Rabbithole Coffee and Roaster is a coffee shop with a twist. Not only does owner Mike Fung roast his own coffee beans, import beans and sell coffee to the public, they also hold classes in how to make coffee. Little did you know there were more ways to make coffee than what Starbucks taught you!
After lunch at MANA! we thought that we’d hit Rabbithole for a post lunch pick-me-up. Proving rather difficult to find we eventually located the sign-less doorway on Cochrane Street, Central Hong Kong and headed up to the second floor. We heard about it through a Time Out Hong Kong article.
A relatively small shop which is kitted out in modern fittings and dripping in high tech, up-to-the-minute coffee paraphernalia. It didn’t seem like the kind of shop you would get a takeaway coffee from, more of a sit-and-savour place with little ambiance. We were offered a stool at a communal bench when we spotted a back door and found a terrace towards the rear of the building which was a little roomier.
Our server came over and muttered some country names. Now, Katie isn’t a coffee aficionado. To an extent I am but I’m not overly douchebag about it. I asked him to explain what characteristics each bean had to get an idea of what Katie would like. He wasn’t too keen so I explained that she liked her coffee sweet and vanilla flavoured while I liked a strong and bitter espresso, could he suggest something?
With the absence of a menu it was up to the barista to ‘up sell’ the coffee and explain, to the average joe coffee drinker, what the difference in the beans and the brewing method is. I liked the place; you got a feel for their passion for coffee. With large ‘proper’ coffee machines and all the latest thermo-laser-bean-crushing-and-heating gizmos you got the impression that if you wanted a coffee, this was the place.
Katie had a cold drip coffee which was served in a small beaker-like carafe and a glass with a conical bottom so it was forever spinning round the table and made you think it was falling over. I got my espresso in a shot glass. We had to ask for sugar and milk and the coffee wasn’t well matched to Katie’s tastes; ‘cough medicine’ was her description of the taste. I was offered a Honduras bean which tasted pretty good.
Rabbithole offer classes which I think would be really useful, if you’ve even got the slightest penchant for coffee, to learn more about the myriad bean varieties, equipment and methods. They are not the only new wave of indie coffee specialist cafes in Hong Kong there are also Knockbox, Cupping Room, CoCo Espresso, Barista Jam and Holly Brown amongst others
We were meeting friends so they joined us for a coffee; 6 coffees in total came to around HK$340 (£30). That’s around HK$50 (£5) each which we all thought was a little steep, however with the abundance of wealthy people working in the area they may do well.
Our opinion: Great concept, décor was clean and inviting and we liked all the equipment on display. The classes are another good idea but I think they need to work on a menu or a spiel for the staff to explain the concept, beans and other options along with offering milk and sugar, should you want it.They also offer free wifi which is good for everyone wanting to Instagram their lattes!
See what Janice @ e-tingfood.com thought of Rabbithole Coffee.
