By Badrolhisham Bidin
Ex Editor Malay Mail
Amid the boycotts across the nation and in fact throughout the world, coffee lovers who had been café hopping in the past few years had to forgo their daily sips at certain outlets.
It is however a boon to local brewers who have been actively setting up booths, stalls and cafes around the neighbourhood.
In Kemaman, there are rows of coffee stalls along the roads. Whether these stalls offer good coffee or otherwise is difficult to gauge as a human can only consume caffeine “that much” daily.
Some homes, including this writer’s, have invested a small amount to get a decent coffee maker.
As for the beans, famous outlets are selling them either at their cafes or you can purchase them online.
A decent coffee maker costs about less than RM500, in no time, you can recoup the “capital”, depending on the number of occupants and how much they consume daily.
The taste is decently comparable to the ones sold at the outlets and you can sip coffee wherever you are at a friction of the cost you may have fork out if you patronise their outlets.
Some of these outlets have started selling merchandise just like that “big name”, heat resistant mugs and flasks which you can lug around anytime.
A recent visit to Vietnam saw this coffee phenomenon exploded in the city of Ho Chi Minh.
Everywhere, you can find cafes with fancy names and equally fancy ways to prepare them.
Their favourite is from Robusta beans, known for their bold and robust flavour, along wth sweetened condensed milk. Just like the usual kopi susu sold at traditional coffee shops in Malaysia.
The writer at one of the cafes in Ho Chi Minh city during his recent visit to Vietnam.
I must say, though, it has a stronger taste and the drip method used further enhances the concentration. In our local traditional coffee shops, ground coffee beans are just mixed in hot water, with sugar or condensed milk added.
Or sometimes both.
Some also claimed to be coffee connoisseurs, knowing the different types of beans just by smelling them, but most of us are just coffee aficionados – coffee lovers as we usually call it.
My all-time favourite is Kopi 434, typically found only in Muar,(or rather Muor), Johor.
Discovering the coffee powder in Kuala Lumpur or other towns is like finding gold.
They are however on sale on online applications.
But I do drink “fancy” coffee on a regular basis.
Not just to quench the thirst but because I want it.
Most of the time, I will be outside doing my daily routine, I may stop at these cafés to have a place where I can set up my Macbook and naturally, I have to order a cuppa.
I don’t WFH, I WFA = Work From Anywhere.
So little and quaint cafes would be a perfect place to stop by.
Don’t be shocked if you visit the newsdesk of my former work of place.
Coffee cups line up reporters’ and editors’ desks.
We drink coffee like we drink plain water.
Cups after cups of coffee daily, mostly from the coffee machine in the pantry.
Some people would have sleepless nights after consuming coffee at night. In my case, I would be sleeping like a baby even after a jug of black coffee (with sugar). I have tried that, yes.
So what’s your favourite coffee, or café? Share with us and help the little businesses thrive.
Editor: This article is republished here from apakhabartv.com
