The Coffee Academics

Overview

Jennifer Wai-Fun Liu founded The Coffee Academïcs in Hong Kong in 2012, after a decade running the HABITŪ neighbourhood café chain. Liu — Cornell-trained architect, granddaughter of Chong Hing Bank founder Liu Po Shan, and a serial F&B entrepreneur — designed the Coffee Academïcs spaces personally and built the brand around speciality coffee retail, training and roasting under one roof. The company became Hong Kong's number-one specialty coffee brand by consumption and market share (Frost & Sullivan, 2017), expanded into Singapore, mainland China, Thailand, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, and now operates over 40 outlets out of a 930-square-metre roastery.

Known for

• Founded 2012 in Hong Kong by Jennifer Liu, Cornell-trained architect
• Hong Kong's #1 specialty coffee brand by consumption / market share (Frost & Sullivan 2017)
• 40+ cafés across Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, Thailand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam
• 930 m² roastery — RoasteryLab — supplies the entire café network
• Custom Cathay Pacific in-flight blend launched August 2023 for Economy and Premium Economy cabins

Why it matters

Coffee Academics is the answer to the question of what scaled Asian specialty looks like when the founder controls design, sourcing and training in-house. Liu's combined background — architecture from Cornell, hospitality through HABITŪ, family wealth from Liu Chong Hing — let her vertically integrate from cafe interior to in-flight catering relationships earlier than competitors. The Cathay Pacific deal is the milestone: a Hong Kong specialty roaster supplying the flag carrier's economy cabin.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

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filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Hong Kong (930 m² RoasteryLab)

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

This roaster operates a café.

Recognitions

• Frost & Sullivan #1 specialty coffee brand in Hong Kong (2017)
• TCA House Blend 92 SCA points; JWF Blend 93 SCA points
• Founder named Forbes Asia Top 25 Power Businesswomen (2019)
• Cathay Pacific official in-flight coffee partner (2023)

Sources

• https://www.theacademicsgroup.com/pages/our-founder
• https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2022058/how-relax-when-your-office-cafe-coffee-academics-jennifer-liu
• https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_US/inspiration/cathay-stories/the-coffee-academics-cathay.html
• https://www.optionstheedge.com/topic/people/founder-jennifer-liu-bringing-hk-based-coffee-academics-kl-and-brewing-some-good-world
• https://www.the-coffeeacademicsth.com/en/about/about-us/our-founder