Life in the espresso lane

If I could be said to have worries about moving to such an interesting place as Hong Kong, it was around leaving behind the coffee culture of Melbourne. While I still miss some of my favourite cafes, I should not have worried. I have yet to have a bad espresso in Hong Kong, which seems amazing in a culture that is historically a tea-drinking one. Perhaps the Chinese respect for tea has encouraged in them a respect for the humble Coffea arabica bean (though how does that explain all the bad coffee in England?).
So what is coffee culture like in Hong Kong? There are a number of speciality European-style coffee shops around the place, with stylish decor, and an ambience of international cool. I have been bad about documenting the names of the places I have stumbled upon, so I will get back to specific cafes in a later post. Many of these are being run by native Hong Kongers, seemingly, while some are run by expat Australians or New Zealanders, like the very popular Fuel Espresso in the IFC mall in Central.
However I am learning that I do not need to be such a coffee snob as I was in Melbourne. There is a chain (yes, a chain) of cafes here in Hong Kong called the Pacific Coffee Company. This was set-up by an American guy called Thomas Neir in 1993 when he noticed the lack of coffee shops in Hong Kong. I have now tried out about half a dozen of their stores, and I have found the quality of the espresso good in all of them. They must have good barista training to achieve this sort of consistency across a number of outlets, and that is to be applauded I think, whatever the size of the company. So if you're in Hong Kong and need a coffee, don't be afraid to give one of their branches a try. There are always comfortable (if kitschy) red armchairs, as well as the day's papers in English or Cantonese, as well as magazines galore, and the coffee should be good enough for all but the most fanatical coffee-geek. So you can find more interesting, more quirky, and more local coffee shops if you want to look for them, but if you need a caffeine fix NOW, then this could be your place.
We headed over to Shek O yesterday, to see what is supposedly one of Hong Kong's best beaches. We were impressed, both by the beach, and by the village, which is 'oh-so-cute', but the real surprise was to get a great coffee at a tiny (eight tables or so) cafe in the village. I guess I expect some attempts at great coffee from places in the city, but would not normally be so optimistic about small owner-operated cafes in out-of-the-way places. Perhaps it is impossible to find bad espresso in Hong Kong? Right now, this is what I want to believe.
Coming soon: A list of cafes with good coffee, and possibly ones without, if I can find any!