Café Lavande
This Provence-style café might be tucked away on a quiet street beside the Mid-Levels escalator, but its flavour-packed beverages are worth the detour. Using 100 per cent Arabica beans from Italy for its espresso blend, the rustic, lavender-coloured café serves up strong flavours softened with milky embellishments, such as almond cappuccino and hazelnut latte. Julian, who prefers to only be referenced by his first name, owns the quaint venue, and says he offers drinks that remind him of the French countryside: milky flavours, nutty undertones, and a firm jolt. He definitely delivers, and the café’s location on a quiet cobblestone street helps set the tone. You could almost be in the south of France. Almost. G/F, 4 Prince’s Tce, Mid-Levels, 2537 7998.

Manager’s special: Forget your cholesterol levels – the chestnut latte with cream is to die for. $40.

Eat Right
“Coffee finishes the meal, so the quality of that experience is what our customers leave remembering. It has to be perfect,” says Martin Lorentsson, personal trainer turned health food restaurateur. Lorentsson has made numerous trips to Australia to attend barista courses at his boutique coffee supplier, Toby’s Estate, in Sydney. “We waste a lot of expensive coffee bringing these guys up to speed,” he says of the obsessively trained staff at Eat Right. Lorentsson cleans his machines daily, imports 100 per cent Arabica beans and top-shelf milk, uses filtered water, and discards any coffee that’s sat on the shelf for more than a month. As he says, “every step in the process has to be just right to get a perfect cup”. 23 Staunton St, Central, 2868 4832, www.eatright.com.hk.

Manager’s special: To cap off your healthy low-cal meal, Lorentsson recommends the Piccolo Latte, a classic, fine-grind, low-caffeine ristretto latte. Expect a perfect pour with a fern drawn in your tightly-bubbled crema. $22.

Pacific Coffee at the Peak
A side order of breathtaking cityscape with your coffee? Sure thing. This cup of joe comes with a panorama of lofty mountains, high rises and blue sky (if you’re lucky). But stunning views and prime real estate are not the only things this café has going for it: it also bring consistently good coffee to the table. Launched in 1992 to tackle the dearth of authentic brews in Hong Kong, Pacific Coffee has maintained its commitment to quality java. The house espresso is smooth and rounded, made from a mix of South American and Sumatran beans, so it’s not as strong as European blends. And with ten blends rotating as its ‘coffee of the day’, there’s something for everyone; whether it’s a medium Mexican roast or a darker Kenyan. The chain will offer its first fair-trade, organic espresso blend in September. And it doesn’t charge for an extra shot – so double your juice, grab a chair and enjoy the scenery. Unit G10, G/F, The Peak Tower, 128 Peak Rd, The Peak, 2849 6608; www.pacificcoffee.com.

Manager’s special: It’s hard to go past the sweet richness of the caramel latte. $35.

Segafredo
With the beans produced at its own coffee plantation in Brazil, this Italian-themed café won’t serve anything but its own exclusive blends. Though the café manufactures and sells a range of javas, from extra-strong espresso to decaffeinated, all aim to craft the same bold taste of traditional Italian coffee, an idea the Zanetti family envisioned when they opened the first Segafredo café in Paris in 1988. The company now has espresso bars across the globe, including in Japan, Vietnam, Spain, and Hong Kong. The baristas use a combination of aromatic Arabica beans and full-bodied Robusta java, and the finished product maintains a strong flavour without an overwhelming aftertaste. Among the traditional choices is a quirky drink the café keeps under wraps: the ginger honey café latte. This unique concoction, which is not on the menu but can be ordered, is made with spicy ginger juice and honey and is exclusive to the Hong Kong branch. It was created when a local barista mentioned that the flavours would suit Hong Kong palates, and it has remained a sweet secret among those in the know ever since (oops). U/G, The Loop, 33 Wellington St, Central, 2523 2821; www.dolci.hk.

Manager’s special: The cappuccinos are thick with silky foam yet retain the strong flavour coffee lovers insist upon. $32.

Starbucks
Reviled by snobs, frequented by billions, Starbucks is a global corporation built on the consistency of its product – reliably decent coffee. Although the coffee giant deserves some criticism for homogenising city streets worldwide, it should also get some credit for bringing the once rarefied realm of espresso appreciation within almost everyone’s reach. As with all instances of democratisation, elite tastes meet equal opportunity in a grey zone of compromise. The new branch on Duddell Street shows the corporation experimenting with a more personalised touch. In collaboration with local furniture store G.O.D, it has created the world’s first Starbucks concept coffee space, which pays tribute to the franchise’s Hong Kong setting. The menu is much the same – apart from the addition of some Canto-style sweet buns – but the large interior is decked out with bird cages and old Chinese poster art, referencing the traditional Hong Kong street café, or bing sutt. A small step for a big beast, here’s hoping the company continues with this localised approach. Floor M2, Baskerville House, 13 Duddell St, 2523 5685; www.starbucks.com.hk.

Manager’s special: Whatever daily special you go for, make sure get a pineapple bun ($12) on the side.
 

Fuel Espresso
Amid the flashy designer boutiques and ostentatious window displays of IFC Mall sits this mercifully understated shrine to the glory of coffee. Decked out in alluring dark woods, and with a collection of landmark jazz albums displayed above the counter, chances are you’ll feel like this is the coffee spot you’ve always been searching for – even before you taste your first ground-to-order cup. The secret here is in the stringent techniques of the baristas and the meticulous attention to detail – staff trained for two months before this location opened, using some 1,000 litres of milk in the process, while the more experienced heads were imported from Wellington, New Zealand, where Fuel Espresso’s other nine outlets can be found. Blends in the style of Trieste, Italy’s espresso capital, are the order of the day here, and given the pedigree of founder Sanjay Ponnapa (see profile, pxx), you can rest assured they’ve been scrupulously selected. Go midmorning or after lunch to avoid the crowds and to enjoy your caffeine buzz in relative tranquillity. Shop 3023, IFC Mall, Central, 2295 3815; www.fuelespresso.com.

Manager’s special: If you like your coffee strong and intense, you’ve come to the right place. Espressos are a house specialty, but our suggestion: order a Fuel Latte (dark blend; $40). Be warned, however – a regular latte may never again measure up.

TaTa Café
Forget the iced soy mocha with extra sprinkles. If cafés were coffee beverages, Tata would be a short black made from the world’s best beans. The location of this single-room bean supplier and tasting-lounge – on the fourth floor of a nondescript office block in Central – is a closely guarded secret among Hong Kong coffee connoisseurs. Proprietor Benjamin Lee prepares every cup himself and is happy to educate newcomers about the complex arcana of coffee production and appreciation. A caffeine-buzzed repository of coffee knowledge, Lee has sought to create a place where java aficionados can share their experiences and opinions, rather than just grab a cup to go, read a paper or hold a meeting. At TaTa, it truly is all about the beans. Suite 401, 4/F, Kamming House, 49 Queen’s Rd Central, 2868 3726.

Manager’s special: Lee will start your tasting with a French-pressed (plunger) cup of medium roast Jamaican Blue Mountain, served black. Several years ago, Lee flew to the 249-year-old Wallenford farm in the Jamaican mountains to secure exclusive Hong Kong distribution rights for the estate’s highly sought after beans. At $880 for 450g, Blue Mountain is the second most expensive coffee varietal on the global market. Lee is adamant about French pressing his Blue, as he believes it is the only way to preserve its delicate, exquisitely balanced character. If you beg to differ, Lee welcomes a friendly flavour debate. $60.

Find more top coffee spots by district:
Central
Sheung Wan
Causeway Bay & Wan Chai
Tsim Sha Tsui

Profiles:
The Obsessive: Spencer Douglass
The Educator: Sanjay Ponnapa
The Indie Owner: Felix Wong
The Mechanic: Paul Pratt