FAQ

Roast level is the easiest way in.

We work mainly in light and medium light roasts, because that range keeps the aroma and acidity the origin, variety and processing put there — you taste the coffee rather than the roast. We do carry medium and medium dark, just fewer of them.

Pick a direction, then narrow down by origin and processing. If you are still stuck, WhatsApp us.

Light｜Floral and fruit-forward with bright acidity, suited to pour over and other filter methods. Most of what we carry.

Medium Light｜Keeps the aroma with gentler acidity. Where many people start.

Medium｜Balanced, with moderate sweetness and body. The most versatile.

Medium Dark｜Caramel and chocolate come forward, with low acidity and a fuller body. Good for espresso or with milk.

Use the roast level filter on the coffee page to narrow down.

Not at all. The acidity in a light roast is usually fruit acidity — the brightness you get from fresh fruit, not a sharp edge.

If it does taste harsh, brewing is often the cause: under-extraction pushes acidity forward while the sweetness never arrives. Try grinding a little finer, or work through it in our brewing troubleshooter.

Acidity falls as the roast deepens, so start with medium or medium dark, or look at our espresso blends.

Naturals and honey-processed coffees are also sweeter, which softens how the acidity reads, so even a medium light can work.

To be straight with you: our light roast selection is much larger. If acidity really is not for you, WhatsApp us and we will pick the safest option from what we currently have.

Start with our blends — they are built for espresso, with enough body to hold up to milk.

For a single origin on espresso, try a medium dark, or use our SOE service to specify the roast.

Yes. WhatsApp us with what you usually drink, what equipment you have and what flavours you enjoy.

All coffee is roasted after you order. Every bag is marked with its roast date, and resting and drinking windows are counted from that date.

Roasted coffee keeps releasing carbon dioxide. Brew it too soon and that gas pushes water away from the grounds, so extraction turns uneven. A few days of rest lets the flavour come through properly.

We suggest a first taste from day 5 after roast. Try it again over the following days and notice how aroma, acidity, sweetness and body shift, so you find the point you like best. The sweet spot differs between coffees and roast levels.

For whole beans, the best window is within 45 days of roast.

Past that it is still perfectly drinkable; the aroma flattens and the flavours narrow, but the coffee does not spoil.

If you chose to have it ground, the much larger surface area means aroma is lost faster, so drink it soon.

Sealed, away from light, somewhere cool and dry, away from the stove and steam, and avoid opening the bag more than necessary.

We do not recommend refrigerating: moisture condenses on the beans each time the bag comes out, and coffee readily picks up other smells.

Write your brewing method in the order notes at checkout: pour over, French press, moka pot, cold brew, espresso and so on. We grind on an EK43 to match, at no extra charge.

You do not have to. Tell us how you brew and we will handle it.

• Coarse｜French press, cold brew
• Medium to medium-fine｜Pour over (V60, Kalita), Clever dripper, siphon. Finer for light roasts, coarser for medium dark
• Fine｜Moka pot, AeroPress
• Extra fine｜Espresso machine

Please add your machine model or type (semi-automatic, fully automatic, capsule and so on). The right grind varies a great deal between machines.

Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay express checkout may skip the notes step. Just WhatsApp us your order number and brewing method after ordering.

Yes. List them clearly in the notes, for example "E16 pour over, X4 espresso".

Whole beans, ground just before you brew. Coffee loses aroma fast once ground, so grinding at home is the cheapest upgrade to your cup there is.

For single origins, yes. Write the roast you would like in the order notes. Without a note we roast to the level shown on that coffee's product page. Blends are offered at their intended roast only.

Roast level changes aroma, acidity and body, so the flavour notes on a product page apply to the roast shown there.

If what you really want is a low-acid, full-bodied cup, choosing a coffee that was selected and roasted for medium or medium dark usually works better than pushing a coffee chosen for light roast in that direction.

S.O.E. stands for Single Origin Espresso: a single-origin coffee prepared for espresso, which shows more of that region's character than a blend.

Write "SOE" in the notes; unless you specify otherwise we roast it to a medium level.

No. SOE tells us to roast the coffee for espresso; a custom roast level is you choosing how light or dark. You can ask for both, for example "SOE, medium dark".

Skin and pulp are removed, the beans ferment in a tank until the mucilage breaks down, then they are washed and dried. Generally clean and transparent, showing the region and variety directly, with clearer acidity.

The whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on, then hulled. Long contact with the fruit tends to give a sweeter, more fruit-forward cup, sometimes with a fermented edge.

Skin removed but some mucilage left on during drying, sitting between washed and natural. Graded white, yellow, red or black by how much mucilage remains; more mucilage generally means a thicker sweetness.

Fermentation in a sealed, oxygen-free vessel, followed by washed or natural processing. More controllable conditions, often producing distinctive flavours.

Enzymes are added during fermentation to help break down the mucilage and make the process more controllable. You may see it called enzyme washed or enzyme natural, depending on how the coffee is dried afterwards. The enzymes and conditions vary from mill to mill.

Fermentation inside barrels that previously held whisky, rum or similar spirits, where residual aromas in the wood shape the direction of the flavour.

Skin and some mucilage removed, then dried directly. Sits between washed and honey, with a simplified process.

Ethiopian coffee is graded by defect count. G1 is the top grade; a lower number means fewer defects.

Start from the table below, then adjust to your equipment, water and taste. Change one variable at a time, or the comparison means nothing.

These are starting points, not fixed recipes.

If the sweetness is also missing and the brew ran fast, that usually points to under-extraction. Try grinding a little finer, leave everything else the same, and compare.

If the brew also ran slow and water pooled in the dripper, that usually points to over-extraction. Try grinding a little coarser, and check whether you are agitating the bed too much while pouring.

Yes. The AI Barista builds a recipe around your equipment, and the brewing troubleshooter walks through problems step by step.

No. Green coffee has to be roasted before it can be brewed. If you do not roast at home, please choose one of our roasted coffees instead.

Stored properly, we suggest using it within one year. Green coffee keeps far longer than roasted, but it still loses aroma and character over time, and fresher green roasts better.

Sealed, away from light, somewhere cool and dry, away from heat and humidity. Green coffee is particularly sensitive to moisture, so in Hong Kong's humid months consider a desiccant or a zip bag.

Tear open the pack, hook both tabs over the rim of your cup, pour a little hot water to bloom for about 30 seconds, then pour slowly in stages to the volume you want.

Use water at around 90 degrees Celsius, roughly 150 to 180 ml in total, over about two minutes. Pouring too fast churns the bed and makes extraction uneven.

We suggest drinking them within three months. Drip bags hold ground coffee, and even with protective packaging the aroma fades faster than with whole beans, so sooner is better.

Drip bags win on convenience — office, travel, camping, no equipment needed. Pour over lets you adjust grind, temperature and pouring rhythm, so its ceiling is higher. They are not in competition; plenty of people keep both.

No. Subscriptions are roasted and shipped in the last week of each month, unlike the 2 to 3 working days for a normal order.

Billing dates, cut-off, plan options, pausing and cancelling are all set out on the subscription page.

Subscription coffee ships soon after roasting, so it will only have rested a few days on arrival. Start from day 5 after the roast date, then work through the bags and notice how different roast levels peak at different times.

Equipment and accessories｜In stock, usually dispatched within 1 to 2 working days.

Coffee beans｜Roasted after you order, usually roasted and dispatched within 2 to 3 working days.

If one order contains both, everything ships together once the coffee is roasted. Delivery time after that depends on your area and the courier.

We ship locally with SF Express and JD Logistics. Orders over HK$250 after discount ship free; below that a HK$25 fee applies.

You can also collect from our 24-hour pickup locker at Shek Mun. International shipping is available, with rates varying by country.

Yes. Click the globe icon at the top right and choose your region or preferred currency. If prices suddenly look higher, you may have selected a different currency.

Coffee is a fresh product roasted to order. Please see our refund policy. If there is a problem with what you received, contact us as soon as you can.

Personal taste is generally outside our returns policy, but we are glad to help you find something that suits you better next time. A quick WhatsApp before ordering can save a round of trial and error.

Our shop and roastery are at Room 13, 15/F, Dai Lee Plaza, 18 On Lai Street, Shek Mun, Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Collection is by appointment, and we ship orders placed online. There is also a 24-hour pickup locker at Shek Mun.

Everything is roasted at our own HK Roastery, under Hong Kong food production safety standards. We roast only after an order comes in, so what reaches you was roasted for you. Every bag is marked with its roast date.

• Specialty coffee beans, including single origins, blends and decaf
• Green coffee
• Drip bags and filter-bag coffee
• Brewing equipment, including kettles, 1Zpresso hand grinders and Eureka electric grinders
• Freshly roasted nuts

We buy from green coffee importers who trade directly with farmers and build long-term relationships, so growers are paid fairly, and we choose environmentally responsible packaging.

Yes. Register as a member and earn Manna points on every purchase, redeemable for cash vouchers or selected gifts.

We also run seasonal and bundle offers from time to time. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media to hear about them first.

Under the Specialty Coffee Association standard, only coffee scoring 80 points or above on the cupping table, with full traceability to country, region, farm and processing method, can be called specialty coffee.

Arabica: layered flavour with fine aromatics and acidity, usually grown at higher altitude, and the mainstay of the specialty market.

Robusta: roughly 1.5 to 2 times the caffeine, a stronger and more bitter profile, often used in instant coffee or in espresso blends to build crema.

Single origin: beans from one country, region or farm, chosen to show the character of that place.

Blend: beans from different origins combined in set proportions to create a more balanced, layered or consistent cup.

Flavour notes such as berry, floral or nutty are a cupper's sensory assessment against the coffee flavour wheel. They help you anticipate the direction of the cup — its acidity, sweetness, aromatics and body — before you buy.

Caffeine is a stimulant and can affect sleep for some people. If you are sensitive to it, a common suggestion is to avoid caffeinated drinks within 6 to 8 hours of bedtime.

We also carry Swiss Water decaf, so you can enjoy a cup in the evening.