PETALING JAYA, Aug 12 – The quiet neighbourhood of Section 11, PJ looks to become more happening with the introduction of a new specialty coffee roastery led by three-time Malaysia Barista Champion (2016, 2018 & 2020) Keith Koay of One Half Coffee.

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The interior of One Half Coffee Roastery is lit up by natural light and what Koay calls a “California sunshine” palette. He shares, “We asked our designers, POW Ideas, for more colours and a dynamic design such as movable stations. The colours are inspired by the Swedish flag, so lots of blue and yellow accents.”

The “we” here refers to the rest of Koay’s team; his six partners include Tan Shing Win, Ang Wei Liang, Ng Jia Le, Thean Zanhow, Jeshua Chan and Jayden Sim. These names and faces will be familiar to regulars of both One Half Coffee in Taman Paramount and Dou Dou Bake in Taman Rasa Sayang, both in PJ.

After opening their doors yesterday with coffee-pastry pairings and three casual cupping sessions (featuring Geisha, Ethiopia and Bolivia beans), One Half Coffee Roastery now follows a regular schedule where their café counter opens to the public for four days a week (Saturday to Tuesday).

The focus, therefore, is still very much on their coffee roasting business as well as the well-designed training and education space. The latter will allow café owners and other coffee industry professionals to participate in cupping sessions of One Half’s exclusive beans.

The mobile stations in this space can be reconfigured for barista training and other coffee education workshops. Given the surfeit of barista training programmes in town nowadays, prospective students will likely be keen to discover what makes a true One Half barista tick.

But don’t discount the café counter just because of its shorter operation hours. It is the first impression customers will have of the revamped One Half brand, after all.

The extensive shelves of coffee products – from grinders and drippers to bags of roasted whole beans – will allow the front-of-house staff to welcome newbies to the world of specialty coffee. One can get everything one needs to be a full fledged home barista here.

For more experienced coffee aficionados, chances are their eyes will be drawn to the large chiller-freezer in one corner. Emblazoned with the word “PROVISIONS”, this is where Koay keeps his most valuable beans.

Why keep such tiny quantities of these auction lot beans – such as the Panama Janson GN7, a natural processed geisha from the vicinity of the Barun Volcano in Panama – in small, individual bottles and then freeze them?

To begin, such limited edition varietals fetch a hefty price at coffee auctions as they are prized for their excellent flavour profiles. By freezing them, Koay slows down the rate that the coffee “ages” (i.e. keeping them “fresh” for months), thereby preserving the peak flavour of these expensive beans.

Currently the roasting room is home to two roasting machines: the larger roaster is a conventional 7kg Loring whilst the smaller one is an electrical 750g Stronghold.

Koay explains, “We use the Loring for production and the Stronghold for competition. Unlike the Loring, which uses hot air, the Stronghold has three different heat sources – infrared, conductive and hot air. The resultant acidity in the beans is softer.”

He also uses a third, much smaller countertop roasting machine for testing: “This one only handles 50g, which is ideal for us to roast samples from suppliers in tiny batches, to check for their flavour profile before we decide whether to order those beans or not.”

To further aid the decision making, a cupping session allows coffee professionals to taste the flavour profile of different coffees. This is something Koay now performs like second nature though it was a long road for him to pick up the ropes; winning a barista championship doesn’t necessarily a good coffee roaster make… not immediately, at any rate.

He shares, “I got my coffee roasting training both informally from the late Joey Mah and more formally from Jake Hu from Taster Coffee in Taipei. Furthermore, participating in international barista competitions, either as a competitor or a coach, allows me to meet other coffee industry professionals.”

The latter has not only deepened Koay’s coffee knowledge and technical expertise, it opened enough doors for him that One Half Coffee Roastery also operates as a green bean import business.

Koay explains, “Of course, there are both pros and cons. One could argue that other local coffee roasters are our competitors. But because we are also selling green beans for them to roast, they are also our prospective clients. So it’s good for everyone.”

At the end of our visit, Koay brews us some filter coffee for a sharing session. It takes a certain degree of experience and calm demeanour to be able to run through each step with precision whilst reminiscing with customers and friends alike.

When I first chatted with Koay over seven years ago, right after he had just won his first MBC title, he told me that he hoped to inspire all the baristas in Malaysia. He shared, “It’s my efforts, and not talent, that has gotten me this far.”

That assertion seems to have become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Talent only goes so far; it’s the sweat, blood and tears that builds something more lasting.

More importantly, Koay has achieved this not only with his own efforts but that of his entire team, and this is a far more meaningful legacy.

Here is to One Half Coffee Roastery excelling and here is to our entire Malaysian specialty coffee industry as a whole: Malaysia Boleh!

One Half Coffee Roastery

19, Jalan Bukit 11/2, Section 11, PJ

Café counter open Sat-Tue, 8am to 5pm

IG: instagram.com/onehalfroastery/

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