Coffee Tide in Hong Kong

coffee drinkers in hong kong have been on the rise in recent years. I myself am one of them. After many years of visiting the coffee shop Colour Brown, he not only became a regular customer, but also met the young owner Edwin. He loved coffee, studied carefully, and quit his job to start a business. Over the past few years, he has achieved outstanding results, excellent coffee quality, and efforts to promote coffee culture, founded the Hong Kong Coffee Association, won the American Fine Coffee Appraiser, and served as the main judge of many coffee competitions in Hong Kong.

A few of our friends decided to invite Edwin to give an intensive course on coffee culture. Last week I had my first lesson for six hours in a shop in Saigon; six students in a small class surrounded by bags of fragrant coffee beans, shiny coffee machines and rows of colorful coffee cups. Edwin calmly explains the three waves of coffee. The first is American, the second is Italian, and the third wave is the recent rise of hand punch. I immediately asked, Italian coffee has a long history, why after American coffee? The teacher's comment was interesting: "Yes, Italians despise Americano coffee, and the name Americano has a sense of Italians making fun of Americans."

American coffee became the first wave because of the large number of people in the United States. In the early years, coffee was drunk to refresh the mind, and then it was popularized all over the world. The output and sales volume were amazing. What is American coffee? Instant coffee or brewed coffee, stored in a glass container, warm all day, like boiling water to drink.

In fact, brewed coffee, stored for one or two hours, the taste has deteriorated, not suitable for drinking. You often see Americans at work, each with a large cup of coffee, you can understand that American coffee is fast and not refined.

No wonder European friends laugh that American coffee is yellow mud water.

Italian coffee has a long history, but it is popular after American coffee. This second wave of coffee culture, to match fine coffee beans, as well as scientific coffee machine. All variations of espresso coffee are based on espresso(extra strong) with a small half cup of black liquid. This is basic. To make this small half cup, you must have a carefully designed compressor that uses high-pressure hot water to extract the original flavor of coffee. Espresso can be drunk as a drink, or made Flat white with milk, Cappuccino, Latte, or Macchiato with frothed fresh milk, depending on the ratio of milk to coffee and the thickness of the frothing. Italian coffee is mostly drunk in the store, difficult to popularize in the family, because the machine to make espresso is expensive, and the more expensive the equipment, the more fragrant the coffee is. However, in the past ten years, a large number of family coffee machines have been introduced, and the way of self-brewing is also very popular. In the past year, the company has also sold "smart" compressors, which send coffee capsules into the system and have a cup of delicious Italian coffee.

As for the third wave of hand brewed coffee, basically do not have to mechanical, with a cup and filter can be, the focus is on the use of coffee beans, blend suitable for their own taste of coffee. The subtlety lies in controlling the quality of beans and the temperature of hot water. The reason why it is popular is that you can make a variety of fine coffee at home.

there is an interesting background to the recent coffee boom in hong kong. Over the years, Hong Kong-style milk tea, Tan Island coffee and even "tea coffee" of "two grooves" have all been different from the above-mentioned three waves. hong kong-style milk tea is a mixture of many kinds of tea leaves, and its tea flavor is extremely strong. today, it has become a unique symbol of food culture. Hong Kong-style coffee is also strong, because of the high temperature long pot, coffee powder and impurities too dissolved in water, so with bitter taste. Hong Kong's "golden tea" is also a feature, Hong Kong people call it mandarin duck, tea and coffee mixture, taste more intense. hong kong people are accustomed to drinking hong kong-style coffee, and their taste is heavier, coarser, and more miscellaneous. however, large chain stores and small boutiques have become popular, and the taste of hong kong people has gradually changed, preferring authentic milk tea and understanding fine coffee from other places.