Review: Best HK-roasted coffee drip bags under $15 to try

**This is not a sponsored post**

Over the years I’ve tried different ways of making coffee at home but one of my obsessions is with instant drip bags – find the right place and you’ll be able to enjoy a fresh aromatic brew at half the price you get outside.

In my search for the best local seller of the drip bags, I’ve tried a number of the big and small names in Hong Kong that I would recommend for different reasons.

Below is a list of places in Hong Kong that offer drip bags under $15 per bag (excluding shipping fees and any discounts) online and the pros and cons of each.

Top coffee drip bags under $15:

• Urban Coffee Roasters
• CoHee
• Coffee Roasters Asia
• KOKO Coffee Roasters (formerly Coco Espresso)
• Knockbox Coffee

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Urban Coffee Roasters (UCR)

This is the best drip bag coffee provider in Hong Kong I’ve tried so far.

If you get the $268 ‘Workday Pack’ of 22 bags, each drip bag only costs just over $12 which is one of the cheapest options I’ve found.

But UCR doesn’t compromise on quality. At the top of their website, UCR indicates when their next roasting date is, which gave me some assurance that the drip bags could be made from freshly roasted beans as well. And they were!

The only downside is that you can’t select the blend you want – both the 7- and 22-bag packs come with a random selection of blends, although you will get at least 3 different types in the mix. If you have a favourite blend that you prefer to drink this isn’t the best option for you.

It’s not an issue for me since I like being surprised by their selection and trying different flavours. Plus, I trust UCR and the quality of their blends to be a bit more experimental and to leave my daily caffeine fix in their hands.

Find UCR’s Coffee Drip Bag Series here.

Pros:

• Freshness guarantee, freshly roasted in Hong Kong
• Value-for-money

Cons:

• No option to choose the blend – can only choose between 7 or 22 bags
• Packaging may not be as nice as a gift

CoHee

If you prefer to stick to your favourite blend of coffee each day, I would recommend drip bags from CoHee.

The box of 20 packs comes at $240, making it just $12 per drip bag. For this ‘Coheeholic box,’ you can also choose up to 3 different types of blends on offer.

There are also boxes of 5 and 12 packs at $80 and $160 if you want to experiment with smaller quantities.

CoHee also has a statement on their website for ‘Guaranteed Freshness’ which states that they “guarantee the beans are roasted within 14 days when it arrives your place. Time is just perfect for tasting (beans need to breath at least for two weeks after roasting).” The drip bags I ordered met this promise and also didn’t lose their taste for over a week.

The drip bags come in a hard box that is minimally but aesthetically designed, making it an ideal gift for coffee-lovers.

Check out CoHee’s tasting box (5 packs), CoHee box (12 packs), and Coheeholic box (20 packs) on their website.

Pros:

• Mix-and-match 2 or 3 blends for the 12 and 20 pack boxes
• Attractive packaging, suitable as gifts
• Freshness guarantee, freshly roasted in Hong Kong

Coffee Roasters Asia

Coffee Roasters Asia is also great value-for-money if you want to buy a specific blend of coffee for your drip bags.

They also offer a wide range of different blends to choose from at varying prices – ranging from an economical $14.75 per bag like the above Kobe Blend – to a fancy brew of over $75 per bag for their Luwak coffee.

Prices have increased markedly since this post was first written in 2021 – the Kobe blend used to be $9.50 per bag – but Coffee Roasters Asia is still a competitive option for drip bags and Hong Kong-roasted coffee in general.

Also, with the renewal of their packaging, the drip coffee bags now come in loose bags inside one resealable bag like below. There’s less waste than individually packaged bags but it could be less convenient for some who want to easily tuck one away.

The brand has different variety packs if you want to get a taste of each of the blends they offer or if you want to gift a box with more fun and variety.

Find Coffee Roasters Asia’s range of drip bags here.

Pros:

• Great range of blends to choose from
• Includes options for variety packs
• Less packaging could make it more environmentally-friendly than others
• Freshly roasted in Hong Kong

Cons:

• Lack of individual packaging for each bag may make it less convenient

KOKO Coffee Roasters (formerly Coco Espresso)

No doubt you’ve seen one of Coco Espresso stores around especially if you’re familiar with the western side of Hong Kong Island.

They also sell freshly-roasted drip coffee bags that stand out for their design as well as their taste.

This used to be the old design of the boxes but since then they’ve updated the packaging and expanded on their drip bag offerings from just 2 blends in the past.

There’s even an option to order online and pickup the boxes from their store in Tsuen Wan if you live in the area, instead of getting them delivered for a fee.

Find KOKO Coffee Roasters’ drip bag options here.

Pros:

• Attractive packaging, suitable as gifts
• Option to pre-order on the website for store pickup
• Freshly roasted in Hong Kong

Knockbox Coffee

Here the drip bag boxes come in 2 broad categories of light roast and medium roast.

The light roast has 2 options – the nutty profile at $98 for 7 drip bags and the fruity profile at slightly pricier $118 for 7 drip bags. So, while the nutty option stays at $14 per bag, the fruity type goes up to $16.86 per bag rounded up.

The medium roast drip bags are even pricier, but Knockbox Coffee does boast of being ethically sourced and freshly roasted every week so it could be worth trying out!

Knockbox Coffee’s light roast drip bags can be found here.

Pros:

• Freshly roasted in Hong Kong

Cons:

• Cannot choose coffee, 1 or 2 random coffees per box
• Light-weight packaging not suitable as gifts

Other Online Drip Bag Sellers

• Cupping Room – interesting seasonal blends available but more than $15 per pack.
• Noc – great taste but one of the pricier options and only 2 blends available.