Felix Wong is a self proclaimedself-proclaimed coffee geek. Owner of one of the first independent operators of quality coffee in the city, Café Corridor in Causeway Bay, you can usually find Wong chilling in his laidback coffee house across the way from Times Square.

His first tastes of coffee were stolen sips from his grandmother’s cup,cup; from there it was uphill to instant, then straight to espresso machines. Wong allows himself three to four cups a day for both business and pleasure: “I like roasting beans by myself; then when I drink it it’s surprisingly good. It’s the result of everything I’ve learned. Finally, I’m doing something I really like.”

The whole thing started almost like a happy accident: a trip to Australia a decade ago had Wong hooked on café culture and working as a barista at Ground Zero, a Seattle- inspired café in Sydney. Corridor had a hiatus from 2005 to 2008 due to exorbitant rent demands, and it was during this period that Wong focused his attention on Coffee Assembly, a company he founded that roasts coffee and wholesales it to restaurants – providing him with the opportunity to take his coffee love, and bean quality, further. “We can control the freshness 100 per cent, which means ideally using the beans within one month of roasting. There’s a huge difference.”

Though he’s all-indie, Wong says chains such as Starbucks and Pacific Coffee have made a positive impact on the scene: “Their biggest contribution is pushing Hong Kong’s coffee culture forward. They provide a good atmosphere, even if their coffee quality really isn’t up to par.”

Wong says most of the time he hires staff with no experience, in order to train them up from the basics. HeWong has taken to educating the greater masses with workshops that include ‘latte art’ – something he has a title in (“but it’s kind of just a gimmick,” he admits). Now there’s a guy that’s all about the coffee.

Bourree Lam

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