Why have stylish coffee shops increased in Hong Kong, the city of milk tea?

When it comes to Hong Kong, for me, it was always a "city of milk tea" rather than a "city of coffee" in the past.

When you enter a cha chaan teng in the morning, the aroma of strongly brewed Hong Kong-style milk tea fills the air, and the shop is bustling with people eating Hong Kong toast, pineapple buns, and macaroni soup.

You order as soon as you sit down, sharing tables is the norm, and the speed at which people eat, drink, and leave is very characteristic of Hong Kong. In Japan, cha chaan tengs have the image of having a high customer turnover, much like ramen or soba shops.

That is why, in the past, I didn't really have the impression that people in Hong Kong "spent time relaxing in cafes" like they do in Japan or South Korea.

Hong Kong has a cafe culture deeply rooted in the lives of its people called "cha chaan teng".

With milk tea, yuenyeung, lemon tea, pineapple buns, egg tarts, hot sandwiches, noodle dishes, and more, you can have not just drinks, but also meals and quick breaks at a cha chaan teng.

I think the reason there were few shops where coffee was the main focus, such as cafes and coffee shops, is because cha chaan tengs are so well-integrated into the lives of Hong Kong people.

This is just my personal opinion, but after eating Cantonese or other Chinese cuisine, I find myself wanting tea to cleanse my palate rather than coffee. I often drink lemon tea after a meal.

However, watching travel vlogs, I've noticed that stylish cafes and coffee shops have been increasing in Hong Kong over the last few years.

It doesn't seem to be just because "there are more coffee lovers"❓ Perhaps the way people spend time in the city has changed.

Because the streets of Hong Kong are photogenic, many tourists (myself included, haha) walk around with a smartphone in one hand to take photos for social media and enjoy "a cup while feeling the city" during their travels.

Hong Kong cafes have also become places to enjoy the atmosphere, not just to drink something (though as a retro lover, I also enjoy the atmosphere of those cha chaan tengs).

Rather than just a quick drink, cafes are a time to pause for a little while.

Since the pandemic, the increase in people brewing coffee at home as part of the "home cafe" trend might also be a reason for the rise in coffee roasters and cafes. During my trip to Hong Kong, I saw pop-up stores from various Japanese coffee roasters in the shopping malls I visited, and many people were buying from them.

Next time I travel to Hong Kong, I want to buy coffee beans at a Hong Kong coffee shop, and go cafe hopping—a new way to enjoy Hong Kong.

I used to have the impression that neither Tokyo nor Hong Kong had many spacious cafes with plenty of room. However, the Blue Bottle Coffee in Wan Chai has three floors and is quite spacious. Perhaps because it was a morning cafe visit, it wasn't crowded, and it was a wonderful, relaxing, and pleasant cafe experience that is hard to come by.

I feel that Blue Bottle has a great sense for choosing locations to open their shops. I had such a pleasant time that I wanted to share it with everyone.

It was more than just drinking coffee; it was a time to savor the quiet atmosphere that can also be found in Hong Kong, along with my coffee.

I hadn't traveled at all since 2019, before the pandemic, so when I finally traveled in March, I found that the options for enjoying cafes in Hong Kong had increased.

Just like the streets of Hong Kong, it was wonderful to experience the current Hong Kong, where you can enjoy both retro cha chaan tengs and the new cafe culture.

next→ Next time, I am planning an article about Chinese soy sauce🗓️ Stay tuned!