Pai Rd., Kwai Chung.
That’s Your Lot
Get your caffeine fix at Aussie coffeehouse Mansons Lot on relatively quiet Swatow Street in Wan Chai. The shop imports beans by Di Gabriel in Sydney, and offers some of the most intense brews in town. Grab a table by the breezy front portion of the café, or hide in a little nook at the back. For something sweet and milky go for the hearty flat white; for something strong and lethal go straight for the long black.
Cost of a cuppa: long black $38; flat white $40.
15 Swatow St., Wan Chai, 2362-1899.
So Academic
As its name suggests, The Coffee Academics bring a more cerebral approach to the caffeine scene, with education as a central theme—its 2,500-square-foot studio in Causeway Bay is a City & Guilds-certified training center. While that is also the location of its swanky flagship outlet, the more bijou branch in Wan Chai retains much of its big brother’s appeal. With exposed brickwork, a huge beaten copper bar and dark interiors, it is subdued and tempting. Although you’re looking at $100-plus for a hand-brewed artisan coffee produced using either “Clever Cup”, “Aeropress” or “Chemex” accessories (no, us neither), the house blend—a combination of Ethiopian Sidamo, Panama and Colombian beans offers well balanced acidity and sweetness, which hit the mark for us.
Cost of a cuppa: filter coffee $40; cappuccino $40.
Several locations, including 35-45 Johnston Rd, Wan Chai.
A Mansons lotta coffee
Make Some Room
If the industrial-chic interior and family-style tables at Cupping Room don’t win you over, then the coffee certainly will. This Sheung Wan hotspot has earned a reputation for its excellent house blends, single-origin espressos from Africa or Central America, and cold brews, as well as the healthy brunch and lunch options. Many of the egg dishes are served with generous portions of smoked salmon or avocado, while the lunch sets tend to veer Italian. If you’re looking for coffee accessories, you’ll find several contraptions, like a Japanese hand grinder that’s perfect for the office.
Cost of a cuppa: espresso $50; cold brew $50.
Shop LG, 287-299 Queen's Rd. Central (enter via Cleverly Street), Sheung Wan, 2799-3398.
Oh, Brother
Sheung Wan’s Brew Bros is a cozy little joint with super-friendly staff prepared to talk you through their food and coffee. While breakfast and lunch options revolve around the scrambled egg-on-bagel kind of theme, it’s the coffee you come for. The house blend is from Ethiopia, and it’s rich, creamy, fruity and perfectly balanced. These guys take their coffee seriously.
Cost of a cuppa: long black $28; latte $38.
Shop F2, LG/F, 33 Hillier St., Sheung Wan, 2572-0238.
Brew it bro
Roast with the Most
Recently launched in March, Coffee Roasters Asia offers a wholesale and retail order service for freshly roasted coffee beans delivered right to your door. With a facility in Aberdeen, beans are roasted on order to ensure the best quality brews. It sells four main types of whole bean blends that originate from all over the world—including a featured coffee estate each season for those who swear by single origin. You can sign up for a home or office coffee subscription so you’ll never be without an aromatic cup of joe. Nespresso devotees won’t be missing out either—Coffee Roasters’ blends also come in capsules that are compatible with Nespresso and LaVazza Blue machines.
10/F, Aberdeen Industrial Building, 236 Aberdeen Main Rd., 3468-2118, www.coffeeroasters.com.hk.
