It was a pleasant surprise to come across this new family-run café along Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City. Sandwiched between steelwork and construction supply stores, its location is but one of several things that make @throughabitcafe an unusual but very welcome discovery.
[Read more…]With Hong Kong being a fashion capital, this coffee bar fits right in. There’s a heavy emphasis on design in Interval Coffee bar.Located on Wellington St of Hong Kong’s Central, it’s a pretty busy coffee shop by day, switching into a bar by night.
The entire space is clad with what appears to be a hand-hammered copper aesthetic that wraps all of their walls, together with beautiful marble tables and comfortable chairs. it’s a great spot to do people watching because it overlooks one of the busiest streets in Hong Kong through their wide glass windows. The coffee is prepared using a Mavam Espresso Machine, an under-the-counter system that allows the customer to see what the barista is doing and makes for a working area there free from machine equipment clutter – it also becomes an opportunity to have a customer-centric service because it eliminates the physical boundary of a huge machine that usually covers the barista when preparing coffee.
El Café de Axel is the only specialty coffee shop in the city of Benidorm, Spain. This city is iconic for its white sand beaches, unique skyscrapers, and the booming party scene. This gem is a little far away from all the tourist spots and is a little tricky to find if you’re new in the area but when you do figure out the way the reward is well worth it.
They are a multi-roaster concept and it’s always exciting to drop by this cafe because they are constantly changing up the beans in their hoppers as well as their retail area. We got to try a hand-brewed single origin Ethiopia coffee that was roasted by Valladolid’s Puchero– the coffee had notes of lime, pomelo and, black tea. The coffee was brewed with a V60 and we got a good conversation going with the barista who was very informative and friendly. Stopping by El Café de Axel is a must for us in this party city, it’s a great treat after a night out or to escape the crowded city center.
Follow @elcafedeaxel on Instagram.
Looking for one last drink before heading home? After a night of partying, wind down in The Other Room located in Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, Singapore.
They close at 3 am from Mondays to Thursdays, and Sundays. They even extend their closing time until 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. People coming from other bars find themselves here when they want to keep going. It’s a bit tricky to find this place because it’s a speakeasy bar hidden behind a discreet velvet curtain inside a hotel. But once you get in, the search instantly feels worth it because you’re treated to a welcome drink served in a dropper bottle with a glass of water on the side, like a true VIP. All of their alcohol and spirits are rebottled in a standardized container with their own labeling system so as to fit the bar’s back-lit wall aesthetic, which stands out and becomes a unique interior set piece. During the conceptualization of their bar menu, they read up on a lot of historical drinks, which meant they had to buy a lot of bar books to find recipes and old stories, to make their place more interesting, they repurposed the books they used for their research and ripped all of it to use it as the wallpaper of their ceiling.
Being a trading outpost, Singapore has access to different ingredients and the Other Room definitely takes advantage of that. Hence, there’s a lot of fresh ingredients in The Other Room which they use in all of their cocktails. All of the drinks in their cocktail menu are based on historical drinks from previous eras, where things were usually made with a lot of manual labor. They take their menu seriously, each ingredient is thought out carefully to convey a part of history. Their goal is to replicate and reinvent how the cocktails would taste like without any use of high technology, back when everything was copper still fermented or barrel-aged. Kind of like a trip back in time. Our drink was served to us inside a Treasure Box filled with smoke where the cocktail is prepared inside a very cold flask with a chilled glass on the side and you get to pour your own drink.
Follow @theotherroomsg on Instagram.
A coffee crawl around Hong Kong would seem incomplete without a trip to at least one of The Coffee Academics’ twelve stores in that country. We visited the one along Yiu Wa street in Causeway Bay and it may have been one of the classiest coffee shops we’ve ever seen. A brass plate embedded on the entrance floor has words from Napoleon Bonaparte engraved on it, inviting guests to go ahead and have their much deserved coffee break.
The interiors of the cafe boasts of the best and finest materials and equipment. The style is reminiscent of old english parlors but with modern touches. It seems the perfect place to go on a special coffee date, because this is the kind of setting you want locked in a sweet memory with a special someone. just by being there, you do feel attended to, entertained by, and served upon by their well trained baristas that don’t cut corners and only aim for excellence. Perhaps they may not necessarily be the finest coffee shop on the island anymore, but they’re OG here, still down to business, and taking pride in doing their job well.
The Coffee Academics have now opened multiple shops in five different countries, raising the standard of coffee culture in Asia and producing world-class coffees and award-winning blends.
Follow @thecoffeeacademics on Instagram.
Singapore’s Nylon Coffee seems difficult to find, especially for a first time visitor. Plus, it’s in an area where other coffee shops are visible and more easily accessible. So it really makes you wonder why so many people go out of their way to grab their coffee at Nylon. Why did they pick a hidden spot? Well, once we got there, we immediately realized why.
Nylon is situated in between Housing Development buildings facing a quaint pocket courtyard with a few benches and big flowering trees. When in bloom, they flower in bright hues of peach and orange. It’s such a beautiful sight that it makes complete sense why one would want to open a shop right there. When you step inside, you are greeted by an attractive wooden coffee bar and you will almost instantly notice that there are no seats except for a couple of chairs that match the colors of the flowers outside. The single, long table in the middle of the store and smaller ledges mounted out of the walls are where you can place your cup or stand by while waiting for your order to be served.
It’s a coffee shop — not really a cafe, per se –obviously designed for take out and quick turnover. But of course, some customers stay a while too and everyone there was perfectly fine to be on their feet while enjoying their coffees and conversations. The chairs were barely used.
Maybe this is a shop culture that will not work in other places. Most people like cushy seats in their cafes. Nylon, in its charming location, warm interiors, subdued decoration, not to mention excellent coffee selection and a very positive barista presence, has definitely created a place where you can feel comfortable, at ease and taken care of without the cushy seats.
Follow @nyloncoffee on Instagram.
Goffa is a cozy little coffee shop in Scout Rallos that you can only stumble onto in person, since they’re not on social media. It’s just a little under a year old and has a classy, slightly old-fashioned interior. The pebble wash flooring, dark wood-panelled walls, and solid wood tables make you feel like you walked into someone’s home. There are even baskets to store your bags in so you don’t have to put them down on the floor. It’s an inviting contrast to the usual industrial-style or minimalist shops we see everywhere that were clearly built and designed to appeal to millenials. Goffa is the kind of cafe where you can take your whole family for coffee and dessert, including the grandparents, and no one feels out of place. Granted, the seats are not designed for people to sit in for hours and hours, but the warm ambience and friendly staff promise a satisfying visit.
Apart from Goffa being a pleasant space to visit, you can also count on them to serve you delicious coffee. The beans they use are roasted by Yardstick Coffee and while we already know that they are a reliable roaster, it goes without saying that the roaster is only one factor of what makes a good cup of coffee. Preparation is also a very important aspect. Pulling out the right flavors, creating balance and making it pleasing to the palette are all factors that make coffee preparation both a science and an art. The baristas at Goffa seem to know their stuff well. We were very pleased with the cortado we ordered. It was smooth and well rounded considering that the coffee blend is very fully developed. It’s enjoyable from the first sip to the final slurp of foam.
You come for the coffee, of course, but it would be a shame not to pair your beverage with fresh bread or pastry on the menu. It’s all made by neighboring bakery, Purple Oven. Apparently, they are both next door neighbors and also sister companies. Do this and you’ll be sure to have a highly-satisfactory coffee break.
Lifescrate’s philosophy is all about facilitating community. Located in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rice fields and residential properties in Canggu, Bali, it’s a wonder how so many wanderers find themselves here.
But they all enjoy each other’s company over delicious food, fresh coffee, and live beats. It’s a huge space with multiple things to do, including a café, gallery, lounge, and boutique shop. The café is a big open space where everyone is welcome to mingle and vibe to the music. They serve comfort food and coffee with plenty of vegan options. Towards the back, you’ll find the gallery where artists get to share their work and their stories. The clothing shop, called Concept, features all local designers with materials that are also mostly locally sourced.
The culture here at Lifescrate is rich and represents the larger Canggu community, which embraces sustainability and celebrates creatives.
Follow @cratecafe on Instagram.
Winstons Coffee in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, is a very tiny, charming cafe squeezed into the side of a building overlooking a playground. Although it’s a tight location, the shop doesn’t feel like it’s lacking anything.
They have a cult following of regular take-out crowds that like to drop in and get coffee quickly, with Wintons a part of their everyday routine. In terms of the coffee, the cafe offers a very straightforward and comforting cup. And as with the majority of coffee shops in Hong Kong, the quality of milk is very high. Whenever we’re in town, we always get an iced latte because of its natural sweetness and notes of milk chocolate. They also serve cocktails in the evening so you can make the most out of your stay.
At Winstons, what you see is what you get. Everything is simple but beautiful.
Follow @winstonscoffee on Instagram.
Mannaka is a tiny Japanese style coffee shop in Bali with an uncanny resemblance to a birdhouse. Named after the Japanese word for “center,” it’s famous around town for its unique and exceptionally minimalist approach to cafe design. Their place is a meetup spot for you and your friends that uses the art of simplicity to create a bright and a comfortable space. (And their staff’s easy-going vibe is icing on the cake.) Everything has a purpose here, like this hanging tote bag, which serves as a “framed“ illustration of their shop. A block of wood becomes a place to rest your drink. Wooden benches face each other so people can interact more while also making way for customers to pass. There isn’t a single item in Mannaka’s stall that doesn’t serve some kind of purpose, and it says a lot about the amount of attention they pay to each and every detail in their little store.
