Knockbox Coffee Company

踏入四月，一连数日的复活节假期又再展开，也是一众港人离港度假的时机。而小弟呢？也特意抽出一天假期来让自己休息，而今天的目标地段既不是商场地标却是宁静的上环。最近不少特色小店或Select Shop已分别进驻这里，而咖啡小店的数目也又有所增设。对小弟来说，休息当然是离不开咖啡，故偷啡之旅也来到了有单品咖啡提供的knockbox！啡店就在小巷内，店内外均提座位，而店内更放置了一部炒豆机，给人蛮专业的感觉。从餐牌上已能看见达十种的单品咖啡可供饮用，故也不留力来了两杯手冲单品咖啡。衣索比亚 - illubabor：相信啡友们对于“衣索比亚 ”这地方绝不感到陌生，当中常接触到的耶加雪夫更是源出于此，那今天小弟要喝的当然不是它而是来至illubabor产区的咖啡。经研磨的咖啡粉带有烟丝味，而冲出来的咖啡果酸明显较尖锐，带微弱的甜味，不论温度下降其整体味道仍然强烈，久了份个人喜爱的柔和感。此杯显然不对我的味儿，当然衣索比亚仍有西达莫、哈拉与咖法等不同风味的咖啡豆，大家可寻找合适的。危地马拉 - finca rosma：谈到危地马拉这地方，咖啡出产也毫不失色，有传统的安提瓜外，也有新兴的皇室玛莉亚。是日此杯咖啡入口相比刚才那杯来得舒服，更有著浓郁的烟丝味，那活泼的果酸也蛮怡人，随温度降低咖啡果酸也有明显增加，酸味过后带出甘甜。如咖啡中前段是平稳的表现，那后段的表现就比较像上一杯咖啡。是日初到此啡店，店内已聚集了不少客人，不少也再跟咖啡师谈论著咖啡。虽今次所尝的手冲咖啡未尽合意，但在这宁静的环境中与友人闲谈实属相当宝贵的时刻，也让自己好好放松一番。…查看更多

i'm not a coffee aficionado, but i like my good shot of espresso; i'm not a coffee expert, but i'm intrigued enough to want to learn more.On a friend's recommendation, i decided to pay a visit to this little coffee place, not aware that i'd stumbled upon their friday tasting night.Knockbox was a box alright, half of the space was taken up by the bar/work bench area which looked remarkably like a science lab with fancy and rather good looking apparatus. The remaining half was occupied by a coffee roaster, a table and a book-shelf. Jonathan, one of the baristas, introduced the working of a tasting nite to us and started our education right away by passing some freshly grounded beans for us to smell. This was followed by a small shot of hand-dripped coffee made with those beans. Even though we arrived 2/3 into the event, we still managed to taste 5-6 different beans, I can't imagine staying for the entire event, I'd be so caffeine-drunk!! Some of these beans were roasted by famous roasters overseas and yet that was not a guarantee that it would be better than the same beans roasted locally. Sometimes it really pays to look homeward.The discussion that ensued was very much a dialogue where everyone's opinion was valued, novice or expert. Afterall, coffee is a beverage and is meant to be a pleasure to drink, regardless of the myriads of nuances and levels of complexity. Having been an espresso drinker all along, it was a bit of a shock to the system to be introduced to coffee that was "watery", almost tea-like, but once the dominating oil is filtered, the underlying floral could truly blossom.The experience opened up an entire new coffee world to this nursery grade coffee drinker. While people all have different preference and tastes, in the context of learning, the lesson to take home is to keep an open mind. Who would have thought watery is not (always) "bad", acidic is (sometimes) a treasured feature? I certainly didn't. I have learnt a lot last night, and there's a lot more to learn. This is what makes life so fascinating.…查看更多

近来身子抱恙，而且又非常没时间，周围试啡的动力真的减少了，不过来到二零一一年的最后一日，誓要以一杯好咖啡来洗去过往一年的衰气，但真的好衰唔衰，在临出发前竟被只黑蜂叮中了，不过最后本人都是决定要去，因为于我而言，咖啡能医百病。看过了之前专业咖啡食友Boblam的食评，知道此店的营业时间很特别，本来是想打过电话来看看店家又是否在营业中的，不过最后发现原来其在Openrice的纪录中，是没有电话的，不过个人去意已决，在一股试啡的蛮劲所驱使之下，最后本人在这天的四时多，终于来到了，幸而店家是有营业的，而最棒的，更是他们是日刚好人材济济。店主理人Patrick及Frances都刚好在店，而且他们专请回来的Full Time咖啡师Jonathan也在店，所以这也是其他啡友的好消息了，因为这样此咖啡店就可在周一至周五都营业了。甫坐下，见到主理人Patrick在弄Espresso，而我也没太多留意，先看一看有什么好喝，是日的Espresso Special是Columbia Supremo，心想也没所谓，也是老规矩，先来一杯Espresso及一杯奶系咖啡吧，就来杯Caffe Latte吧。一边等喝咖啡，就边看人家怎样去煮咖啡，原来刚才Patrick在不断的在弄咖啡机，是因为他们部Expobar不太听使唤，所以本人杯Espresso，店家最后要冲煮了第三杯，才认为是可以奉客，还记得在香港也试过同类型的体验，就是在新蒲岗的The Blend of Danes。本人目睹整个冲煮的过程，基本上由试水、预热、磨豆、填压、抹清Basket旁的粉及上Basket，利落而没瑕疵，加上其冲煮时间大概是廿五秒左右，再看Shot Size及Crema的颜色，整件事情在本人嗅及喝之前，已经是叫人要击掌了。不过未饮过又怎可乱说，本人也是先嗅它一嗅，香味浓郁得来有变化，没有了一般意式深度烘焙的几近炭烤的超浓香味，反之那个香味，在Espresso而言是来得清幽，之后本人就猛地将它往咀裹一吸，这Crema的感觉很特别，Crema如丝般滑之外，最有趣的是跟咖啡有如混得密不可分，令咖啡的质地很柔润，而且咖啡的风味也很是特别，除了甜味来得自然，当中的酸味更令人心旷神怡，跟甜味刚好平衡了，然后After-Taste传来阵阵果香，尽显哥伦比亚豆的特色，这一杯Espresso真的好喝。喝过了美味的Espresso，之后当然就是期待杯Caffe Latte吧，不过见Patrick反覆再试部机，他最后后说要放弃了，因为部机的压力不太够，好唔稳定，其实店家用的这部Expobar的Office Leva，都够力应付小型Café的客量，2000Watt Boiler with Heat Exchanger，但店家看到的原来比我知的更多，原来这是因为这部机是改装过的，除了个泵不同了，更有实时压力仪计量Coffee Cake内的压力，就连咖啡饼内的Pressure Profile也要监控，那你说杯出品又点会差呢？等了又等，寂寞的夜深的我们，当然就是不甘寂寞，就决定先来杯手冲哥斯达黎加来止瘾，其实店家也可以用Syphon去煮，不过本人近来喝多了Syphon，又想试试手冲会有什么风味，一向对哥斯达黎加豆的印象都是甜度较高，味道来得清纯，且看看店家是日这杯又如何。看到Jonathan基本上也做足所有的功夫，除了如之前食友Boblam所言，用具非常清洁之外，预热杯子及所有用具，豆的研磨度也是较粗的，豆磨好之后的味道也挺香，而且咖啡师倒水也倒得很有耐性很均匀，看来又有好咖啡喝了。本人拿着这杯咖啡时，第一个疑问就是，为何杯咖啡好像不太热呢？明明见到咖啡师有预热了，喝完再问店员，才知道此店Hand Drip用的热水都是大概八十至八十五度，那我立时问为何不用九十多度的水呢？Patrick说那就倒不如喝Syphon了，因为Syphon的水一定是滚的，加上此店的Syphon壶是用布过泸膜，所以口感更滑更多油脂。而店家用这个度数的水去煮Hand Drip，根本就是想客人喝到在不同温度的水之下，所Extract到同一款豆的咖啡都会是不同的，来到这一点，基本上不是再要去谈对与错的问题，究竟什么是对，什么是错呢？你认为杯咖啡不够热不够油脂滑，不过人家狂想的，可能就是想单一Extract到咖啡粉内某一种物质，或者科学上准确一点说，就是要以特定的温度，使得某一物质相对其他物质是更易被綷取出来，以突出当中某一特质的个性，这又是错吗？所以越喝得多咖啡时，就知道有时候眼光不要那么窄，说回这杯咖啡，坦然本人对于一杯不太热的咖啡，是有点不快，不过水温低一点，同时咖啡豆内油润的物质就比较难被Extract出来，形成当中酸度较高的个性，所以个人感到这杯咖啡，是没有了心目中哥斯达黎加豆甜美的个性，不过咖啡酸度跳脱，而且啡身来得非常光净，有如在喝一杯很清纯的果汁，不要以为我吹水，是真的！这是本人以尽量中肯的一个评价，至于大家又是否喜欢或认同，这又是另外一回事了。就在此时，店家部Expobar复活了，不过看来Patrick都不是太满意部机的表现，但见我们也是想喝杯奶系咖啡，最后也煮出了一杯Caffe Latte来，但跟我们说不要期望过高，但事实是，这一杯咖啡，是本人在今天喝过最好的一杯。Caffe Latte也传承了Espresso中展现Columbia Supremo的个性，这一杯Caffe Latte，是用鼻子已经可嗅到那份清新的酸香，奶泡面层虽然有点点细泡，但泡表面非常光滑，呷一口就更是如丝般柔顺，天啊！个奶泡打得好正！再者奶跟咖啡的融合，也是如之前那杯Espresso中的Crema跟啡一样的融合得好，一口细滑的奶泡，原来也有很不错的咖啡味，而且更要还可感受到那酸果香，酸果香加上奶之后，味道来得更和顺，个人而言，这豆在Espresso中展现了其个性，但在奶系咖啡中的表面可说是更胜一筹。Patrick及Frances都是爱啡之人，所以当然也喜欢跟大家分享咖啡，最后他们更冲煮了一杯Hand Drip的危地马拉精品豆给在场啡友免费享用，比起之前的哥斯达黎加，这一次的豆就炒得比较深，所以纵使用了同水温的水，Extract出来的咖啡的颜色是深得多了。都是先嗅一嗅，可能是炒得深一点的关系，当中的酸浆果味被压抑了，但就多了分哥斯达黎加没有的烟丝味，而这也是危地马拉豆最大的特色，入口甘度高了点，但在浓重的烟丝味之中，Body都算轻而清纯，以本人愚见，如果这豆是用来Syphon甚或是煮Espresso，个Body一定会比现时中温Hand Drip厚得多，所以个人感觉是有点怪，但这也是它的特质，都是那一句话，这能够分对错吗？喝了四杯咖啡，谈了很多关于咖啡的事，本来Patrick说只收我们头两杯咖啡的钱，解释说不好意思要我们等杯Caffe Latte那么久，而我跟唔太不是不喜欢人家的美意，不过我们也明白人家打开门做生意，那样子是非常的不好意思，所以除了最后那杯的危地马拉之外，我们也付了三杯咖啡的钱，合共一百零五元，贵吗？好啡，一点也不贵。P.S. 本人想了又想为何杯手冲咖啡味道如此薄，其实原来除了温度不够之外，另一个可能就是那Filter吧，虽然店家当时应该不是用上Chemex Filter，不过始终也是Paper Filter嘛！再看看这篇文章，本人可就明白了，有望大家有空也来看看吧。http://www.coffeed.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2656以上那一条并不是本人部落格的连结，而是对于咖啡知识的连结，本人希望Openrice明白本人的意思及尊重本人为了令大家明白咖啡的意愿，不好要我删除这一条连结。…查看更多

This is the type of café I wish I found at the time I started to be seriously interested in good coffee a long while back.Knockbox is the place that really caters to coffee lovers. Unlike almost all cafés in Hong Kong that call for high turnover/more drink served as fast as possible in a limited time span, Knockbox is run more like a friend get together to talk coffee with one another when they have spared time. This is great for those who just started in coffee as one can talk freely and is more likely to find out what one likes, how each coffee/brewing methods contribute, etc. Of course, any customer is more than welcomed there to just sit, relax and enjoy coffee by oneself.I recommend its tasting menu “Coffee Grand Slam” for three cups of coffee, any style. This can be one coffee, three brewing techniques to show the effect of how coffee brewing has on coffee. Or you can check it out how three bean from different origin tastes like by get beans from three major regions in one brewing method. Among various brewing method I had over there, siphon came out top. The clean and clear cup makes it much easier to detect and enjoy nuances in the coffee, particularly if you have fruity and clean cup like those from Central American, my favorite coffee.I tastes in-house roasted Ethipia Yirghacheffe from Chemex, my first time with this coffee brewing system. The cup is very clean and a winey tone cannot be mistaken though bitter dark chocolate was clear in my mouth, particularly when it further cooled down. While I like my coffee much lighter roast than this level, the good thing is that I didn’t get any ashy tone or anything bad, like dark roasted coffee I had outside even from local Indie’s roasters.From Coava KONE steel filter version two with the same Yirgh, there were lots more sludge in this cup than Chemex but I ended up with much tastier coffee with clearer floral and tea like notes, a character of the steel filter that lets the aromatic coffee oil go through the filter into the cup vs. the paper filter that absorbs most of such nuances on to itself. Despite the lower brew temperature at 81 degree Celsius for KONE vs. 85 degree for Chemex, acidity is quite hard to detect, a character of quite a dark roast itself.Apart from brewing methods above, Knockbox offers a pressure profile modified espresso machines, the “IT” thing to tame the hip and happening single origin espresso these days on top of French press and Eva Solo brewing, the latter my first time in a café setting in Hong Kong. And the barista there knows how to brew and talk coffee as they are also coffee enthusiasts that is more than willing to talk coffee with any customer who has any interest be it those who just curious to coffeegeeks.In all, I haven’t fun visiting cafés for so long and Knockbox’s hospitality and enthusiast makes this one my favorite stop for coffee these days. After the ‘refreshing’ course of various coffee and brewing methods, I’m sure one can easily go back to your favorite café and see things in different light.I highly recommended this place for both newbies and experienced to ‘refresh’ their tasting buds. The no rush/friendly/coffee talk is not to be missed and I can only hope Hong Kong has more of this kind of place. Highly recommended!!!Knockbox's hour is still somewhat restricted; the hour is, for now, Friday night and late morning and afternoon on weekend. However, this works great for me!!!…查看更多