A Deep Dive into the History of Nanyang Coffee

Evidently, coffee has rather an important place in the lives of people in the countries of Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia where Nanyang style of producing coffee has been adopted. But how and why did coffee, this grain from Arabia, become so intertwined with the region? Now, let it be the light for us to explore the historical background and development of Nanyang coffee in details.

To understand how the coffee tradition started in the region, it is crucial to delve into the history of coffee.

In the late 1700s, Europeans were the ones who brought coffee to Southeast Asia through colonization and trade. Looking at the records from the colonial times, the first evidence of coffee in the region dates back to 1696 when the Dutch East India Company transplanted coffee to their trading post in Indonesia. It was during the subsequent hundred years that coffee drinking remained limited mainly to the Europeans settlers and planters.

Coffee was initially popular among the Europeans in Asia but it was in the middle of the nineteenth century that it began to be consumed by the local populace. This coincided with the usage of indentured labor and the start of the British plantations in Malaysia and Singapore. Initially, the British offered coffee to these laborers and gradually, the drink crept into the society and culture of Asian countries. Coffee was consumed at work with the laborers taking this invention back to their home villages thus marking the growth of a regional coffee culture.

Development into a Regional Trend

First, the coffee made in South East Asia was a copy of European version: dark roasted beans , filtered in a mocha pot or French press and served with no milk. However people started trying them and a new type of coffee unique for Asia emerged on the scene.

The two most notable changes were the addition of sweetened condensed milk to the coffee which is now a distinguishing feature of Nanyang coffee. When a small amount of condensed milk is put into the mixture, the raw and sharp taste of black coffee was cut by making the Asian tongue more tolerant to bitter drinks. This coffee milk or “kopi susu” as it is locally known gained considerable popularity and is still the way most Indonesians take their coffee today.

Other local kopitiams (traditional coffee shops) also produced their own individual brewing methods by using a Malaysian “sock filter”, this involves placing the grounds into a small cloth bag and immersing it directly in hot water. This yielded a stout, ebony and highly concentrated ‘kopi o’ best suited for drinking.

Coffee is now an essential part of Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians diet in the mid 1950’s and the coffee tradition is still abound with kopitiams as the center of their cafe society. Every kopitiam had its way and its own special house blend that was favoured by the locals who would frequent the kopitiam on a daily basis.

Advent of Franchised Café Culture 

The traditional Kopitiam continued to flourish in Malaysia and other nearby countries while the end of the nineties experienced franchised cafes with coffee with more international appeal. Starbucks introduced the Southeast Asian markets to espressos, lattes, and other western-style coffee beverages.

Meanwhile there were also domestic brands which increase their outlet presence in the region such as Café Pantreas in Indonesia. Locally grown outlets such as OTW Coffee and Killiney Kopitiam are now almost on par with MacDonalds and KFC in dominating food courts in Asian shopping complexes and being associated with billboards.

However, the old fashion kopitiams are still maintaining its ground because there are many people who have been brought up with their own habit of going to their own local coffee stall. Their appeal is in the taste of tradition that the mass production and homogeneity of the large corporations cannot provide.

The new millennium witnessed coffee culture change yet again with the introduction of the artisanal coffee movement which opened more superior coffee shops with a specialized theme of sophisticated brewing methods and high quality coffee beans.

Singapore specialty coffee brands such as 40 Hands was able to establish its name on the international market and even contributed to the birth of a new generation of coffee enthusiasts who could distinguish single origin from a pour over method. Still, as the new trends are developing, the classical preferences and ways of food preparation which are still appreciated by Asians’ palates can be considered actively represented.

Some aspects of current cafes are even borrowed from western culture- almond milk and cold brews are examples from current Asian cafes, however, kopi susu is retained as a local delicacy. It is evident that over a century and a half of development, coffee has only become even more enmeshed with outside influences while still remaining unmistakably Nanyang in essence, proving just how deeply ingrained this beverage has become in the Southeast Asian populace’s way of life.

Looking Ahead 

Coffee is still as relevant today in the Southeast Asia as it was centuries ago – as both an economic product and a daily beverage. To some people, “kopi-o” is as basic as rice in the dish; a beverage that cannot be absent in a meal. The consumption of coffee in the Asia markets which are gradually developing economies will most probably continue to rise. I mean Asia today is a home to one-third of coffee drinkers in the whole world.

But the choice of tastes still remain culturally Nanyang – coffee drinkers in this region still favor the thick, black bitter locally brewed coffee over the lighter European style. With the shift of the demand hub to the East, the Asianization that has happened over the past century will in turn influence the consumption of coffee across the world.

That is the key lesson to be learned from the history of Nanyang coffee or, more accurately, the experience of Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. As Southeast Asian preferences have influenced coffee for the last two centuries, there’s no predicting where the next big change will emerge from. For now, the original kopitiams have not budged an inch, as people of all ages come together over sugary, milky coffees, a custom that will undoubtedly live on for generations to come.