The Craft Of Coffee

When it comes to Singapore coffee culture, tradition and innovation go hand-in-hand. Three industry insiders spill the beans on the evolving scene and what makes a perfect cup of coffee.

- NAFEESA SAINI

JASON AND NIGEL SOON

Founder and CEO, and brand partnerships and growth manager, respectively, of Kim Guan Guan Coffee

For Jason Soon, starting Kim Guan Guan Coffee (KGG) was a road riddled with obstacles. In 1988, with no knowledge about coffee, he started the business with a partner who left after just two years. From there, it was an uphill battle to earn his customers' trust, learn the ins-and-outs about coffee roasting and eventually introduce automation into the process. Today, KGG is a household name, supplying ground coffee powder made from Robusta and Columbian beans to coffee shops and chains across the island. Jason (J) and his son, Nigel (N) also run Kim's Duet, their recently rebranded B2C brand of take-home, local steep coffee bags available online and at selected retail stores.

How do you roast your beans?

J: Roasting is an art. You're essentially trying to bake the coffee without boiling the surface of the beans. After baking, we add margarine and sugar. The most tedious part is the caramelising. Western coffee only needs one roast and that might take about 12 minutes. But ours need about 35 minutes. When we caramelise the beans with the sugar, the timing has to be accurate or the sugar will turn bitter or sour. If that happens, the blend won't give you the taste of Singapore kopi.

We also need to be mindful of the temperature during roasting and caramelising. The beans are then quickly separated while hot to prevent them from hardening and clumping together.

What makes a good cup of kopi?

J: Aside from roasting, a good cup of kopi is in how you brew it. We tell our clients how much water is needed for one bag of coffee. I also tell them to let the coffee sit for three to four minutes before they hand-pull.

How would you describe Singapore's coffee culture?