The Best Coffee Houses in Asia

Tokyo

The two Tokyo shops treat ordering as a conversation. At Glitch Coffee & Roasters staff explain each light-roast bean and let customers smell samples before they choose, and tasting flights of two or three cups come at a discount. Koffee Mameya, in a quiet side street in Omotesando, is a bean shop with a standing counter. Each customer gets a one-on-one consultation, drinks a hand-brewed cup and can take beans home with a written brewing recipe. Both have queues; Mameya serves only three groups at a time, and waits at Glitch run up to 30 minutes.

Singapore

Nylon Coffee is on the ground floor of an HDB block, the public housing most Singaporeans live in, in Everton Park, and the roaster runs in the room. It serves no food, though bakeries are nearby, and sells beans by vending machine as well as in the shop. Maxi Coffee Bar near Ann Siang Hill pours Panama geisha filters and an iced cereal milk latte. Customers order first there and staff then allocate a table.

Colombo

The Beans Coffee Roastery is in the market streets of Pettah in Colombo and is a bit hard to find. It roasts Sri Lankan Arabica on site, and staff explain the beans and the history of coffee on the island. Ginger jaggery is served with the coffee. The seating area is small, and visitors should ask to sit inside.

Vietnam

Most of the other Asian entries are in Vietnam, where cafés drip robusta through a metal phin filter and top it with egg cream, salted cream or coconut. Many of them are upstairs in old buildings or at the end of an alley, as at Loading T in Hanoi and Hoi An Coffee Hub.