BY ZUREEN AZZWA
KUCHING: Bitterness is often associated with coffee without sugar. However, does coffee without sugar really give the bitterness as claimed? The bitterness of coffee can be eliminated through the right coffee making process and method.
As someone with limited knowledge about coffee, I have learned a lot about coffee, where the taste of coffee can be presented with sweet, sour, and bitter tastes at once without using additional flavourings such as sugar or syrup.
According to the owner of Zoey’s Books and Coffee, Sean Ho, the coffee will not taste bitter if the barista extracts the coffee correctly.
With a deep interest and curiosity in coffee, this 34-year-old man was driven to learn about coffee.
“I conducted research and learned about coffee systems after continuing my studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). There was an interest in trying something new, coffee and tea provided an opportunity for me to experiment,” he told Suara Sarawak.
Although he does not have a barista certification, it does not mean that Sean cannot learn about coffee.
As a result of his own research and experiments, Sean has opened a café that serves hand-brewed coffee and sells books published by small publishers.
Zoey’s Books and Coffee is a book and coffee-themed café located at Carpenter Street.
According to Sean, the idea of opening a book and coffee-themed café emerged when he worked in Penang for two years before returning to Sarawak to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
“There, I visited several small cafes on the peninsula that focused on selling books, coffee, and other drinks.
“I also found the existence of library cafes that allowed customers to order drinks and food while reading books,” he said.
Shortly after finishing his studies, after discussions with two of his friends, they started a pop-up bookstore business in 2017 and started operating in 2018 in Desa Ilmu, Kota Samarahan.
The closure of the business premises in the area due to COVID-19 gave Sean and his colleagues the opportunity to change the location of their café.
Although there are many cafes in Kuching that offer coffee menus, there are not many cafes that serve hand-brewed coffee.
This café has a special feature where the coffee they use is of high quality such as G1, which means that the grade of the coffee beans is the highest with no defects in the coffee beans.
“Our café uses imported coffee beans from outside the country such as Japan, Brazil, and China to ensure quality.
“The coffee beans used have different flavours because these coffee beans focus on the origin of the place, variety, and the process of making,” explained Sean.
Café atmosphere and customer feedback
In addition, the coffee wave evolution has three waves, namely the first wave where coffee making is done at home by mixing coffee powder with hot water.
The second wave is a French trend that can be found around us, such as Starbucks and French coffee shops that focus on espresso and fast service.
Zoey’s Books and Coffee atmosphere is in the third wave, where this café focuses on the special service provided to customers.
“Our cafe has a small bar where we can interact with customers and allow them to learn and see the handcrafted coffee-making process.
“The service at this cafe is slow because we focus on meticulous details in every process of making coffee, such as weighing and grinding the coffee beans,” he said.
When asked about the challenges, Sean stated that many people are not knowledgeable about coffee.
There are many people who will question the high price of a cup of coffee.
“Most customers still cannot differentiate the quality of the coffee served, and that’s why we educate customers about coffee and how to distinguish coffee quality in terms of taste,” Sean said.
However, there is a lot of positive feedback about this cafe where customers from abroad who come here love the coffee that is made.
“Customers who come from abroad say that the coffee served is just like in their own country.
“These customers will also come to this cafe two or three times a day,” he added with a smile.
What sets this cafe apart from other cafes?
The details in making coffee make the taste of the coffee different from other cafes because each barista has their own recipe and brewing style.
“The method I use in making coffee produces a different taste from others, which gives a sweet, sour, and bitter taste to the coffee at the same time.
“For coffee lovers, they can distinguish the taste of coffee made from handcrafted or available automatic coffee machines,” he explained.
Every month, this cafe will change its coffee flavours where customers can experience various coffee flavours, and it does not pose a problem for the customers of this cafe.
Therefore, this cafe also provides caffeine-free drinks for customers who do not like coffee, as well as various types of self-baked cakes.
According to Sean, the coffee industry is not well received because the standard salary as a barista in Kuching is low.
“In other states such as Sabah and the peninsula, the starting salary as a barista starts from RM2,000 but in Sarawak, it’s only RM1,500,” he added.
Ending the meeting, Sean hopes that Sarawak will have a community that supports the coffee industry and receives encouraging support for small cafes here.
For coffee lovers who want to taste handcrafted coffee, you can visit Zoey’s Books and Coffee at Jalan Carpenter or visit Instagram @zoeysbookncofee.
