Ink & Lion, Bangkok

Coffee is mightier than the sword.

Nestled away from Ekkamai’s busy main road, Ink & Lion looks at first glance to be yet another player on Bangkok’s burgeoning specialty coffee scene. The exposed bricks, concrete floors, and bare wood are practically requisite café décor these days.

What sets Ink & Lion apart from the rest is a fine selection of good quality beans sourced from local and regional coffee roasters paired with baristas who are able to brew the best cuppas from them.

Owners Adithep Pinijpinyo and Nongphan Tangtaweekul source their beans from Bangkok-based roasters such as Phil Coffee Company, Pacamara, Ceresia and Brave Roasters, while foreign roasters include London’s Square Mile Coffee Roasters and Singapore’s Nylon Coffee.

Ink & Lion’s house espresso blend, “The Four Mountain”, is an exclusive roast by Pacamara. For pour-over coffee, seasonal single origins are on rotation. This trend of not roasting one’s own coffee but instead choosing from the best of what the market has to offer pays dividends swiftly as regulars learn to drop by often to see what’s new.

Sweet treats such as lemon tarts and their signature coconut cake (you’ll know why once you ask for the WiFi password) are made by Size S Coffee & Bakery. Enjoy the eclectic selection of music from vintage vinyl (or an iPhone). And if you’re up for it, start a game of chess – they have a beautiful set laid out – while waiting for your next cuppa to arrive.

偏離Ekkamai繁忙的主幹道，Ink & Lion坐落于一條巷子里；
推開咖啡館的大門，我們暫時告別外頭炎熱的天氣和喧囂的街道。
半裸的磚墻、洋灰地和大量木質的家具；似乎是近來許多咖啡館的必備裝潢。
但要吸引并留住客人，單是裝潢還不夠，
畢竟來到咖啡館，我們最希望的還是喝到一杯好咖啡啊。

要泡製一杯好的咖啡，咖啡師和豆子都是主要因素，
Ink & Lion雖然沒有自家烘焙豆子，
可是卻從國內、外不同的烘豆商那兒精挑細選了咖啡豆。
像他們家意式咖啡所採用的綜合豆子– Four Mountain，
就是由當地一家烘豆商Pacamara為他們精心調製的。
而單品豆子更是不定期更換，保有新鮮感。
我點了一杯盧旺達，些許的花香，偏愛的酸氣，滿足。
至於甜點，如果看著玲瑯滿目的蛋糕櫥里無從下手的話，
不妨問問他們的WIFI密碼，也許會有答案。呵呵。