Everytime my customer (also a good friend) come over to Hong Kong, we will go for some coffee. He, being a coffee sales + barista in Latvia, loves Hong Kong coffee culture. He says the coffee culture in Latvia is very commercialised, people drinks only Starbucks and even some barista does not care about coffee. Anyway, this time we went to CoCo Espresso.CoCo Espresso in Sheng Wan was a tiny shop but big enough to fit 6 of us with rooms left. The indoor furnishing was modish with lots of coffee related merchandise and decoration. What I love most is the lovely coffee smell that saturated the shop. The staff and probably the owner were both very friendly, I could feel their love in coffee from how they meticulously prepared a cup of coffee and exchanging views with my friend. They also let my friend went in to make a cup of espresso too!Hand Drip Coffee - Single Origin - Ethiopia Dry Process TirgaCheffe Konga (10/10)

I had single origin coffee so I can taste the coffee bean of Ethiopia Dry Process TirgaChefe Konga more clearly and vividly. The coffee was mildly bitter and pretty rich. The first taste was a bit sour but the after taste was floral like some kind of herbal tea. I like it alot.Flat White (8/10)
I thought I ordered the Doppio Ristretto Flat White but it turned out to be just flat white. Even so the flat white was creamy with strong milk taste. Yum.

I really like CoCo Espresso, I even liked it more than Barista Jam. I feel like CoCo Espresso was more cosy and I can feel they are passionate about coffee. I wish my office didn't move to Kowloon Bay but stay in Sheung Wan, so I could come and have a nice cup of coffee everyday.

I don't drink coffee (I know, I'm weird), but I love sandwiches. I just moved to Sheung Wan and I figured I'd give this place a go. My executive summary is: don't go here for a sandwich.

My wife ordered the vegetable sandwich, because she wanted avocado. It was supposed to come with cheese (according to the menu) but instead it came with Kraft singles (we saw them unwrapping the "processed cheese food" from our table). That's just... I'm speechless.

I ordered a club sandwich. What would you guess was on my club sandwich? Turkey? No. Bacon? No. It had ham, pastrami, a fried egg and some wasabi mayo. It wasn't terrible... it just wasn't a club sandwich. And it wasn't all that good either.

The iced tea came with lemonade in it. It didn't warn you about that on the menu.

Don't go here for sandwiches. Chez Meli Melo is like a block away and is way better. *Way* better.

Final score: D

The new and improved Coco Espresso!!!The newly decorated shop was more open/airy with all the poster on the window taken down it looks much more tidy and welcome vs. the old homey style... Both are comfortable but this new one is like brushing up a bit so it looks kinda 'refreshing'... That seemed to fit with Coco Espresso's spirit that seemed to brighten up and talked more. Apart from the decoration, what goes into the cup was also received a lot of attention too while the opening hour was extended to 6PM... This is a nice moveThe Cappuccino I had was better than what I had before on the texture. Richer and more velvety. The temp, what are you talking about? This is Coco Espresso's milk drink so we don't need to worry about it at all... The secret is lower temp and the temp last longer with cup's choice... Look normal/mundane but this is a finer detail lots of cafe over look with all those super duper fancy cup and forget to have a decent thick enough cup to keep the temperature of the liquid last longer, making super duper hot drink unnecessary and one could enjoy the goodies in the milk at the temp was kept at the optimal point.. Way to go Coco Espresso!!!

However, the coffee base was not what it was and what I like. I was taken aback with a strong and forward roasty and chocolate tone in the cup with a very clear hint of sumatra in the cup, ie bolder big body than what it was... Not a good one for me as it seemed to interfere the sweetness and distract me from the sublime velvety body in milk... Too good of a thing?With a new grinder, I can easily get a layer of taste in each sip as if I have almost a different cup with each sip. The syrupy body ending was like a nice kiss goodbye teasing me toward the end of the cup and making me wanting more. Coco's new grinder happened to be conical burr Eureka very similar to Barista Jam. Apart from that, the loan unit of La Marzocco Linea which has a lot of history in there offers a nice and round cup which I like and seemed to be typical signature from Linea. There is no 'digital' feel, ie all the tasting note stick out like a sore thumb like when Coco just changed its grinder to Eureka. This is an overall improvement vs the old Coco and I can't wait for the new machine to arrive which will be the new Linea machine. Meanwhile, I expect barista at Coco Espresso to be very familiar with its new espresso machine when the new Linea is installed.

There has been an explosion of cafe openings in Hong Kong during the last 1-2 years, and having tried almost all of them already (but haven’t had the opportunity to review, I mean it only took me 2 years to blog about this place!), I found a lot of these late starters to be of very high quality and nearly right up there with the best of the world! One of the latest surprises has been Unar Coffee, which does a very deathly milk-based coffee which is highly addictive and comes with the prettiest latte art, although espresso wise its remains a bit too old-world and fluctuates depending on beans batch and freshness.

Barista Jam around the corner from here is of course considered the Mecca of all Cafes in Honng Kong. But the nearby ones such as Sidewalk Caffe, Caffe MyMy, Cafe Loisl, Fuel Espresso, Coffee Assembly. Le Moment, Cafe Sashay etc, are also worthy contenders in this part of town!

Johnson makes one of the most addictive Caffe Latte's with a smooth creamy milk and an aromatic coffee base, and for me, better than his Cappuccino too! The Espresso meanwhile is also of the highest standards, despite Johnson's Espresso Machine to be slightly lacking compared to his potential skills! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, COCO ESPRESSO !

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Original Review @

http://foodofhongkong.blogspot.com/2011/02/coco-espresso-34.html

to-go latte, the size is very small.. barely any foam. another $22.

... if i wanted below average coffee and sandwich, i could have gone to Starbucks for less than $52. not great value for the money.. don't recommend it.

Coco Espresso was the first cafe I wrote on openrice as this is the first standalone cafe that I'm really impressed overall.

Coco offers a nice balance between easy, comfortable decoration with friendly barista that one can talk to regarding coffee and photography... (Johnson is an avid photographer and, as a good evidence, his works adorn the wall for you to enjoy.)

In the old days, Coco was pretty much a light and soft version of coffee that is good but left a little something to be desired for me in his cup. I always thought of combining coffee's atmosphere and hospitality with the coffee I like from Crema... Of course, that will never happen.
The good news is, Coco changes for the better...
A bit of a background before this update. I haven't been to Coco Espresso for so long I couldn't remember my last time there. You either blame it on Holly Brown or Barista Jam, whoever you like less then...!
Surprisingly, the change is on a good side. The milk drink seemed to further improved, ie creamier and sweeter, and the coffee base exerted itself up better vs. the old day where all the coffee taste here was rather subdued. BTW, the picture of capp was taken by Johnson, not me... Any good thing, it's his credit.. Anything bad, it's my camera's fault (not mine, of course.. ).. Also, there's no post processing/crop on the Capp picture though the collages may cut out something that I couldn't adjust.
The espresso also showed significantly improvement all the tastes now, be it acidity, sweetness, body, etc. came to the forefront one didn't need to look really hard to find ones. Also, there was no hint of bitterness sometimes I had from cafe here... Kudo to Johnson indeed
The downside is that the difference between the two barista was now more salient. Maurice's Capp I had yesterday was a classic Coco Espresso style, ie somewhat velvety but can be better, somewhat chocolaty with some hint of bitterness (not a lot but I can sense it). This was nitpicking but in the old days, I couldn't tell them apart but now it's quite easy... Blame it on Johnson then as I can sense significant improvement in his skill.
The all day breakfast here has never let me down. It's a nice home style cooking and its salad was surprisingly good it wasn't just a plate decoration.

With such an improvement in the cup by Johnson and the nice 'home-style' all day breakfast, I plan to drop by Coco more often. Cozy ambience and friendly barista to boot too.

Services:
Friendly, proactive and helpful.

Food:
Ordered a spaghetti lunch set. Fresh produce and quality ingredients and it is made to order - it was hot when served (straight from the kitchen, in fact you can see the kitchen from the dining area) and it gives a very solid and fulfilled feeling. Nothing fancy but warm and fuzzy. The portion is not small either - enough for a grown up male and probably too much for ladies.

Drink:
Went there for its famous coffee. Was good and met my expectation - no complaint.

Environment:
Small but cozy. Went there early and took the bar seat, reasonably comfortable even it is a small shop. The drawback is that you have to share a table with others if your party cannot fill up one. Well, this is Hong Kong so I understand......

I lack the knowledge and detailed description of coffees, and how they spread out on the palates. It's something I've been meaning to learn but have yet to get the time to accomplish, alongside learning Italian, getting a music collection, and learning how to surf. Taking the initiative into something new is truly something quite courageous to begin with -- venturing into a new territory that's been around but haven't been explored to a persona level.

Affogato is an Italian dessert where hot just-brewed espresso is poured into gelato, melting it slightly but one could still experience that sweet chill from the gelato, accompanied by the dark intensity of espresso. The half-molten dessert should be easy to make, but like anything that's simple, as long as you have good vanilla ice cream and a good espresso with you it's hard to go wrong. This day, walking past Coco Espresso in Sheung Wan, I spotted the Affogato, not a new item, but a solution to a craving of ice cream and coffee for the day. I have visited Coco Espresso at times when it's not as busy and packed, just because the seating doesn't allow anyone of a certain height to sit comfortably long enough to enjoy the coffee.

Squeezing into one of the stools at the coffee shop, I ordered my Affogato. It soon arrived -- a perfectly scooped globe of vanilla ice cream, beige and smooth. accompanied by a tiny puddle of espresso, freshly made and topped with the sandy brown thickness of crema. A fruity aroma arose, reminding one of roasted chestnut and buckwheat honey. The sweet smell of caramel in the coffee itself should go right with the vanilla ice cream indeed.

Slowly pouring the coffee onto the icecream and watching the ice cream slowly melting, thickening the now molten liquid within the cup. The fusion of coffee and vanilla and milk is so inviting to chill in a summery afternoon, when the sun shone partly into the shop. Using a small spoon and scooping up the combined dessert -- soft pillowy icecream dripping with coffee. It tasted simple but good. There was no sour notes in the aftertaste, except for a strangely familiar taste on the palate left from the store-bought icecream. How wonderful would it have been should the icecream were really a light fluffy vanilla gelato?

It was before the time when coffee shops like Holly Brown and 18 Grams opened their doors. Scooping up the last bit of ice cream and coffee, one must wonder how foodies make up their minds to try new things, or old favorites not sampled before. They explore the streets and alleys in search of hidden finds, demonstrating the love and passion with an unblinking eye, recording their experiences for the world to see. There is no simpler way to say it but sometimes, taking a chance on something we love is just as it is like an affogato -- simple yet scrumptiously satisfying.

It doesn't always end up perfect, but the high of taking that initiative to get out and find the new and share with others...is truly amazing, and something to keeps me going day after day.

Correction: thanks to 辣子's reminder, the price listed below is amended. Thx...

i took this picture when i first visit this cozy shop last year..
it's so bloody australian this place...
it's got Flat White and Latte served in a glass, unique style and signature of Aussie coffee joint.
Flat White is Flat White. adequate amount of milk on exactly one coffee shot.
Latte is Latte. steamy hot milk in excess, the right portion of milk can always
put me into a comfortable afternoon nap.
unlike these starbucks and pacific places, making some sort of compromise for the americans.
since i do miss sydney sometimes, for their cafe and cinema houses,
and hence i keep returning to this little coffee place in sheung wan
during my 1-year stay in Hongkie.

Having been to coco espresso a few times, I felt guilty for not giving comment to this little shop.

Boss and barista Johnson is doing a fab. job there, consistantly making great espresso. He certainly has great passion towards coffee, and is a chatter box if he knows you have passion too!

Coco's Espresso is a bit more challenging than others. It has higher acid than most other blends I tried in Hong Kong, and has complex aftertaste. It reminds me an amplified (and better) version of illy.

Everytime I'm a happier man when I step out of this little shop. After not more than 5 visits, Coco espresso has silently over taken Crema as the King(or Queen?) of coffee shop in hong kong in my mind.