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2012-11-05
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To me, KC Coffee is a very interesting cafe. I remembered I visited this place in early April, only to find out that it's closed due to public holiday. After letting others know of my disappointment the shop closed on my visit, lots told me that I didn't miss much or I was lucky that the place was closed... Some even suggested me to go to other cafes in the area as a better bet than KC Coffee... This made me even more curious how a cafe can garner this much negative recommendation no
To me, KC Coffee is a very interesting cafe. I remembered I visited this place in early April, only to find out that it's closed due to public holiday. After letting others know of my disappointment the shop closed on my visit, lots told me that I didn't miss much or I was lucky that the place was closed...
Some even suggested me to go to other cafes in the area as a better bet than KC Coffee... This made me even more curious how a cafe can garner this much negative recommendation not only from coffee crowd but also those who loves to try new places too.
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This is my first time I receive so many negatives/againsts on a single cafe even those very low on my current cafe list have never attracted this much negative attention. Is KC Coffee "that" bad?
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Some told me that there were only limited coffee on the offering at KC and those on offer did not sound that interesting. However, I found quite a nice list of coffee when I was there.
Judging from these words, the shop might have quite a few "kinks" earlier. To me, from the outside of the shop on that day, the coffee offering was interesting.
KC Coffee served imported coffee from Honey Coffee which, from the internet, seemed to be one of the more famous coffee roasters in Japan. It is a part of the Maruyama buying group, a well known figure in the renowned Cup of Excellence program as a major buyer.
Honey Coffee's main shop in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan also sports $$$ one-cup brewing machine, Clover Brewing System. In a way, I have a high hope on the quality of the green bean.
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Let start with an espresso first. Yes, espresso blend is from Japan by Honey Coffee and this blend is actually made of Brazil, Guatemala and El Salvador. The espresso shot looked extremely short and tight to me vs. my espresso order.
I had orange/acidic notes in the cup with dark somewhat bitter tone at the back which remind me more of 18 grams but not as dark and powerful. The body eerily reminded me of cups I typically get from La Marzocco GB5 which is on the thin/lean side so no surprise here (KC uses LM GB5).
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To me, the eureka grinder makes this even more clear that it's LM GB5 cup i had. Later, I felt the dark tone at the back quite dirty toward the end and feel it is more from the roast profile of this particular roaster.
In all, this coffee was OK and probably close to cups I loved and fell hard on in the distant past but now this kind of cup can't catch up with more of the current trend of longer shot with a more comprehensive tasting note from the beginning to the aftertaste and nothing short on that on cups that I typically had at Rabbithole and Knockbox Coffee Company. You can find my notes elsewhere on this website on these two extraordinary coffee places in Hong Kong
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Before I talk about KC's filtered coffee, let talk about the shop's own suggestion first. I was quite surprised that the shop suggested French press to me for this $$$ coffee which could easily cover up the delicate tasting note of the expensive coffee.
However, I ignored the shop's suggestion and asked to have a siphon coffee. I was lucky as I learned later that the barista at the shop won awards on siphon brewing competition too. This was quite strange or maybe it is quite close to the shop closing hour at 5pm.
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I chose Nicaragua Los Congos, 2011 Cup of Excellence winner #2, the most expensive coffee on that day. I got the citrusy, fleshy fruit note with hint of caramel and toasty note at the back. The aftertaste wasn't that clean but not too distracting which to me it seemed to come from roaster's roast profile/style
To me, the cup is of older style, ie underextracted/updosed a bit and can be better but I was happy with the cup I get. Though this is not the best, I can live with this coffee if I happen to be stuck in the area and need a cup.
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I went back for a milk drink two months ago which was happened to be one of the day of Hong Kong Barista Competition. My cappuccino had a velvety smooth texture with hint of sweetness but had a bit of milk powder kinda taste to me. The coffee base itself was somewhat strange almost dirty but not (this is the common theme of coffee at KC Coffee and I suspect it's the roaster than the barista themselves).
It is hard to put the finger on why the coffee shows good trait but I am not very impressed on this milk drink. I prefer espresso more even though it's very tight but, tastewise, is ok. Later I learned/saw from lots of coffee lovers who visited Japan for coffee that the coffee they had over there were quite short so this may be the style from Honey Coffee itself.
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In all, on its own, KC Coffee exceeds my expectation for cafe in the area. It has its own appeal and comfy to sit so it's good if you are in the area and want cups of coffee. However, KC Coffee is much more appealed as a group for a cafe crawl including KC Coffee, Coffee Break and The Blend of Danes. To this end, KC Coffee is a borderline smiley face to me but I bumped it up to a full level smiley face as it is better to treat as a group from the cafe crawl in the area.
Kowloon Bay boasted lots of cafes with interesting characters. The enthusiasm of cafe owners is second to none but the cup quality was mostly capped by the clientele in the area unlike the audience in Sheung Wan and Quarry Bay. To me, Coffee Break is a mini version of Coco Espresso - warm, comfy and brimming with enthusiasm toward coffee while the Blend of Danes runs by a roaster from Australia and will at least fit for those who missed the taste of home and provide a good contrast to a more local enthusiast kinda style offered by KC Coffee and Coffee Break. Tell the owners/barista when you visited these cafes that you are interested in good coffees and you might be in for a good and memorable surprise!
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