Café of the month: The Coffee Academïcs

The original Hong Kong Coffee Academïcs made its name as an ultra-hip pit stop for anyone wanting to wax lyrical over a coffee bean, and the new Shanghai outpost seems on the same track. Outfitted in the requisite exposed brick, polished concrete and rough hewn wood surfaces below glo London, on any given weekend afternoon the smart space is already heaving with the city’s young tastemakers.

They take coffee, well, quite academically here. The menu of ‘handcrafted coffees’ is diligently sourced – but also priced as exorbitantly as an American university education, starting from 60RMB for a hot brew of the Monthly Single Origin selection upwards to 123RMB for a cup of ice-drip Jamaica Blue Mountain (‘SHB 2200m Washed’, to be precise). Pick your brewing method from four options – Hario V60 pour-over, Chemex, ice-drip or Aeropress.

Absurdly expensive? Yes. But very delicious? Also yes. If you don’t balk at 60RMB-plus price tags for coffee – just think of it as wine – The Coffee Academïcs will serve you a fabulous cup of Joe. An ice-drip brew from Baruffee Estate beans (straight from their own farm in Panama) is as luxurious as an extravagantly priced bar of dark chocolate. Rich, fruity and velvety smooth – if the caffeine high wasn’t so intense, we could drink a million of these.

If you aren’t entranced by the allure of single origin,the bar also serves espresso-based drinks, with twists like a Pepper Agave Latte (45RMB), which mostly just taste like a decent latte with black pepper on top. Not a bad thing.

Food comes largely as an afterthought, but with a premium price tag. The menu traverses breakfast and lunch territory – eggs Benedict for 128RMB, pizzas for 98RMB. The Superfoods Salad (98RMB) arrives with the advertised kale leaves, avocado, beetroot and a half-moon of grilled pumpkin atop wilting romaine. A comically small dusting of quinoa adds to its ‘superfood’ cred.

If nerding out over beans is high on your priority list – or if you’re willing to reach deep into your pockets for a next-level brew – The Coffee Academïcs is a welcome addition to the city’s caffeine scene.