Three Hong Kong Coffee Shops That Get It Right

May 22, 2012 at 12:04 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (0)

Straight up, we're just going to say that serious coffeeshops in Hong Kong have only taken a couple years to evolve from being nonexistent, to doing brews and service to a standard beyond that of most places in the Western Hemisphere. HK just moves that quickly, and coffee is the latest focus for a city brought up on Chinese green tea and proper British milk tea.

During our most recent visit to Hong Kong, we discovered Three Coffee Shops That Get It Right. And, just as the baristas learned our name, we had to fly back home. So do stop by and have a pour-over for us, hm?

· Knockbox Coffee
Jonathan waxed philosophic on the Costa Rica Finca San Francisco while preparing a perfect pour-over coffee. "It's on my secret menu," he whispered with a wink, and proceeded to share the details of a few other beans he currently had the hots for. Whatever he said about cupping and flavor hints we quickly forgot, but Knockbox on its own is a place we've nailed into our memory as an HK must-visit. The very tiny, hard-to-find coffeeshop is a single room with one table of a few chairs and two barstools for watching the action on the counter. We suggest nabbing the latter in order to be eye-level with your coffee as it bubbles up from the vacuum brewer.

Knockbox's menu is all coffee—no flaky croissants to dilute the focus. Half of the menu are their own roasted beans, while the other half features up to three foreign roasters, most recently Stumptown (USA), Square Mile (UK) and Koppi (Sweden). Or, you know, you can just ask if there's anything new and good, which is how we ended up doing a tasting of Yemeni coffees.
Coffee not your thing? You're in luck, as around the corner is the very cute Teakha, like Knockbox for tea.
Neighborhood: Sheung Wan/Mid-Levels. 14 Tai Ping Shan Street (look for the tiny sandwich board on the street; it's the only sign).

· Cafe Loisl
If there's one thing about Hong Kong that we really love, it's their admiration for (and sometimes devotion to recreating) other international cultures. Take for instance this neighborhood secret, which is about as Viennese as you can get, with the exception that the waiters flip between English and Cantonese and the patrons are chic Hong Kong locals instead of old, bristly Austrian men. We ordered Apfelstrudel and an Einsp�nner, the latter an espresso drink we've not even seen in New York (yet).
Neighborhood: Sheung Wan. 8 Tai On Terrace (tucked next to the bottom of one of the Pound Lane staircases).

· Rabbithole Roasters
There something going on in Asia with coffeeshops, and the way they design the space to facilitate more interaction between the baristas and the appreciative drinkers. We saw it in Singapore, and now we see it here: a layout that's more like a communal kitchen than a "who's next in line?" Starbucks. Two stories up from the street (so you have to climb a shady stairwell) and with a view straight out to the famous Mid-Levels Escalator, Rabbithole feels like you've somehow stumbled into a private meeting space that just happens to be kitted out with the best and latest in coffee technology.

Sit at the single table (or on the tiny back porch, if the weather isn't too muggy) and actually say more to your barista than "a large latte, please." Imagine being able to do that. It's possible here.
Neighborhood: Central/Escalators. 26 Cochrane Street, 2nd Floor (Take the escalator up 'til you see Rabbithole on the left, then get off at the next street and circle back down via the sub-escalator steps).

[Photos: Cynthia Drescher]

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