Malaysia's specialty coffee culture is undergoing a profound transformation. From Kuala Lumpur to Penang and then to Johor Bahru, more and more passionate coffee professionals are driving a shift from traditional white coffee to specialty coffee. This article explores in depth the development of Malaysia's specialty coffee scene, from the initial entry of specialty coffee into the market in 2010 to the current proliferation of independent roasteries and coffee classrooms. We interviewed several industry pioneers, including Joey Mah, Michael Wilson, Cheryl Lee, and others, who shared how they have driven the upgrading of the entire industry by educating consumers, improving roasting techniques, and enhancing customer service. At the same time, the article also focuses on the development of key cities such as Penang and Johor Bahru, as well as the efforts of organizations such as the Barista Guild Asia in coffee education. For coffee enthusiasts, this is a complete picture for understanding the changes in Malaysia's coffee culture.
Seoul, Singapore, and Hong Kong have long established themselves as major regional coffee hubs, and Malaysia now shows signs of joining their ranks. We traveled to Malaysia in person, spoke with locals, and explored the current coffee trends. In Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor Bahru, which is adjacent to Singapore, many coffee enthusiasts have recently been seen driving progress in the local coffee culture while also expanding a richer and more diverse coffee market. It is worth noting that these changes are not led by large corporations, but rather stem from many passionate specialty coffee professionals.
This wave of specialty coffee in Malaysia is rapidly gaining momentum, and many newcomers full of passion for coffee have opened their own cafés one after another. Joey Mah and Michael Wilson are two of these many new faces.
"We were among the early minority to adopt light roasts. The first cup of Brazil Carmo di Minas, Carmo Estate coffee I ever drank was introduced to me by Michael Wilson. That cup completely overturned my understanding of coffee, and I began sharing it with the people around me. After that, we also became Malaysia's first independent roaster. Changing a person's expectations for coffee is by no means easy, but we have never been willing to compromise on our standards for coffee quality. Many people gradually came to identify with our philosophy, and it was precisely these people who made us what we are today. Everyone began to develop their own coffee tastes, and their demands on baristas and roasters rose accordingly. We have also been improving in many aspects, such as bringing in higher-grade coffee beans and so on. As more and more people around us insist on coffee quality, a healthy competitive market environment has also formed. This is good for consumers, and coffee quality is steadily improving as well." Joey said this.
Michael continued, "The rapid development of specialty coffee has surprised me greatly. I originally thought it would be steady growth, but it turned out that the number of newly opened coffee shops was twice what I had estimated." Michael predicts that growth will continue to accelerate—as more and more Sixth Stage coffee shops appear, people will realize that they had not truly had good coffee before, and will then long to see more high-quality coffee shops. When we first opened, most of our customers were Malaysians who had lived in Melbourne and were already accustomed to that way of drinking coffee. Today, many Malaysians who have never been abroad have also begun to appreciate the fruity acidity of coffee, gradually reducing their consumption of bitter coffee. More and more people are choosing unsweetened black coffee in order to enjoy the original aroma of high-quality coffee.
Customer service is another factor that draws many customers away from Forth stage coffee outlets. Coffee quality is certainly important, but service is the key to making customers immediately feel the difference. Michael also noticed that the number of customers ordering pour-over coffee has increased significantly, perhaps because advances in roasting techniques have changed everyone's drinking habits.
For an understanding of the definitions of fourth-stage and sixth-stage coffee shops, please refer to "The six disruptive innovations of coffee." Cheryl Lee of Dankoff Coffee told us, "Specialty coffee entered Malaysia around 2010. The new-style coffee shops not only have better environments, but also offer a richer selection of coffee, and some shops even provide their own roasting services."
When specialty coffee first started in Malaysia, most people did not buy into it, and many Malaysians found it difficult to distinguish ordinary black coffee from specialty coffee. Therefore, in June 2010, Cheryl became the first pioneer to open a coffee classroom and studio to teach the public how to taste specialty coffee.
The scale that Malaysia's specialty coffee has achieved today would not have been possible without the joint efforts of many coffee shops. At the end of 2011, the Plan B roastery founded by Cheryl began supplying coffee at the level of world coffee competitions and built a well-trained team. Since then, more new specialty coffee shops have successively entered the market and promoted specialty coffee together.
"The specialty coffee market is currently expanding gradually, but there seems to be a phenomenon of too many new operators entering while customer growth is insufficient."
People who love Malaysian-style black coffee have also begun to embrace specialty coffee, but we are clear that black coffee is Malaysia's unique coffee culture and tradition. We cannot forget our roots, and at the same time we are very excited to embark on the path of specialty coffee. On the other hand, Malaysian roasters also need to accumulate more experience and exposure to improve quality in order to meet market demand.
Most customers are initially drawn in by latte art. Latte art was originally the main reason everyone loved coffee, but gradually they also began to understand what specialty coffee is. At present, more and more customers are demanding higher-quality coffee, and they know how to appreciate the aroma and origin background of coffee. Therefore, if roasters do not do their homework carefully, customers will notice immediately.
Today many customers know how to savor the fruity notes and mouthfeel of the coffee itself. In addition to espresso, pour-over coffee has also gradually become popular, and customers understand what different qualities and flavors different brewing methods can bring. Boyd Yap of Dankoff Coffee told us about the market changes he observed after sponsoring the Malaysia Barista Championship. The public began to know that these competitions existed and also began visiting different shops to see what the competitors had brought back. "More and more new coffee shops are opening, and many of them have an in-depth understanding of coffee, and some even hold coffee certifications. This is very beneficial to Malaysia's coffee industry. These people can help the domestic coffee industry grow while also educating more consumers."
They attend coffee study camps in Malaysia, such as BGA (Barista Guild Asia), which adopts a European teaching syllabus. Some also go directly to coffee shops to hone their skills and accumulate more hands-on experience. Many of them travel around, seek more inspiration, and then return to Malaysia to open their own shops. "People who attend the study camps will begin looking for well-known local roasters to roast their coffee, because they are still relatively inexperienced newcomers. In addition, relying on experienced roasters can also add credibility to their own brands, which is a safer approach." Boyd said.
Janice Soh comes from My Coffee Trais coffee shop, and she was also the runner-up in the 2013 ASEAN Coffee Masters. She said, "Coffee is a part of my life. Since specialty coffee began to become popular at the end of 2011, more and more customers know how to appreciate coffee and try the differences in specialty coffee. Conceptual coffee shops and mobile coffee operators are mostly passionate young people, and they are also willing to incorporate specialty coffee into their own products. Many companies have also begun to open coffee classrooms and study camps to help these coffee entrepreneurs."
In Malaysia, when talking about the growth of the coffee industry, two cities cannot be ignored: Penang and Johor Bahru. Victor Leong of Lighthouse coffee shop is a pioneer of specialty coffee in Penang and also the founder of the Battle of Barista Championship. He said, "Before 2007, Malaysia's coffee industry was not internationalized. Not many people understood specialty coffee, and no one cared much about coffee quality. They would use high-temperature sterilized milk and buy ordinary commercial coffee beans. For this reason, I opened Lighthouse coffee shop, hoping to educate customers and other coffee professionals."
Cynthia Chia of Johor Bahru also talked about her reasons for opening Carffee Coffee Bar: "Most of the coffee shops in Johor Bahru are chain brands. They use Liberian beans because most of that kind of bean is grown in Malaysia. Myliberica coffee shop has been very successful because they own their own coffee farms."
The coffee market in Johor Bahru is very small because there are not many out-of-town travelers, and it is not as attractive as big cities. Most customers still prefer to look at latte art rather than care about the taste when drinking. This is also why we set up a training classroom, hoping to expand the local coffee market. We want to offer a variety of courses, even though some go beyond local trends. Many people come wanting to learn latte art techniques or how to make espresso, but I hope they can start by learning how to appreciate coffee.
Improve the overall specialty coffee industry through customer education. Whenever people travel to Australia, Singapore, Chiang Mai in Thailand, and other cities that love coffee, their passion for coffee is ignited. The younger generation has a higher demand for coffee volume, so they prefer filtered coffee, followed by espresso.
About five years ago, only ordinary black coffee could be found on the market, while chain coffee shops offered filtered coffee or iced coffee. Today many specialty coffee shops such as Coffex coffee shop are helping to lead the market. Coffex has a roasting factory equipped with the latest technology plus traditional roasting machines. In addition, many operators such as Artisan Roasters and lightHouse coffee shop have joined the ranks of Coffex. These coffee operators have all received certification from the Barista Guild Asia and the Illy Coffee University.
Daniel Liew of the Barista Guild Asia shared his coffee education plan: "We hope students will understand more about the coffee roasting process, the growing process, and the entire coffee business process. It is not just about learning how to make beautiful latte art, but about understanding the value of the entire coffee industry." "After I participated in the courses of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the ASEAN Specialty Coffee Association, I found that the content of the two courses was very different. I integrated the key points of both and taught new baristas how to become successful baristas." Subsequently, I founded the Barista Guild Asia and successfully introduced it to most baristas in Kuala Lumpur. The Barista Guild Asia is a neutral organization. We do not engage in any sales and only provide learning courses. The courses and testing methods are mostly based on the content of the ASEAN Specialty Coffee Association, but they also include some content from the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
As the industry developed, we also offered grinding and coffee maintenance courses, teaching baristas how to maintain different types of grinders, and also teaching operators how to maintain coffee machines themselves. We also held multiple coffee competitions, such as the 2013 Malaysia Barista Championship. The market began to take notice of our guild, and many champion competitors also joined our training ranks.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
