Aura is a small Taiwanese cafe and roastery with a heavy focus on packaging and communication. They’ve developed their own tasting chart based on flavors that people in Taipei know and understand. It’s a very localized version compared to the Specialty Coffee Association standard flavor wheel. So instead of nutty and vegetative notes, you get winey and grassy. Aura also developed a computerized packaging system to determine what the art should look like for each of their unique roasting styles. The way their packaging system works is basically, they feed different pictures into the computer with all the colors of their flavor chart, then inform it how they feel about the coffee and how it tastes, and the system automatically creates a design. It’s a lot of effort just to package the beans, but it really shows the level of commitment Aura has in terms of serving their local community.
Since it’s inception, Singapore’s Junior has had a revolving stream of concepts, changing up the menu and even the interiors every six months. When we visited them last week, we discovered that we were catching the tail end of one of these periods.
The Night Nurse is a boozy, mezcal-driven concoction from this current tiki-centric offering. Specifically, the drink headlines a hibiscus mezcal, stacked with spiced orange soda, quinoa wine, and finished off with a little bit of fresh lime. Though quite a visual treat to see the drink as it’s shown in this photo, the bartender instructs you to stir before drinking, because all that red liquid on the top layer? That’s all mezcal. Excellent job, Junior.
If you wish to try The Night Nurse, get to Junior soon, as it’s very likely going away with just a few days. The bartender says that as they are quickly approaching their 6 month mark for this current tiki/island theme, we can expect that major concept overhaul to drop within August. Can’t wait to see what’s up next, Junior.
Stylish modern minimalist, clean, cozy and picturesque. Elixir Coffee has got those elements about their shop down pat, quite similar to many other new designer coffee shops. But what we think sets them apart is how they’ve kept a very friendly, small neighborhood cafe vibe going. You walk into the room, hear the barista casually chatting with a couple of customers, see a small group of people enjoying conversation on a bench outside the window and you immediately get the sense of how comfortable everyone is. It’s the kind of place where you want to kick back on a Saturday afternoon or meet up with friends straight after a long day at work. It also helps that they serve delicious coffee. We heard about their homemade honeycomb latte and just had to try it. It’s essentially an espresso shot topped with foamy milk and a sprinkling of their special honeycomb crumbs. As you drink, the honeycomb melts and blends more into the coffee, giving you a slightly burnt caramel sweetness that’s delightful at every sip.
Elixir Coffee has recently moved to Sheung Wan from the last time we visited them at Haven St, Causeway Bay, but they have managed to carry over the same inviting atmosphere, together with their exquisite design sensibilities and enjoyable coffee. Make sure to include them in your Hong Kong cafe hit list.
All black coffee brewing is done using some version of these same simple steps. But the devil is in the details. The baristas and brewers who stand out from the rest are dedicated, meticulous, and – in the case of Lê Hoàng Sang – possess situational awareness. Known simply as Sang, this barista has been involved in building many shops across his country of Vietnam. We ran into him at Hanoi’s Gau Coffee & Bakery (link to previous DD article), when they were just setting up the place in the city’s heritage district known as The Old Quarter. If you ever get the chance to chat with Sang, you’ll find that he has a very balanced approach to coffee and a great respect for Specialty Coffee.
When you brew a new coffee, you look at all of your given parameters, such as your roast date, the origin of the coffee, and even the density of the bean. These will determine how you brew the coffee. They’ll affect the grind size, the ratio of coffee to water, and the temperature of the brew.
To Sang, setting up a café to seemed to be very similar to brewing coffees. He reads the parameters of the area and adjusts. Not everything will be the best, not everything will be specialty. but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be perfect.
Calibrate for balance and flavor.
We all speak different languages, but we all say espresso. While traveling around Taipei, we stumbled upon this sign at Chyi Woa. Even in a sea of foreign characters, the sight of this familiar word was welcoming. They serve a variety of coffee origins at Chyi Woa which they prepare using an old school Faema espresso machine. The majority of the people inside were elderly gentlemen—including the barista. They seemed to regularly get together for espressos, and it really emphasizes how much coffee can connect people. This cafe is right around the corner from where Imperfect Coffee and Matcha is, where the majority of customers are young university students. But don’t hesitate to come in, they’re very welcoming in both cafes, regardless of age. It’s a nice contrast, seeing both of these cafes right across from each other. It shows how much this neighborhood values the different cultures of each generation.
Kombucha is your gut’s new best friend. We got our fix from Diwa Brew during The Good Trade Fair happening now at Central Square in BGC. Kombucha is basically tea, sugar, water, and a special ingredient called SCOBY, which stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. SCOBY ferments the drink by feeding off of sugars in the mixture. It’s like beer and tea had a very healthy baby. Kombucha has a similar fizz to beer but with significantly lower alcohol content. And it features the subtle sweetness and health benefits of tea. Sometimes nicknamed the “healing elixir,” it helps promote good gut flora. Diwa Brew double ferments their kombucha, making sure that all the sugars are consumed by the SCOBY. This keeps the sugar content very low, allowing them to add natural fruit flavors. We tried the pre-bottled mango and ginger kombucha, which has a subtle sweet start coming from the slow-juiced mangoes and finishes off with a refreshing kick of ginger. It’s honestly the best alternative to your favorite soda.
The grandfather of one half of the romantic duo behind Dream Wide Awake passed down the tradition of tsokolate de batirol (a Filipino cocoa that’s mixed with a wooden stick specifically designed for chocolate). At their pop up stall focusing on coffee and chocolate beverages, they even use a sturdy old brass pot which has their grandfather’s name etched at the bottom, signifying that this pot has melted generations worth of “tsokolate”. And it’s used in their mocha coffee, which produces a bitter and dark chocolate flavor, creating a more authentic tsokolate experience. It’s inspiring to see someone realize the value of a tradition nearly forgotten by time. Their concept is part of The Good Trade Fair’s roster of eco-friendly stalls focusing on reducing waste by serving food and goods using recyclable materials like glass bottles and package-free items. Make sure to catch them today through Sunday at Central Square in BGC.
Pampanga’s Bella Goose Coffee is a welcoming place in more ways than one. Aside from serving high quality coffee and food. (If you’re into smooth, flowery flavors, their signature lavender latte is a must-try!) This is a place where anyone and everyone can feel they belong. Their warm atmosphere and team of friendly baristas are central to this, and they keep a little library of literature and table top games for customers to enjoy. But Bella’s most impressive effort in building an inclusive community is how they use profits to fight human trafficking. They take in women who have been set free from sex slavery, give them an opportunity to start over by training and employing them as roasters and baristas. Bella Goose—which means “Beautiful Lead”—aims to make leaders and trustworthy team players out of their employees by giving them purpose and empowering them with sustainable skills to serve society. It’s not everyday you encounter a cafe with such a sense of purpose. A cup of coffee at their shop means more than just a delicious break time treat, it also contributes towards saving lives.
Foam can often make a cocktail, and the Manhattan lounge in Singapore proves this point adeptly with their twist on the classic New York Sour. By spraying a ruby port wine stencil onto the drink, they combine presentation with taste. Usually a layer of foam requires a separate aromatic and you end up smelling something different from what you’re tasting. But they include the port in the drink’s mix as well, bringing taste and smell full circle. The ingredients also include lavender maple and plum bitters, which line up perfectly with the port and Michter’s bourbon. And by including egg whites, they manage to capture the new world era of New York nicely, completing their revamped menu, which features drinks from different time periods.
Manhattan in Singapore reigned at the top of the 50 best bars in Asia list for quite some time until this year where they came in second. Their previous menu was based on geographic locations around New York, but in 2018 they redid their entire menu to be a journey through different eras that the American city experienced. Their themed cocktail menu is divided into four pages, each representing an era with cocktails inspired by their given timeline. Every page also has a food menu, specifically crafted to pair with the drinks on each page. The Bonfire showcases the 1520-1650s era when America was discovered. Mezcal is used as the New World spirit base and mixed with smoked ham cherry tobacco bitters and maple. They also use two garnishes that lean on each other to represent a “bonfire.” It’s a simple and clean drink with a very smoky flavor from the bitters. Although Mezcal is Mexican and New York City didn’t acquire its name until 1664, it’s still an interesting drink.
On the lookout for Metro Manila’s best cookies? Then be sure to stop by Scout’s Honor. They’ve earned a high reputation as a great place to find scrumptious cookies, but they’re not stopping there. They also dabble in specialty coffee, handcrafted milkshakes, and curating their own line of craft milk—obvious pairings for their cookies. We sampled their Horlicks milk, which is basically sweet malted milk, and paired it with their ultimate triple chocolate cookie. It’s a combination that brings to mind the typical Filipino childhood memory of drinking Milo (powdered malted chocolate milk drink) before bedtime. They also have interesting creations like charcoal-infused craft milk. And if none of the pre-made treats pique your interest, you can try your hand at crafting a personalized cookie. It’s one of the few places around the Metro where you’re free to be in tune with your inner child.
