coffee forum, ?????, ?????, fresh coffee beans and tea house

[boblam]

Finally drop by this place which the barista told me opened for one month

Very good cappuccino, probably the best on HK side, surpassing my second favorite Cafe Corridor on milk drink. Using La Marzocco GB5 two heads, I think.

Also, this is the first time I can appreciate how the good acidity in milk drink tastes like, as most Sydney people has been talked about for a long time.

The Capp reminds me of Coco Espresso but much better overall, ie more velvety, better espresso much through and perfect acidity blend with milk.. Like what you read!!!

Both ristretto I had were still lagged in term of body, ie no syrupy body consistency.

The one with Danes' Caribbean Blend was quite smooth, reminding me of the famous Intelligentsia Black Cat. However, it didn't open up well like Black Cat, kinda faded away without much flavor. The barista told me it's a "lady" coffee and I agree. According to barista, the bean was roasted three weeks ago and air freight to Hong Kong.

The other ristretto with its own blend of Colombia, Harrar and Brazil was much more open and has a better mouthfeel. Locally roasted bean by local roaster was within 2 weeks vs. barista's sweet spot of three weeks. This one also comes very close to Coco Espresso but much tastier. FYI, Coco is a blend of Colombia, Harrar, Brazil and Sumatra, correct me if I'm wrong.

I had Peru FTO french press too. Not my coffee though it's good, quite clean. Notice some oil on the surface of the bean.

Overall, very good and highly recommended for a visit, particularly milk drink though I prefer the velvety and nice texture of milk drinks from Crema Coffee much more.

Cake/pastry offering is similar to Felix's Cafe Corridor.

The barista was a nice guy and I enjoyed talking coffee with him. Not the same warm like Johnson at Coco but very good. Quite attentive to the coffee he threw away some espresso when making those drinks for me.

The hours is better than Coco, ie from 8AM-8PM.

[boris]

I guess I'm already a regular there, pretty much hooked on the coffee talks I had with William, the barista and the owner of this coffee place.
William's vast knowledge and approach in making coffee made this place serving almost the best espresso you can get from a cafe in Hong Kong in my opinion.
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[benbenchai]

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[boblam]

I dropped by Saturday morning and thanks boris for Square Mile's Winter Espresso blend... Tons of marmalade jam flavor in the cup, proving that William, the barista, is capable of pulling a god shot. If I remember correctly, I see some tiger speck in one of the cups. Unfortunately, I need to leave before the adjustment was done.

I was back again in the afternoon, hoping for another shots of this marmalade laden blend but the barista pulled it out, saying the bean needs some rest for couple of days, according to James Hoffman's suggestion.

Boy, it would be perfect if he left it there, making me guess what it will be like if William uses a fresher bean for his current blends. He said the freshly roasted bean needed to rest for a while to avoid the 'forward' taste. However, I like this 'forward' taste so much... Well, gotta respect his opinion...

I packed up my disappointment and dropped by Landy and Shing on my way home. Well, Shing never failed to surprise me and again gave me one of the best espressos. This time it is from one of the machine I liked and was very impressed when I had it in Taipei, Synesso Cyncra. Layers of tastes with a syrupy finish similar to what I had at Barista Jam's GB5 when they pull Hoffman's bean but much clearer and cleaner from Synesso. I have no idea why any cafe would not be interested in this great machine with rock solid temp and an unmatched clarity in the cup. I'm waiting and hoping someone will pick it up soon.

[boris]

[boblam]

[boblam]

Let me break the news here since nobody posts on this one and I don't want anybody to miss this coffee on the condition that they don't know it.

Barista Jam now offered Square Mile's Winter Espresso Monday to Saturday from 3-7PM, aka James Hoffman's roaster, I believe.

This Winter Espresso was one of the best I've ever had vs. Paul Bassett's blend and Intelli's Black Cat. Ton of Marmalade (but most said it's apricot.. )

However, updose and airfreight made it more expensive than its regular offering but worth every dollar and cent.

Roasted on March 8, I believe. Boris, can you confirm this?

Also, available while supplies last.

Hurried up!

[alexfan]

I finally had a chance to try a cup (glass) of latte there. It is great! Seems to be the best cafe on the Island side.

[boblam]

[alexfan]

[littlelittle]

I was there this morning, after a meeting nearby.

Well, I think it's the first cafe I can really recommend to friends. Very good latte, with good texture of milk foam and reasonable espresso base. I will try the espresso next time (I had a cup of espresso and latte before left my home to work this morning).

Barista William is a lovely guy, with remarkable smile all the time.

Funny accident when I was there, a light bulb explose and the inner part of the cafe was darkened. Haha~~

Sheng Wan is a nice place that we can find so many good food in this area. Unluckily it was a little bit far away from me, I'm a northern N.T.-ese ...












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[alexfan]

Make sure not to go on Sunday - they close

[boris]

[phillip]

????!~!

[boblam]

Barista Jam is probably the most adventurous among HK cafe now.

A "special guest blend", roasted on May 26, which should last another week. Ton of nice citrusy acidity though the finish was next to nothing. Nice pull too with lots of tiger flecks. In all, very difficult to find this kind of tasting notes in Hong Kong on espresso. It is interesting to try.

You can follow his future new "special offering blend" on his facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barista-Jam-Hong-Kong/409097390751

His house blend changed a bit by adding Sumatra in there. Nice finishing but so so for the rest.