HONG KONG, March 8 — Considered the birthplace of si maht nai cha (literally “silk stocking milk tea), Hong Kong is a haven for lovers of sweet, milky tea.
Lately though, locals have begun to embrace Third Wave style drip coffee by way of Japan and Down Under. There’s no better time to discover Hong Kong’s little haven of beans and brews.
Start your Hong Kong coffee journey with a slow walk up a steep hill in Sheung Wan. It’s a bit of a slog but well worth it when you reach the top.
Housed in the retro-sounding Silver Jubilee Mansion is the Cupping Room Roastery, headquarters of the little bean empire founded in 2011 by former Hong Kong Barista Champion Kapo Chiu.
Entering the shop, you will observe a concrete affair in whites and greys accentuated by blonde wood. Most patrons are busy engaged in conversation with each other or staring deeply into their screens. Everyone has a cup of coffee, or two. Nothing fancy, just coffee.
But there is no such thing as just coffee at the Cupping Room. Today, the specialty coffee chain has several branches but the roastery is where most fans make their pilgrimage, the formidable Probat UG15 Retro roaster standing watch behind the bar.
And with good reason, for their coffee is quite wonderful and diverse, ever changing according to whatever beans are seasonal.
Right now it’s their competition selection, the fully washed Cerro Azul Geisha processed using a 15-hour fermentation that results in an incredibly well-balanced brew. Notes of lavender, concord grape and orange blossom make this a fine, rare cup.
Over at Causeway Bay, where another stalwart in Hong Kong’s specialty coffee scene had its start, there is a queue. The tiny café only sits 10 people at a time so the wait is part of its charm.
This is 18 Grams, supposedly named after the precise quantity of ground coffee beans before tamping to pull the perfect espresso shot.
Little wonder that 18 Grams began life as an espresso bar founded by coffee fanatic John So. Today, with multiple branches in Hong Kong, including outlets in Sheung Wan and Harbour City, So is joined by head roaster Kammie Hui, a former World Barista Championship judge. Most recently 18 Grams opened a café in Shenzhen, extending its reach to the mainland.
So what sets 18 Grams apart, besides its ambitious expansion plans? Like The Cupping Room, Hui sources green beans from around the world and roasts them in-house.
Every branch has its own unique espresso blend; the Wan Chai 18 Grams, for example, features the Roastery Lab Blend – a carefully calibrated mix of Guatemala Finca Ceylan Organic, Rwanda Buf Café Nyarusiza Red Bourbon and Kenya Nyeri Rukira AA — that forms a silky, slightly fruity base for flat whites.
Our barista took the trouble to explain the differences between various single origin beans. Names such as “Ethiopia Shara” and “Colombia Inza Cup #7” are only labels until we learn what to expect — notes of berries or of pineapple — and he encourages us to take a whiff of the freshly ground beans before he brews them for us.
18 Grams also has a six-month coffee subscription for home brewers (the seventh month of coffee beans is free). Those who are after a bit of fun with their beverages can try their more Instagram-friendly creations such as Coffee Whisky Sour, Bailey’s Mocha, Cappuccino Vienna and Red Velvet Latte. For purists though, stick to the drip coffee.
Nestled between Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon is the always-bustling Temple Street. There is always something to see here at all times of day and night, and as we exit the MTR Jordan Station, we are tempted by a fruit market here and a cha chaan teng there.
We remain resolute in our purpose, however, to hunt down the third and final stop of our Hong Kong coffee hop. From the outside, the shop appears unremarkable; inside the space is swamped by all manner of coffee brewing equipment, including the siphon or vacuum pot not commonly seen at other cafés in town.
Studio Caffeine — even its name announces how seriously they take their coffee — clearly has its pedigree; the shop has produced its fair share of award winners, including the 2017 Hong Kong Brewers Cup Champion Fong Chi Yin.
Unlike our first two stops, however, Studio Caffeine eschews roasting their own beans and instead sources single origin beans from celebrated roasters around the world.
You might be offered beans that have been roasted in Helsinki during one visit, and some that hail from San Francisco the next. Zac Chan, our friendly barista, suggested some washed Rwanda beans that have been roasted by Fjord Coffee in Berlin. He tells us we can choose from three brewing methods — pour-over, ice drip or siphon.
We opt for the latter and are rewarded with a brew that is delicate with a tea-like body and fruity notes of plums and blackcurrants. Chan advises us to try pouring our coffee into each of the two cups in turn; the one with the narrower rim, we observe, concentrates the aroma and allows it to linger longer in our mouths.
It’s the taste of great coffee and of another side of Hong Kong we’ve never experienced before.
Cupping Room Roastery
Shop 8, Silver Jubilee Mansion, 62-72 Po Hing Fong, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Open daily 9am-5pm
Tel: +852 3705 0208
www.cuppingroom.hk
18 Grams
15 Cannon Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Open Mon-Fri 8am-7pm; Sat-Sun 8am-8pm
Tel: +852 2893 8988
www.18grams.com
Studio Caffeine
284 Temple St, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong
Open Mon-Sat 8am-10pm; Sun 8am-6pm
Tel: +852 2793 3480
www.facebook.com/StudioCaffeine
