BEST COFFEE SHOPS IN HONG KONG (THAT I VISITED)

Do you know what I love about Hong Kong coffee shops besides their awesome coffee? The fact that most of them have bonsoy! Ever since coming back from my latest Australia trip, I prefer to consume either either soy or almond based milk with my coffee, and trust me I am this guy who brings his own soy or almond milk to the coffee shop in Jakarta and have them infused for me LOL, too bad it's hard for Jakarta coffee shops to accomodate this because the cost can be too high and Indonesians are mostly cheap (sorry not sorry but that's the fact I heard from coffee shop owners too), not all of them want to spend extra IDR 15k for soy or almond milk.

I remember receiving tons of Snapchats from you saying how expensive the coffee in Hong Kong is in general, and boy it is! A regular cappuccino started around 35-40 HKD (IDR 70k/cup) but since I always have the iced coffee with soy, mine could very well range from 50-60 HKD (IDR 85k/cup). It's literally double the price we pay for coffee in Jakarta. Luckily their coffee was good so I didn't mind paying extra.

I hope this list can help you on your Hong Kong coffee Shop hopping, I hope our taste match and you enjoy the coffee in these coffee shops as much as I did.

PS: this is not a ranking list, list is sorted based on alphabetical order - I am fully aware that this list is far from perfect as there are so many good coffee shops in Hong Kong.

%ARABICA

G08, DB North Plaza, Discovery Bay, Hong Kong

+852 2885 1312

info@arabica.hk // www.facebook.com/arabica.hk

Getting to %Arabica requires an effort as it's located at the Discovery Bay in Lantau Island, it was approximately 1 hour train + bus ride from Central (and could be further depending on where you departed), the long ride was a pain in the ass because Hong Kong was around this Typhoon season and it was raining almost everyday, that day was particularly very hard and we all were drenched by the pouring rain, HOWEVER I had THE BEST iced cappuccino out of all the coffee shops I visited from my last Hong Kong trip, their signature blend resulted this perfectly creamy (and a bit complex) iced cappuccino with the cleanest and smoothest after taste that I have ever experienced, and not to mention it's served in this pretty curvy glass. You might find me hyperbolic, but you can count on my words, just by having that really good cappuccino making all the effort going back and forth to this Kyoto originated coffee shop seemed worth it, it might be the magic of Slayer espresso machine that they're using here too (or also known as the most expensive espresso machine in the world).

Unfortunately they don't serve soy or almond milk here.

18 Grams

77 Wing Lok St, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

+852 2327 5557

Other outlets: Wan Chai, Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, Sai Kung

18 Grams has several outlets spread around Hong Kong but I went to this small one located around the Sheung Wan MTR station. 18 Grams is that coffee shop that serves good coffee with beautiful latte art, and I really enjoy their iced soy latte, something about the measurement of the soy and coffee that was just right! I love pairing their coffee with their homemade banana bread (make sure to warm it up), it's just moist, buttery and fragrant!

Beautiful heart-tulip and swan latte art <3

The Coffee Academics
35-45 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
+852 2154 1180
Other outlets: Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Repulse Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui
Coffee Academics is a very well known Hong Kong coffee shop and has quite a few outlets in Hong Kong alone (they've also expanded their venture to Singapore). The Coffee Academics was once featured in the list of TOP 20 BEST COFFEE SHOPS IN THE WORLD, but do I agree with it? I find the coffee in %Arabica and Omotesando better, but that doesn't mean that they serve bad coffee, I still find the complexity of their coffee comforting and my cappuccino was beautifully creamy that time too.

The Cupping Room
G/F, 18 Cochrane St, Central, Hong Kong
+852 2511 3518
Other outlet: Sheung Wan
The Cupping Room is widely known for being the home of two time HK barista championship winner (and the fourth in the world championship last year in Seattle) so I don't think their coffee is something to doubt about. They have two outlets in Hong Kong (Sheung Wan and Central) and I've been to both, two of them shared the same simple, minimalist and industrial design with the homey vibe brought to the shop. Their coffee was delicate, the iced soycap was decent (even though I like 18 Grams' better) and I heard they have good breakfast too.

Elephant Grounds
11 Gough st, Central - Hong Kong
+852 2253 1313
Other outlets: Wan Chai, Causeway Bay
Through out the 6-day trip, I went to Elephant Grounds three times, not only because they make good coffee, but space wise Elephant Grounds probably has the best looking coffee shop (and largest as well that I've seen in Hong Kong) in Wan Chai, their Wan Chai outlet was spacious, hipster and very homey, and something about that particular day of my visit where the weather was just super nice that me and my friends did not mind sitting outside enjoying the cool breeze while sipping our coffee (by the way if you prefer sitting outside you have to "take away" the coffee). Their outlet in Gough street is located behind the concept store with a nice little back area to chill and have your coffee. I found their cappuccino slightly deep while still being creamy and strong, and their iced soy latte was among my favorites on my visit.

Besides being known for their good coffee, they're also known for serving unique ice cream sandwich.

Elephant Grounds' iced soy latte

NOC Coffee and Roaster
34 Graham St, Central, Hong Kong
+852 2606 6188
NOC Coffee and Roaster is located not too far from Elephant Grounds' Gough street outlet at the local's market neighborhood, so I suggest these two on the same day. Their iced cappuccino might not be my favorite (they don't have soy or almond milk here), but I honestly think their manual brew is quite decent with a proper acidity strength.

Omotesando Koffee Hong Kong
Review -> HERE

Lee Tung Avenue

200 Queen's Road shop #24-25

East Wan Chai, Hong Kong

+852 2601 3323

If you've read my review about Omotesando Koffee Hong Kong, you should knew why I raved so much about this great coffee shop! The coffee is really good (bring back the good Japan days) with the right everything, while I think the iced cappuccino in %Arabica is better than Omotesando, however the hot cappuccino here is just a tad better and creamier for my liking.

There you have it! Some of my favorite Hong Kong coffee shops, everyone can have a different opinion about these coffee shops and it's all back to one's preference, to trust or not trust my opinion is 100% my readers' choice. If you have anymore recommendations, feel free to drop them below and I would be more than happy to list and visit them when I revisit Hong Kong (how can you not love Hong Kong).

Hong Kong travel guide -> HERE

Thank you for reading guys!

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OMOTESANDO KOFFEE HONG KONG

This is certainly one of the main highlights of this trip and particularly today: reuniting with one of my MOST favorite coffee shops in the world: OMOTESANDO KOFFEE. I was pretty sad when hearing the news that they were closing their pop-up Tokyo store as I am seriously in love with the store (as you can see here). I have plan to visit to Omotesando Koffee, but initially not today. OK so it was actually quite funny, we were crossing the road after having our delightful coffee at The Cupping Room (review coming soon) and I accidentally looked at this guy crossing the road while holding a familiar plastic cup with black stripes, and in a micro second my mind knew it was OK! I literally shouted "hey that's Omotesando Koffee's plastic cup!", we checked Google Maps and it was just a 3 minute walk from our then location in Wan Chai, so yes, double jackpot of caffeine boost!

The Hong Kong outlet has a totally different design to the more "local" and "cultural" one in Tokyo (I know right I am so sad it's gone now), but it doesn't mean that I don't like it, I pretty much like it! It's not ultra spacious, but it is minimalist with a touch of industrial, a lot of humble and earthy tone and materials usage and still that signature cubical coffee booth of theirs that you can also see from their logo. There are two cubicles here but they only operated the other one (on the time of my visit), not sure why was that.

It was seriously super packed by the time of my visit that I had to grab my order and go (it's good though because the lighting was much better than the indoor), FYI before actually sitting you first have to buy the coffee and give the receipt to the barista in the cubical.

FULL HOUSE

They occupy La Marzocco Strada espresso machine and judging from the coffee that I had here (and not to mention their cold hands!), this is just pure beast!

They have pretty good range of drinks here and pretty much the same as the Tokyo one, expect to find selections of espresso, cappuccino, latte, mocha, banana coffee, Nutella coffee and matcha beverages. Most of them are available in "iced", and you can customize whether you want the single or double espresso shot! AAAND of course not to miss are their freshly baked custard cubes (available in original and matcha flavor) to accompany your coffee here! Price range for coffee starts from 40-70 HKD and custard cube is around 30 HKD each! We had both custard cubes but I personally forgot to snap the pics, but you can see what they look like HERE.

Hot Cappuccino (40 HKD), Iced Cappuccino (52 HKD)

If you're pretty shocked with the pricing, I gotta share you the hard truth: coffees are expensive in Hong Kong! I don't know how the locals see this but for Indonesian standard, the price is certainly double that what we're faced with back in town, nevertheless "value" and "worth" are different things, as long as I got good coffee I am all good. The first few sips brought so much memories of Japan, and I am just going to keep this short: STILL ONE OF THE BEST CAPPUCCINO I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE! Perfectly creamy with just the right everything (and naturally sweet too)! If you've been following me I think you know how I prefer my coffee sweet, but sadly they don't have brown or coconut sugar here.

Banana Coffee - HKD 65
Now something with more "flavor", this was actually Jack's order but I took a few sips to "evaluate" HAHA! The banana flavor balanced nicely with the coffee resulting this tea-ish taste on my palate, and believe me it's not a bad thing! It's altogether sweet, flavorful and creamy without tasting cheap and fake. If you actually like banana flavor (and don't mind having flavored coffee) then you should go with this one.

There was an event happening at the Lee Tung Avenue - Queen's Road (where Omotesando Koffee is located) and there were a lot of kids and families here. Spotted these two people dressed in costumes hanging around the spot with people around them queueing for pictures!

I LOVE MEETING YOU AGAIN OMOTESANDO KOFFEE <3, till the next time!

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Omotesando Koffee

Lee Tung Avenue

200 Queen's Road shop #24-25

East Wan Chai, Hong Kong

+852 2601 3323

Opening hours: 9 AM-9 PM

Average spending for two: HKD 140

Dresscode: none!

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Map for Omotesando Koffee Hong Kong