While Seoul, Singapore, and Hong Kong have firmly established themselves as the region's coffee capitals, Malaysia is catching up at an astonishing pace. A large wave of passionate specialty coffee practitioners has emerged in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor Bahru, starting with light-roasted beans and gradually changing local consumers' taste habits. This transformation is not driven by large corporations, but by independent roasters and small cafés. From its beginnings around 2010 to now having world-class competition baristas and a mature coffee education system, what path has Malaysian specialty coffee traveled? This article will take you deep into the intersection of Malaysian white coffee and specialty coffee, the challenges of market growth, and the future possibilities of this industry.
Seoul, Singapore, and Hong Kong have long been regarded as Asia's coffee strongholds, and Malaysia seems ready to join their ranks. We traveled to Malaysia in person to speak with locals face to face and explore the current coffee trends. Recently, in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor Bahru near Singapore, large numbers of coffee enthusiasts can be seen driving the upgrade of local coffee culture and bringing more diverse choices to the market. Surprisingly, these changes are not led by large chain companies, but stem from numerous passionate specialty coffee practitioners.
Malaysia's specialty coffee wave is rapidly changing the landscape, with many coffee-loving newcomers opening their own shops. Joey Mah and Michael Wilson are representative figures among these new faces.
"We were among the earliest to use light-roasted coffee. My first cup of Brazil Carmo Estate coffee was recommended by Michael Wilson. That cup completely overturned my understanding of coffee, and I began recommending it to people around me. Later, we became Malaysia's first independent roaster. Changing a person's standards for coffee is extremely difficult, but we have always held firm to our commitment to quality. More and more people began to embrace our philosophy, and it is these people who made us who we are today. People gradually cultivated their own coffee tastes and placed higher demands on baristas and roasters, so we have continued to improve in every aspect, including introducing higher-grade coffee beans. As more and more people around us insisted on pursuing coffee quality, a healthy competitive market environment gradually formed. This is good for consumers, and coffee quality has improved along with it," said Joey.
Michael added: "The rapid development of specialty coffee has surprised me greatly. I originally expected steady growth, but the number of newly opened coffee shops is double my estimate." Michael predicts the pace will accelerate further—as more sixth-generation coffee shops appear, people will realize that what they drank in the past was not truly good coffee, and will then crave more quality coffee shops. In the early days of opening shops, most customers were Malaysians who had lived in Melbourne and were already accustomed to this way of drinking coffee. Now, many locals who have never been abroad have also begun to enjoy coffee's fruity acidity, gradually reducing their dependence on bitter coffee. More and more people are choosing unsweetened black coffee in order to taste the aroma of high-quality coffee itself.
Customer service is also an important factor drawing many people away from fourth-generation coffee chains. Coffee quality is certainly key, but service is the core of what makes customers immediately feel the difference. Michael also noticed a significant increase in customers requesting pour-over coffee, perhaps because advances in roasting technology have changed the way people drink.
To understand the difference between fourth-generation and sixth-generation coffee shops, you can refer to "Six Revolutionary Evolutions That Influenced Coffee." Cheryl Lee of Dankoff Coffee told us: "Specialty coffee entered Malaysia around 2010. New-style coffee shops offered more comfortable drinking environments and more coffee choices, and some shops also introduced their own roasting services."
In the early days of specialty coffee in Malaysia, most people did not accept it very well, and many locals could not distinguish ordinary black coffee from specialty coffee. Therefore, in June 2010, Cheryl became the first pioneer to open coffee classes and workshops to teach people to appreciate specialty coffee.
The Malaysian specialty coffee industry could not have reached its current scale without the joint efforts of many coffee shops. At the end of 2011, Cheryl's Plan B roasting workshop provided coffee at the level of world coffee competitions and built a well-trained team. From then on, more new specialty coffee shops joined the market and promoted specialty coffee together.
"The specialty coffee market is currently growing gradually, but it seems too many new players are joining while the customer base is not yet large enough."
People who enjoy Malaysian-style black coffee have also begun to accept specialty coffee, but we are also clear that black coffee is a uniquely Malaysian coffee culture and tradition. We cannot forget our roots, but at the same time we are excited to be on the path of specialty coffee. On the other hand, Malaysian roasters need more experience and exposure to improve quality in order to meet market demand.
Most customers were initially attracted by latte art. Latte art was originally the main reason people 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 coffee's aroma and origin background, so if roasters have not done their homework, customers will notice immediately.
Many customers now know how to appreciate coffee's own fruity aroma and mouthfeel. In addition to espresso, pour-over coffee has also gradually become popular, and customers understand how different brewing methods can bring different qualities and flavors. Boyd Yap of Dankoff Coffee told us about the market changes he saw after sponsoring the Malaysian Barista Championship. The public began to know these competitions existed and began visiting different shops to see what the competitors had brought back. "More and more new coffee shops are being established, and many of them have a deep 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 uses a European curriculum. Some go directly to coffee shops to hone their experience. Many travel to various places for inspiration and then return to Malaysia to open their own shops. "People who attend study camps will start looking for well-known local roasters to roast their coffee, because they are still newcomers. In addition, having an experienced roaster add value to one's brand is a relatively safe approach," Boyd said.
Janice Soh from My Coffee Trais coffee shop and runner-up in the 2013 ASEAN Coffee Masters said: "Coffee is part of my life. Since specialty coffee began to become popular at the end of 2011, more and more customers have begun to taste 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 products. Many companies have also begun to open coffee classes 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 is a pioneer of specialty coffee in Penang and 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 they did not care about coffee quality. They would use high-temperature sterilized milk and buy ordinary commercial coffee beans. This is why I opened Lighthouse Coffee, hoping to educate customers and other coffee operators."
Cynthia Chia in Johor Bahru also talked about her original intention in opening Carffee Coffee Bar: "Most coffee shops in Johor Bahru are chain brands. They use Liberica beans because most of Malaysia grows that kind of bean. My Liberica coffee shop has been very successful because they own their own coffee farm. The Johor Bahru coffee market is very small because there are not many out-of-town tourists, and it is not as attractive as large cities. Most customers still prefer to look at latte art rather than taste the coffee. So we set up a training classroom, hoping to expand the local coffee market. We want to offer different courses, although some have already gone beyond local trends. Many people come wanting to learn latte art or espresso, but I hope they first learn how to taste coffee." Through customer education, the overall specialty coffee industry is elevated.
Whenever people travel to Australia, Singapore, Chiang Mai in Thailand, and other coffee-loving cities, it ignites their passion for coffee. The younger generation has a higher demand for coffee volume, so they prefer filter coffee, followed by espresso.
About five years ago, only ordinary black coffee was available on the market, and chain coffee shops offered filter coffee or iced coffee. Now many specialty coffee shops such as Coffex are helping lead the market. Coffex has a roasting factory equipped with the latest technology and traditional roasting machines, and other operators such as Artisan Roasters and Lighthouse Coffee have joined Coffex's ranks. These operators are certified by the Barista Guild Asia and Illy Coffee University.
Daniel Liew of the Barista Guild Asia shared his coffee education plan: "We want students to better understand the coffee roasting process, the growing process, and the entire business process. It is not just about learning to make beautiful latte art, but about understanding the value of the entire coffee industry." "After I took courses from the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the ASEAN Specialty Coffee Association, I found that the content differed greatly. I combined the key points of both courses to teach new baristas how to become successful baristas. After that, I founded the Barista Guild Asia and successfully introduced it to most baristas in Kuala Lumpur. The Barista Guild Asia is a neutral body that does not sell anything and only provides learning courses. The courses and tests are mostly based on the content of the ASEAN Specialty Coffee Association, and also include some content from the Specialty Coffee Association of America."
As the industry developed, we also opened grinding and coffee maintenance courses, teaching baristas to maintain different types of grinders and teaching operators how to maintain their coffee machines themselves. We also held several coffee competitions, such as the 2013 Malaysian Barista Championship. The market began to notice our guild, and many champion competitors also joined our training ranks.
We have a training lab and a simulated coffee shop where students can practice. The main purpose of the course is to teach how to operate. There are two days of training plus five days of practice. Students can come back to practice at any time and take the exam the next day." Daniel also mentioned that for students who want to join the training, the most important things are passion and attitude. Skills can be trained, but we cannot train students with a poor attitude.
The future of Malaysian specialty coffee. The Publika area in Kuala Lumpur is now the hottest coffee district, with many offices, businesses, and residences in the area. Many well-known coffee shops have set up here, offering delicious coffee and creating many streetscape environments integrated with the street. Many shops have unique interior decoration styles blending Melbourne and New York, and some shops have champion baristas. The shops offer a diverse range of coffee products. Any coffee lover who comes here can be greatly satisfied, making it a must-visit area for coffee fans in Kuala Lumpur.
Seeing this situation, Janice said: "Malaysia, like many Asian countries, has its own traditional way of drinking coffee, which also made it more difficult for us to promote specialty coffee at the beginning. But through the joint efforts of many people, more and more people recognize specialty coffee. The more people understand coffee, the better we must do, and for baristas this is also a good thing." Michael also believes the future development will be very interesting: "We are on a new coffee path, with more opportunities to connect with producers. Also, because more investment is being made in equipment, there are opportunities to make further progress in quality control. We continue to work hard to find the best coffee." We cannot deny that the world is becoming smaller and smaller because of the internet.
Victor pointed out: "With the help of the internet, independent coffee operators can grow quickly. Most coffee operators in Kuala Lumpur and Penang are still very young, mostly in their 20s, not over 30. They can accomplish many things inside the coffee shop, such as making chairs themselves. Penang is a tourist area. If the government helps improve tourism, perhaps more and more coffee shops will be established one after another, which is good for the coffee industry." "The current problem is that there are not enough baristas. We need to train more baristas, or give young people who have just graduated from food or hospitality departments a chance to enter the coffee industry, so they understand that being a barista is not just about making coffee, but is a very professional job requiring comprehensive skills."
Many coffee shops want to try interesting new things, but due to legal restrictions, it is very difficult for Malaysia to import high-quality specialty green coffee beans. Importing coffee does not require tariffs, but the law reduces the import volume to only one container per month. This situation prevents many small roasteries from roasting, so they need to combine with large operators such as Artisan Roasters to import green beans together.
If we continue to study the topic of coffee education, we will find that it is actually happening anytime and anywhere in the city, not only in classrooms. In some coffee shops, interactions with customers can also be seen. Lighthouse Coffee places great emphasis on customer education, and they are also the organizers of one of Malaysia's two major coffee competitions—the Battle of Barista Championship. The other competition has not obtained WCE certification, but the Battle of Barista Championship has judges assisted by WCE-certified judges. Both competitions have been running for five years, and new competitions may emerge in the future to stimulate the coffee industry. At the end of this year, the Coffee and Art Fringe Festival Asia (CAFFA) will be held, combining public art and music with coffee from various places to lay a better foundation for Malaysian coffee culture.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
