Founder of Urban Coffee Roaster and the winner of Hong Kong Coffee Bartending Competition 2021, Gary Au left the investment trade industry and dove headfirst into frying beans, visiting different farms in Africa and purchasing coffee. His dedication and enthusiasm have set him on a different career path, all for the love of coffee. So how can the art celebrated by Aurum elevate the aroma of specialty brews?
 

Aurum was founded to help people from the modern era to regain their aspirations through art. Even though they come from all walks of life, Aurum’s partners have one thing in common: they have a true understanding of who they are, and they have a passion for life; just like Gary Au, the founder of Urban Coffee Roaster. In this bustling financial city of Hong Kong, Gary would have been labeled as part of the elite in the investment industry, but his passion for coffee outweighed his career in the financial world.

How did coffee and art cross paths? It was a marriage of exquisite taste between Gary and Edna, the founder of Aurum.

"I met Edna through a mutual friend who is an expert in whiskey. He mentioned he had a friend who was preparing an art exhibition and wanted to meet a barista. When I first met Edna, she was quite straightforward and told me she wanted to work with me, to see what kind of sparks could fly when we merge coffee with art. Although she is neither a professional nor an insider from the coffee industry, you could definitely sense her love for coffee during our conversation. More importantly, she could have simply done nothing and enjoyed life as it is, but she has that drive and motivation to innovate and create. I was touched by her enthusiasm for life, which is the defining factor for this collaboration between coffee and art to come to fruition."

Coffee making is art.

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"I think the public's understanding of specialty coffee is still quite green. I was thinking that more people are now willing to try and appreciate art and get a sense of satisfaction from it, and our collaboration with Aurum provided me a new way to explore the fusion between coffee and art. This marriage is not an ordinary one, and you can tell by enjoying a cup of coffee after admiring the paintings and the performances. Our collaboration is very visual, for example: after admiring a painting, how does that make me feel? I express those indescribable feelings and create a coffee with a little artistic touch. I hope this collaboration can establish a new interactive relationship between coffee and art. I think it is challenging but extremely interesting.”

Do you think you’re an artist?

"I haven't thought about whether I'm an artist or not, but baristas and artists seem to have a lot in common. That is, they are obsessed with the tiny details. The reason why coffee is interesting is that the minutest thing can affect its flavor. In order to pursue perfection, we are all willing to experiment continuously, and in this process of searching for extreme perfection, we have managed to find ourselves.”