Asia - Baristas, Espresso Machines and Coffee Culture
Jul 16th, 2012, 05:27 PM
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Asia - Baristas, Espresso Machines and Coffee Culture
Many many years ago and before the advent of coffee culture, we found a small cafe in the old Hong Kong Hilton called Espresso.
When I was in Shaghai in 2009 we found that there was a coffee roaster near Beijing providing reasonably freshly roasted coffee beans and fresh rather than processed milk was available in some places for lattes, capuccinos etc.
If you know of any really good cafes in Asia (with the exception of chains like Starbucks and Gloria Jeans) with well maintained espresso machines, freshly roasted (not cremated) coffee beans and a good barista please let us know.
We will be travelling to Hong Kong and Bangkok soon so any recommendations there would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
When I was in Shaghai in 2009 we found that there was a coffee roaster near Beijing providing reasonably freshly roasted coffee beans and fresh rather than processed milk was available in some places for lattes, capuccinos etc.
If you know of any really good cafes in Asia (with the exception of chains like Starbucks and Gloria Jeans) with well maintained espresso machines, freshly roasted (not cremated) coffee beans and a good barista please let us know.
We will be travelling to Hong Kong and Bangkok soon so any recommendations there would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Jul 16th, 2012, 08:01 PM
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In Bangkok, Kuppa has been mentioned, but I'm not overly impressed with them. They seem to focus on using 'trendy' beans (Mandeling, Ethiopia, etc.) without really knowing what to do with them. The people that rave about them seem to like the French press rather than espresso drinks, so that is probably the way to go.
My personal favorite in Bangkok is Roast on Thonglor. Like Kuppa, they have their own roaster. The espresso drinks here are better, and the iced espresso is a particular favorite - a shot of espresso over espresso ice cubes with a pitcher of fresh milk on the side.
My advice is to stay away from most hotel coffees. They tend to use fully automated machines and coffees supplied by Boncafe, which uses too much robusta in their blends and then over-roasts it. Over-roasting is particular problem with most local coffees in Thailand, where a lot of the 'modern' coffee culture comes from Japan, where burnt coffee is a popular drink. I once visited an instant coffee factory in Indonesia that exported to Japan. They actually added charcoal to the powder to give it 'extra' flavor!
Chinese style coffee - roasted with lard/butter and sugar - is rather rare in Bangkok.
My personal favorite in Bangkok is Roast on Thonglor. Like Kuppa, they have their own roaster. The espresso drinks here are better, and the iced espresso is a particular favorite - a shot of espresso over espresso ice cubes with a pitcher of fresh milk on the side.
My advice is to stay away from most hotel coffees. They tend to use fully automated machines and coffees supplied by Boncafe, which uses too much robusta in their blends and then over-roasts it. Over-roasting is particular problem with most local coffees in Thailand, where a lot of the 'modern' coffee culture comes from Japan, where burnt coffee is a popular drink. I once visited an instant coffee factory in Indonesia that exported to Japan. They actually added charcoal to the powder to give it 'extra' flavor!
Chinese style coffee - roasted with lard/butter and sugar - is rather rare in Bangkok.
Jul 17th, 2012, 01:31 AM
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Thank you MichaelBKK. We all need to be aware of "too much Robusta".
It is there in blends because it creates good crema in what would otherwise be stale packaged coffees. Arabica based coffee beans, when stale, struggle to produce that golden crema.
Lavazza for instance has tended to use about 8-15% robusta in its blends to give the impression of freshness. Robusta produces significantly more caffiene than Arabica based coffees.
After saying that, there are some superior robustas with flavour that add a lot of character to a blend and are in the same price range as arabica coffees.
We will definately try Roast Cafe on Thonglor BKK
It is there in blends because it creates good crema in what would otherwise be stale packaged coffees. Arabica based coffee beans, when stale, struggle to produce that golden crema.
Lavazza for instance has tended to use about 8-15% robusta in its blends to give the impression of freshness. Robusta produces significantly more caffiene than Arabica based coffees.
After saying that, there are some superior robustas with flavour that add a lot of character to a blend and are in the same price range as arabica coffees.
We will definately try Roast Cafe on Thonglor BKK
Jul 18th, 2012, 01:18 AM
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Yeah... local roasters use Robusta to save costs and quota. Robusta is easily obtained locally, so they don't have to enlarge their import quota (which maxes out at 5 tons) and they also save the premium price plus 30% import duties on quality Arabica.
Jul 18th, 2012, 03:37 AM
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Hi MicaelBKK - I think we may appear to others as if we are in the industry.
If I dont follow my daily routine of 3 coffees when I travel, then the caffeine deprivation headaches arrive.
In recent years I have been roasting green beans from various sources and have learned a lot from that. We have had a single group ECM Giotto now for many years so when leaving home on a holiday we need to do some coffee planning.
It's not always easy to get great coffee even in Italy nowadays because so often they use stale packaged roasted coffee.
Hope to hear from someone who can identify and point us in the direction of the best real coffee in Hong Kong.
If I dont follow my daily routine of 3 coffees when I travel, then the caffeine deprivation headaches arrive.
In recent years I have been roasting green beans from various sources and have learned a lot from that. We have had a single group ECM Giotto now for many years so when leaving home on a holiday we need to do some coffee planning.
It's not always easy to get great coffee even in Italy nowadays because so often they use stale packaged roasted coffee.
Hope to hear from someone who can identify and point us in the direction of the best real coffee in Hong Kong.
