Between the number of places we visited on our trip to Malaysia, one place stood out among the rest. Within the bustling city center of Kuala Lumpur where the energy is high and always on the go, we found our space at Ver – the bar at Nadodi, down an ornate passageway inside the Four Seasons Hotel with an intricately designed facade and a stunning arch doorway that pulls you to step inside. Even before you walk through the entrance, Ver’s storytelling had begun.
There is no printed menu at Bar High Five. A server explains that there are three kinds of cocktails to choose from: a classic, a drink built around seasonal fruit, or something fully customized. If you choose the customized path, the bartender begins asking questions to understand your preferences. The exchange feels natural, never forced, and their confidence puts you at ease.
[Read more…]Brookland Coffee sits inside a creative complex in South Jakarta, but on a Saturday morning the first thing you notice isn’t the building. It’s the crowd. Outside, where cars might park, long benches, fiberboard blocks, and stools are packed with cyclists. The bike rack is heavy with frames, helmets slung from handlebars, and every seat is taken by young men in every imaginable cyclist get up: long sleeves, short shorts, flat shoes, cycling caps. It feels more like a clubhouse than a café.
Step inside and the air shifts. The interior space is air-conditioned, designed for a slower pace. Women and small groups fill the tables, a couple with laptops plugged in, conversation moving quietly. Near the bar, seating is tighter but every spot is full. The walls carry illustrations of all sorts, surrounded by a clutter of merch, mostly nylon foldable tote bags in a streetwear style. It’s casual but intentional, part of the café’s personality rather than a curated gallery statement.
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In the basement of a nondescript building in Osaka’s Chūō ward, INC & SONS reveals itself like a secret. The room is low-lit and leather-warmed, more like a listening salon than a bar. At the center of it all is sound, carried through a system built from legends: Altec Lansing A7 speakers, an Altec 1570B tube power amp, the 1567A preamp, and a Garrard 401 turntable. The effect is unmistakable. Records breathe. Bass notes bloom. Every track feels deliberate.
That sense of curation doesn’t stop at the speakers. Drinks come across like they’ve been mixed with the same attention as the playlist. A Wagyu Old Fashioned delivers richness without heaviness, while a seaweed-infused cocktail pulls umami into the glass with a quiet confidence. Both drinks nod toward Japanese culture without leaning into clichés. They taste like reinterpretations instead of recreations.
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Customers of ZUS Coffee, one of the Philippines’ most recognizable budget coffee chains, have recently been reporting an odd contradiction: stores are open, yet actual coffee is unavailable. Social media users have been complaining that many locations are only serving non-coffee drinks, with baristas often citing “machine calibration” as the reason.
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Walking into Bar Bon Funk, I didn’t know that I’d be entering into one of my favorite spaces. In the beverage and hospitality industry, a night out in another country is as much enjoyment as it is education. This bar is firmly planted in the center of Singapore’s New Bharu, a former school building converted into lifestyle complex. It’s literally a classroom and class was in session.
[Read more…]Finally made it out to a friend of ours’ cafe, makerscafeph in QC, just off of EDSA. As it’s the cafe in the lobby of a church, the cafe is very spacious and there’s lots of parking in the basement on a weekday afternoon.
Orange espresso has become an afternoon favorite of ours, and we’re pleasantly surprised to have fresh orange juice squeezed on the spot. The drink hit the spot, and if you’re looking for a cafe that’s quiet and you can hide out in, this one is a pretty good pick.
We couldn’t believe it either.
Join Kayo in unboxing and analyzing this new product from KEEPCUP, and watch him show you how to make coffee in it. It’s a coffee brewer with a twist that you’ve never seen before… and it’s pretty darn good!
Way too much information and a smart guy saying dumb things. But hey! It’s an imporant purchase, isn’t it?! We do a deep dive into pressurized dual wall baskets and what they mean for your coffee, plus, what’s the upgrade path for the Breville Bambino Plus buyer? Espresso, Latte Art, and the Pressurized Portafilter… It’s all here in this video review.
They tell you that coffee is stale only 30 days after roasting. They also say that pre-ground coffee can’t retain flavor over time. Let’s find out if that’s true! Over a year ago, our friends at The Good Cup Coffee Company sent us a package that included a number of nitrogen flushed drip bags which had an expiry date on it with an unbelievable shelf life: one year. We took a drip bag and put it in the back of a cupboard with the simple agenda of brewing and tasting the coffee one month past the expiry date on the label. To do so, we’ll be making a few adjustments to brewing technique and recipe in order to give the coffee its best shot at succeeding.
Now, it’s hard to know what life will be like or where exactly you’ll be in 13 months (especially lately!) And so this pre-set date catches DailyDrinkMag.com EIC, Kayo Cosio while on the road in a provincial project. From his room in the B&B, Kayo brews the expired coffee and tastes it to see if it’s still any good.
