Amongst the docks, rust and heavy plant of port town Lyttleton is one of the world's loveliest coffee shops.

A new kid on the Wellington coffee block is Memphis Belle, a stylish coffee shop in the centre of town.

Wellington is a city with cool cafés around every corner. There can't be too many places where it's easier to find great coffee.

New Zealand is the new Italy, as far as coffee's concerned. We were here for a month and we just had to stretch our limited budget to sample a few brews.

Part 4 of our World Trip, a fairly short (4 day) stop in Hong Kong.

But more so it is a slice of China, which is, of course, what we came for.

Considering the dearth of coffee shops in Tokyo which, rightly or wrongly, I think of as similar to Hong Kong (wrongly, I suspect), I was surprised to find that this little part of the orient is chock-a-block with terrific cafes. We visited a couple, one of which was Crema Coffee. 

Crema is just outside the Peninsula Centre in bustling Tsim Sha Tsui. It roasts its coffee on the premises.

My coffee (a flat white) tasted fantastic and it was beautifully presented. I also had a damn fine muffin. The barista and staff were friendly and it's a comfy, convivial place. What more could you ask for?

Another big shout-out goes to Coco Espresso (197 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan), a teeny, friendly place, another serving wonderful coffee.

See also http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/drink/5-best-coffee-houses-882773  and http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/eat/coffee-renaissance-blooms-hong-kong-846754 - two helpful sources for locating great coffee shops in Hong Kong.

We had a wonderful few days in Hong Kong, eating curry in crumbling, drug-ridden tower blocks one minute and window shopping in some of the world's swankiest malls the next. If you're in the area (i.e. south-east Asia) is well worth stepping outside the airport.

Crema Coffee
Shop No. 36
Peninsula Centre
67 Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong

Our base for a fairly short stay (10 days) in Bali was beautiful Ubud.

As well as a coffee shop, I also popped into a coffee plantation. 

Tutmak is my favourite.

It's a large place with an upstairs lounge and, downstairs, cushions for comfy cross-leggedness. Like many places in Ubud, it's fairly "westernised". Easily balanced out with more authentic experiences, such as roast suckling pig from Warung Ibu Oka, a show from one of Ubud's dance troupes and trips into the countryside.

The coffee is from Bali and is roasted at Tutmak. The drinks are very nicely presented, with latte art on the lattes. The taste is quite different from any coffee I've had, and it's great. 

It's also a very friendly place. Great for chilling out on hot days.

Bali might not be one of the first places that springs to mind for coffee production. Nearby Java (another of Indonesia's islands) is perhaps better known. But tiny Bali exports robusta and arabica, and has an ace up its sleeve; the world famous "kopi luwak" coffee.

This is the coffee that's pooed from a civet cat, selling for exceptionally high prices all around the globe. By reputation, it's the best money can buy. 

I visited a small kopi luwak plantation. The cat with the smart nose was present, if asleep and curled up in a corner. He or she hunts out coffee beans on the forest floor, sniffs out the good ones and eats them, shunning the rest. The beans emerge from the cat's rear, with the crucial coffee bean still in tact.

The beans are cleaned (of course) and roasted. I was lucky enough to try a cup, which could cost up to 30 pounds in the UK. I was delighted to discover that it's not over-hyped (well, not much). Truly delicious. Like any really good coffee, my tea-drinking gilfriend loved it without having to add sugar or milk! That's the litmus test, surely. 

I saw trees producing arabica and robusta, the two main varieties of coffee (arabica is the superior variety). Robusta trees are taller, arabica trees shorter. 

Ripe raw coffee has a squidgy consistency (not what I was expecting).

Above: coffee on the tree

At the plantation, the beans are roasted in a metal dish above an open fire and constantly stirred. Then, separated into male and female (see below). I must admit I didn't know that coffee beans had genders. I only wish I could remember the difference (that'll teach me to write the blog entry two months late...).

A fascinating little trip. I'll leave you with a few photos.

Above: beans are roasted, then separated into male and female.  

Above: raw coffee beans, fallen from the tree. Right: piles of male, female and kopi luwak coffee beans. 

Tutmak Cafe,
Jalan Dewi Sita,
Ubud,
Bali,
Indonesia

Zoka is one of few great bets for coffee in Tokyo.

It came in an enourmous bowl... a treat on our last day on our memorable Japan stop. So at this stage I say a big boooo to anyone who scoffs at coffee in a big mug. Poo off back to your small portions.  

And it was well presented, with perfect latte art despite me stretching the talents of the barista with my supersized order.

We had popped into the branch in lovely Mejiro, an overlooked suburb of Tokyo. It is very easily reached. Just hop on the famous JR (Yamanote) line, which encircles many of Tokyo's famous sights. I can't recall if Mejiro station has more than one exit; if it does, head to the north exit. Zoka is just outside, to the left. You can't miss it.

It's a friendly spot with plenty of chairs and windows for watching Tokyo-ites go about their business. There are fresh cakes, pastried and brownies and plenty of coffee and tea options, all reasonably priced for Tokyo (which can be fairly pricey).

Zoka is also a roastery, and won Japan's 2008 Roaster of The Year.

I believed at the time that Zoka was a solely Japanese affair, but later discovered that it's a Seattle-based company (and not the only one). But it's hardly the international behemoth. Intriguingly, it has three branches in the US (Washington State), and three in Japan. So I think still small enough to warrant a place in Cosy Coffee Shops.

Whatever its roots, it's still my favourite place for coffee in a city where decent coffee shops are (for an outsider with other things to see and do) hard to find. 

Zoka Coffee
Next to Mejiro Station
Tokyo

Website (for the Japan branches): http://www.zoka-coffee.com/

Website (international): http://www.zokacoffee.com/ 

The second stop on our world trip is Japan. Another fascinating place, coffee-wise and other-wise.

So where does all this great coffee go?! Even in the great sprawling heart of the country (Tokyo), it's a challenge to find a handful of places serving really good brews. It seems the iconic vending machine still rules supreme, and good coffee makes as brief an appearance as the equally iconic cherry blossom.

I'm sure there's more to it than that, and in any event there's so much more to Japan (or anywhere) than coffee shops (ain't that the truth). And if you want a characterful place to while away the hours, Tokyo has everything you never imagined, from cat cafes (with cats) to maid cafes (with maids) to manga cafes (with manga comics), and a million more quirks and wonders around every corner.

But if you fancy a good cup of coffee in Tokyo, Double Tall, just a few minutes' walk from Shibuya station, makes for a fine choice. It's a convivial place, hosting businessman at lunch and shoppers taking a break. As it's away from the bustle of Shibuya, it's quiet enough to sit, relax and watch the world go by.

My coffee (a latte) was beautifully presented, with flowery latte art. And it was very nice. The written menu will be incomprehensible to most (certainly it was to me), but one handy quirk of Japanese is that many Western terms have been adopted without significant changes to pronounciation.

For example, ask for "hot coffee", "coffee latte", "hot chocolate", "cappuccino" and, with any luck, you'll be understood. If all else fails, find a photo and point. The wonderfully friendly Japanese won't mind a jot.

I believe the beans come all the way from Seattle, from a roastery called Caffe D'arte.

Double Tall is one of a small but increasing band of quality coffee shops in Tokyo. In 2008 a barista from Double Tall won Japan's first ever latte art contest, a fact that bodes well both for Double Tall and for those in search for something different to vending machine fare.

Double Tall
Shibuya
Tokyo

Nearest station: Shibuya (east exit)

I'm not sure of the address but I've found it on Google maps - click here to see map.  

Website (in Japanese only): http://www.doubletall.com/ 

Article about 2008 Japan latte art contest (English): http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080706a3.html 

The previous entry touched on traditional Vietnamese coffee. This is the other side of coffee in Vietnam; the Westernised cafe.

La Fenetre Soleil is the sort of place you're more likely to find in "HCMC" than anywhere else in Vietnam. It's a stylish, atmospheric, Westernised coffee shop, with muffins, toast, lattes, cappuccinos, and so on.  

It's also very expensive, in regional terms; not the sort of place for a typical Vietnamese. It's for hip students, young workers and the occasional traveller. You won't find a traditional Vietnamese coffee here (more's the pity).

But it's not untypical of modern Vietnam, reckoned to be changing as fast as any country in the world. So for a slice of the hip side of HCMC, it's a good place to head.

Unfortunately, my coffee was awful. Terrible. But I didn't care too much, as this is a wonderfully inspiring place. Beautifully decked out, comfortable, quiet, friendly and relaxed, with bare brick walls, massive windows, equally massive curtains, flowers and antique furniture. There's even a bed. One of those rare places that makes me day dream about my own hypothetical coffee shop.

The effect is augmented by the most easy-to-miss entrance imaginable, followed by the dingiest staircase in the history of the world. But don't give up... it's the perfect prelude to coffee shop heaven.

La Fenetre Soleil
2nd Floor
135 Le Thanh Ton
Ho Chi Minh City  

A Facebook group for swing dancing nights at the cafe: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11013545458 

I wasn't expecting to update the blog during my travels, but here's the first of a few entries from around the world.  This, from Vietnam.

And the Vietnamese also love to drink the stuff, thanks initially to the French influence, dating from the 19th Century.

The method of preparing a traditional Vietnamese coffee was a new one for me. The result is a fantastically rich, strong, gloopy cuppa.

We had our best mug in the tiny Hue Cafe, Hanoi. It's one of thousands of spots to find a good Vietnamese coffee in the manic capital. The prime blend is "weasel coffee", the poor relative of "kopi luwak". Kopi Luwak is coffee selected by the discerning nose of a civet cat, which passes the beans in tact for collection by workers with nose-clips. Weasel coffee... well, it's from a weasel.

It was a fantastic brew, incomplete without a dollop of condensed milk (it ain't Vietnamese coffee without it). Just remember to stir well, unless you enjoy a condensed milk hit at the bottom of the glass. 

 

A Vietnamese coffee is made with a cannister that sits over the mug. The coffee slowly drips into the glass, with condensed milk at the bottom. Like Guinness, good things come to those who wait. To read more about the Vietnamese coffee technique, see this guide: http://www.ineedcoffee.com/04/vietnamese/

Hue Cafe is a popular, friendly and relaxed place to sip one by the roadside, but there are plenty of alternatives in the Old Town of Hanoi and beyond. 

And without wishing to sound to much like Michael Palin, we can't recommend Vietnam highly enough.  A beautiful and fascinating place with the friendliest folk imaginable.

Hue Cafe,
Hàng Giầy 26
Hà Nội
Vietnam

A fan of Hue Cafe has made a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTOx0KPhFh8