Coffee is Available

Singapore

Diminished in its relative standing after the attack of the clones, our own Spinelli of Cole Valley nonetheless serves the finest chain store coffee in the hemisphere, Indonesian brew that I can only compare to high-end selection served in specialty shops.  The company now franchises its stores, so quality, ambience and location are a bit uneven, and the brand has been exiled to a basement location at its only location in Orchard Road.  But the coffee itself remains a delight, a precious relief from exertions of functioning in such a self-conscious and self-important place.


Hong Kong

As you climb up the hill from Central, but before you get to the art and antique shops on Hollywood, you pass a nondescript building with a small sign that says Rabbithole Coffee and Roaster.  You would be wise to make the climb to the third story and investigate.  Waiting for you is a little shop, managed I'm told by a Japanese couple, that is maintained with greater attention to detail than the average U.S. surgery center.  The coffee?  So good it obliterates memory of all others.  Absolutely fantastic.

Reading their website, one might think this a bit hyperbolic:

If you love coffee, you will always remember the best cup that you ever had. You will remember how fragrant and special the aroma is, how flavorful and balanced when the liquid hit your mouth, and how the wonderful aftertaste had lasted in your palate that you think you would never want to drink water ever again.  

This experience sometimes is not easy to find even for the most experienced coffee drinkers, but we are here to provide you this experience: to fall into the rabbit hole, and into the wonderful world of the greatest tasting coffees.

But it is true.