Bar hopping in Hong Kong with brand new importer.
- Part 2 -

This month, BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS, a coffee roastery that handles the hottest botanical liqueurs, makes an appearance. We will introduce their activities that move freely between the worlds of coffee and cocktails.

writer：Ryoko Kuraishi

Mr. Bunn (left) and Raphael Holzer (right), the creator of "Fernet Hunter". Photo by Noby Hasegawa

Rafael shows us the Honk Kong night scene

In November, Bunn of Beyond Coffee Roasters traveled to Hong Kong for the first time in many years to enjoy bar hopping with his friend and business partner, Raphael Holzer of Fernet Hunter.

Originally, Rafael invited him to do a pop-up of "Fernet Hunter" at COA, and he went there to do research for the pop-up.

How did the latest nightlife scene look to Mr. Bunn, who got into the world of cocktails through the importation of Fernet Hunter?

It's been about 10 years since I started making Yardbird and Sunday's Coffee Shochu, and I was happy to see Rafael, Yardbird's representative Matt, and all the staff again in Hong Kong.

Yardbird's grilled chicken was as delicious as ever, and our imported Hard Peach Tea was served everywhere, including Yardbird.

The photo on the left is "Fernet Hunter Cacao" by "LEONE" and "Fernet Hunter". It is only available at LEONE. On the right is "Barrel Aged Fernet Hunter," which was produced on a trial basis. This tasting was also held.

Let's go to the bar.

First, we went to "COA," which Rafael recommended as the No. 1 bar in Asia for its "excellent drink quality and hospitality.

We enjoyed a variety of cocktails, from short to long," he said. I enjoyed a variety of cocktails, from short to long, but I didn't notice any decisive difference from the quality of cocktails at bars that carry the Fernet Hunter in Japan.

The hospitality is also good, with the staff explaining the products well. ......

Cocktails using "Fernet Hunter" were served at the new all-day dining cafe/bar "ROOTDOWN" and the relatively new rooftop bar "Cardinal Point".

Both are delicious, but lack the impact that makes them memorable.

Perhaps it is a difference in taste that the cocktails at Fernet Hunter in Shinsaibashi taste better."

Rafael's favorite "COA". They were able to meet the owner, Jay. It seems that "Fernet Hunter" pop-up will be realized next year.

Of the bars recommended by Rafael, the most memorable was Bar LEONE, where "classic Italian cocktails were served with a careful and contemporary approach."

Bunn was also looking forward to going to this recently opened spot by Lorenzo Antinori, the former head of "Argo" at the Four Seasons Hotel.

As co-owner, Justin, whom I have known since my days at Yardbird, was there, and we had a happy reunion as well.

The bar has elements of an Italian bar, and we ordered two cocktails, an Americano and a Bambino. Both cocktails had what I would call "a balance of flavors with the basics down to the last detail. It was a lineup that made me want to try more.

Incidentally, there is a bottle of "Fernet Hunter Cacao," a collaboration between this restaurant and "Fernet Hunter," so I got a bottle. It is delicious with the richness derived from the cacao, but I felt that our coffee version has a deeper flavor."

Diplomat, ranked No. 20 in "ASIA'S 50 BEST BARS," said, "I had a beautiful pink long cocktail called 'BLINKER HIGHBALL. It is made with Fernet Hunter Granit.

Although he has visited Hong Kong many times, when he looked into the bar scene as an importer, he found something different.

The bartenders and service staff are not always around to talk to the guests.

I felt envious that I was not required to be the one to talk to them.

In Japan, I feel that product knowledge is not replaced by monetary value, but here, whether it is coffee or cocktails, I also envy that product explanation is directly connected to hospitality.

I feel that this is how different consumers' awareness is.

It does not mean that they are maniacal in their tastes, but rather that they have a higher level of interest in the first place.

We also have many customers from overseas, and I can really sense this in the coffee business alone.

Also, in both Japan and Hong Kong, I feel that restaurants in general are popular for their "ordinary level of taste and ordinary level of fashionable space.

Perhaps it is the low barriers that make it easy to communicate to the masses, or perhaps it is the fact that it is extremely rare to find a restaurant in any genre that is "sharp and sharp, very popular, and difficult to make reservations! I think it is extremely rare to find a place that is so sharp, so popular, and so hard to book, in any genre.

At Argo, which has a gorgeous back bar, I ordered a FRAME OF LOVE cocktail made with Fernet Hunter Granit. The other ingredients were Botanist Gin, Garden Vermouth, and Bamboo wine; the taste was not particularly memorable.

He dares to challenge the norm

During his fruitful three-day trip to Hong Kong, Bunn says he faced the differences between the restaurant industry in Japan and those overseas.

He said, "Having a wide range of interests and antennae in different parts of the world is what draws you out. This trip made me realize that once again.

I had been roasting and selling coffee beans for a long time, and when I had some extra energy, I thought it was a good time to start a new business of selling alcohol, but I am still in the learning stage of bar culture.

However, as an importer and distributor of "Fernet Hunter," I want to be the best at using "Fernet Hunter" in Japan.

In my case, I believe that the overwhelming weapon to achieve this is the ability to brew delicious coffee.

In cocktail making, how can I make it taste better, and what kind of approach should I take? Thanks to "Fernet Hunter," it is now interesting to go digging for stories outside of coffee.

I would like to increase the number of cocktails I make, and at the same time, I would like to mix coffee into the mix.

There are many specialty stores and businesses that are trying to make coffee more commonplace and generalized and are trying to keep prices down, but Bunn has dared to do the exact opposite and choose something out of the ordinary.

However, Bunn has dared to choose something out of the ordinary, the exact opposite of what is usual. I think it is my way of providing value that can only be experienced at BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS, including alcoholic beverages.


It has been 9 years since BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS started. Rather than being a "bridge between the worlds of coffee and alcohol," BEYOND COFFEE ROASTERS may become an entity that connects restaurants that have chosen to do something out of the ordinary beyond the coffee and alcohol genres.