Coffee Shop - Kitamura Coffee in Happy Valley Hong Kong

So what is the minimum investment to make a good cup of coffee? An espresso machine with combo grinder will set you back for around HK$6,000 minimum. A set of cheap siphon or a french press jug will cost a few hundred dollars. But if you come to Kitamura coffee, you will find out that the minimum investment is a grinder, either hand or electric, a simple set of filter and some freshly roasted coffee beans.

Single origin Peruvian coffee beans roasted on location that day.

Kitamura coffee is probably the longest surviving locally roasted coffee shop in Hong Kong. Opened in 2003, it has moved its location a few times and now located on the second floor of an apartment building in  one of Happy Valley's many side-streets. Inside a tiny apartment, Kyoko Kitamura serves you coffee from beans that are not just locally roasted but roasted on location. There are no fancy equipments just a grinder and a few filter holders. The brewing method is "pour over" which allows more control over the brewing temperature and time of the coffee.

You must be thinking - jee I can do that as well, pouring hot water over ground coffee!!

If you thinking the same, you should read an excerpt from the web-link below:
http://417coffee.com/2010/11/15/all-analog-hand-brewed-coffee/Excerpt - The barista dampen the filters, insert a precise measure of grounds, and then slowly and smoothly pour the hot water over the grounds, often using a funky looking teapot with a spout specifically designed to give the most controlled pour possible.  The weight and time and temperature are watched closely in order to achieve a good cup of coffee that brings out both the highs and lows of the coffee being brewed, usually a single origin coffee.  The pourover method creates a clean cup of coffee that typically balances out the flavors available in the coffee, and as Tom Pikaart at PouredOver.com notes in the Oregonian article, it typically brings out the floral or fruity essences in delicate coffees — flavors that otherwise might be missed using a French press or other brewing method.

If you like a smooth, clean cup of mild aromatic coffee, you should head over to Kitamura. You might discover all the floral and fruity notes that people keep talking about but you never quite get.

Address: 2/F, 4 Shing Ping Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
http://www.kitamuracoffee.com/

Note - the photos were taken by iPhone.

Coffee Shop - Espresso Alchemy in Quarry Bay Hong Kong

Peter Lau, the owner focusing on brewing

When mum and dad visited Espresso Alchemy (EA) last Sunday, there was no references on the web and the physical location was in existence for just over 2 weeks. The only reason why they knew its existence was because Daniel at KC Coffee mentioned during the coffee appreciation class.

As they didn't go there on purpose, all the pictures were taken using the small Nikon Coolpix AW100.

EA is one of the coffee shops which uses locally roasted beans. The espresso was the best cup he had experienced in Hong Kong and she was impressed by the piccolo latte. The espresso was low in acidity, great texture and full of citrusy flavor. If you work in Quarry Bay, it's definitely worth giving it a try.

Their hot chocolate was like a cup of melted chocolate with a bit of milk. If you like a thick cup of chocolate on a cold wintry evening, you will like it.

Address: 4-6 Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong

One of the staff was still drawing up the white-board with the shop's alchemy signs, the 4 elements of good coffee.

Piccolo latte - also known as caffe macchiato - espresso with a smaller amount of milk than a typical latte

Like liquid gold - one sip and it's all gone, so make sure you smell before you drink. 

Coffee Shop - 18 Grams in Causeway Bay Hong Kong

The one thing missing after the delicious desserts from Tony Wong Patisserie (TWP) was a cup of good strong coffee. Since attending the coffee appreciation class, there are a few more coffee shop names on mum & dad's checklist. 18 Grams is one of them and one is located not far from TWP in Cannon Street, Causeway Bay. The location of the shop is prominent among the shops along this tiny stretch of street next to World Trade Centre. The decor is hip and it has a tiny but well equipped kitchen which serves all-day breakfast, which looked appetizing. Perhaps next time.

The espresso was aromatic and strong, but it was a bit too acidic. The latte was average. And the shop appeared to have some difficulties taking orders. One of our cups came out as espresso instead of doppio as ordered and it took almost 10 minutes for the replacement cup to come out. During that 10 minutes, two lattes was served to a couple when two piccolo lattes were in fact ordered.

If you are in Causeway Bay, you might want to try Cafe Corridor in Russell Street near Times Square for a better cup of coffee. The best cup is arguably the newly opened Espresso Alchemy in Quarry Bay. We shall write about these at a later stage.

Coffee Shop - Coffee Appreciation Class with KC Coffee in Hong Kong

Barista waited for the water inside the round-bottom flask to boil

Mum and dad went for a coffee appreciation class ran by KC Coffee in Kowloon Bay last week and they enjoyed their evening trying the different coffee brewed and Daniel, one of the shop owners, discussed his own experience with coffee appreciation.

During the session, Daniel went through a lot of different concepts and the distinctions amongst different coffee brewing methods, different beans and different grinds. Also what you can expect in terms of taste and smell from a quality cup of freshly brewed coffee. It was wide ranging and a short blog entry wouldn't do justice to what's been said. However, the gist of the session was perhaps captured by the very first question that Daniel asked. "how many of you drink black coffee, i.e. no milk, foam or sugar?" To fully capture the essence and enjoy the aroma of perhaps berries or citrus, you want to avoid polluting your cup of coffee with other stuff. A quality cup of coffee should deliver something similar to the Whiskey tasting we mentioned here before.

French Press and the importance of precise timing!

A cup of mellow and soothing black coffee

Despite all the persuasion, mum still likes her cappuccino with lots of milk and froth. Similar to the one seen in an earlier blog entry here. KC Coffee's brews were best described as mild and aromatic. Their coffees endeavor to bring out the fruitiness and nuttiness of the drink. More Japanese than continental European style and they get their beans from a Japanese roaster in Fukuoka, Kyushu.

The coffee appreciation class was a lot of fun and well worth joining if you want to know more about what you drink. You can tell Daniel is passionate about it and he has no qualms in telling you where else you can find quality coffee in Hong Kong. So we might write about some of these other places in time.

KC Coffee - Exchange Tower, 33 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, HK
Tel: 852 - 3106 0363

You may also like this audio podcast by "Stuff You Should Know" about coffee.

http://podcasts.howstuffworks.com/hsw/podcasts/sysk/2011-12-29-sysk-coffee.mp3

Cafe Hue Vietnamese Restaurant 華順越南餐廳

Best Vietnamese coffee in Hong Kong. Very strong and full flavor. One cup will probably keep you buzzing through the night. Vietnamese coffee in other shops in Hong Kong are probably half as strong and the coffee takes no time to drip through.

Other than the coffee, the steam rice roll - rice roll's was tasty and has more tenacity than other shops but the toppings were only average. The Vietnamese Bún (檬粉) had very good texture. The soft-shell crab, which was recommended to us by the waitress, wasn't too good either.

Worth going back for the Vietnamese Bún and the coffee.

Address: G/F, 61 Fort Street, North Point, Hong Kong (nb. Not the easiest stairs to climb down from Fort Street, so look for Ming Yuen Court along King's Road then turn into the side alley for easier access.)