All things, to all people – it’s a tall order, but Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR) aspires to be a one-stop caffeine shop.
“Some people just want a well-made latte, and others want to sit at the bar and ask about every single origin we have,” said Harry Grover, co-owner and founder of the popular cafe and roaster, its original outlet at Tiong Bahru in Singapore.
So its new Kuala Lumpur branch – opened just four months ago – seeks to also serve that winning formula of a small-but-focused list of coffee varietals plus various ways to enjoy said coffee – even in the form of cocktails.
The latter are exclusive to the KL outlet, which has also just started serving dinner; Singapore’s CMCR has more of a brunch crowd and so closes earlier. CMCR KL welcomes bleary-eyed caffeine-hunters at 7.30am, and closes its doors at 10pm every day.
Discreetly tucked under the large, 24-hour Anytime Fitness gym in Plaza Vads, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (in case all that caffeine gives you an energy surplus), CMCR KL boasts a pared-down plushness, with a whole lot of Instagrammable corners and no hint of industrial chic.
Its central island bar flanked by two fat golden pillars suggests a cocktail bar, but the aroma of roasted coffee in the air belies its true identity.
Creating Common Man
Before catering to the Common Man, Australian-born Grover, 36, created 40 Hands in Tiong Bahru in 2010, cresting the Third Wave of coffee riding into Singapore at the time.
His interest in coffee had been piqued when – after working in business for a few years – he took up a Masters course in International Aid and Sustainable Development at Murdoch University in Perth.
“One of the things we learnt was about how the coffee industry was positively impacting local communities in Asia,” he said. “And I lived a block away from the Australian Barista Academy, so I decided to enrol in a course.”
Even today, teams at both CMCR outlets pride themselves on the sustainability of their coffee – to hit their zero defect target with the YirgZero coffee from Ethiopia, farm workers sort the beans by hand, according to CMCR KL barista Larry Lam.
“We work directly with the farms for many of the coffees, cutting out the middleman. And this also generates jobs for the local community,” he added.
With visions of a coffee-based business percolating in his head, Grover visited his older lawyer brother, who had lived in Singapore for a decade. He noticed the country’s bubbling, burgeoning interest in speciality coffee and had “the right conversations with the right people”.
“We opened 40 Hands in Tiong Bahru, the only business to open there until independent bookstore Books Actually opened,” said Grover. “People thought we were a bit crazy, but we didn’t want to move into a mall. I had to have a bit of faith – figured if we built it, they would come!”
Today, Tiong Bahru is a regular destination for the trendy crowd, riddled with restaurants, cafes and stores.
“When I opened 40 Hands, I was trained by Five Senses Coffee Australia, so naturally I used their coffee,” said Grover. “I started 40 Hands with two staff – today I have 90.”
He then partnered with Five Senses to open Common Man Coffee Roasters, importing the green beans from the company and roasting them in Singapore. “We also expanded into coffee training and wholesale,” he said.
Common Man roasts from Singapore fuel the KL outlet, as well as forming part of the bean repertoire of other KL coffee stalwarts, including Artisan, Wild Honey and Thursdvys.
“In our Singapore outlet, we see everyone from 16-year-old students to 24-year-old hipsters to 65-year-old parents,” said Grover. “The Singapore scene has evolved from a fickle crowd that just goes to new places.”
“F&B isn’t about novelty. If you want to get into the industry, you must have a deeper sense of purpose – and for us, it is to champion the speciality coffee scene and the larger industry itself,” said Grover.
“I expanded the business to KL mainly because I wanted to provide loyal, long-term staff with greater opportunities,” said Grover. “Seeing how people work so hard, pulling themselves up, proving over and over that a career in F&B is viable – it’s very inspiring.”
Expanding on those opportunities also means extending training to customers and appreciation classes to drinkers, all at the coffee academy that sits in one corner of CMCR KL.
In the end, Grover is looking to tick all the boxes with CMCR – ultimately, never losing sight of the fundamentals.
“This business is a marathon, not a sprint. You need to find the joy in the little things, the ‘boring’ stuff – is your shop open on time, are your hot drinks served at the right temperature?” said Grover.
At Common Man KL
Every table at CMCR has a small list of filter (RM15 each) and micro-lot coffees (the latter termed the “Uncommon”, these are between RM20 and RM24). The micro-lot coffees are made from very small parcels of land set apart from the rest on a farm, generally considered the cream of the crop.
“These are actually doing very well at CMCR KL, Malaysians seem to be very open with their coffee!” said Grover.
The filter and pour-over methods result in a clearer, purer taste for these coffees, so that drinkers can better appreciate the nuances of each – part of accentuating the myriad flavour compounds also means bringing a bit more acidity to the fore, so many of these coffees are comparatively brighter and zingier.
The micro-lot coffees are found at CMCR in small amounts – currently, they only have about 60kg of the sharp, fresh Kimida AB/PB from Kenya, and the max you will find of any micro-lot coffee is 200kg at a time.
“The most popular filter coffee we have is the Ardi Sidama from Ethiopia,” said Lam. “The coffee bean is dried with the flesh, so that it has a sweeter taste.” Fruity and rich, the Ardi Sidama is all about cherries and oranges, with a decided dark chocolate flavour, front and centre.
The micro-lot coffees will rotate every three to four months, while the filter coffees remain. Then there are the espresso-based coffees.
The coffee beans destined to become espresso are roasted on the darker side of the spectrum, while those for the filter coffees undergo a lighter roast.
At CMCR, if you order an espresso drink like a latte or cappuccino without specifying a blend, it will be made with the eponymous coffee blend, which boasts a bright, distinctive acidity. “This is not a ‘safe’ blend, because of its acidity and full body,” said Lam.
“For those who like a more average cup, there is a second blend called the 22 Martin, a more robust, round, full-bodied cup,” said Grover. Named after CMCR’s Singapore address, this is the one to go for if you’re into chocolatey, caramel notes and greater intensity.
Rounding out the espresso options, a single origin coffee, which the baristas will reach for if you want a long black. On our visit, it was the Lucky Basterd, a highly fragranced number with tinges of cooked fruit.
Lam has been experimenting with small batch coffee cocktails, made with coffee cold-brewed for 1 hour. “I use YirgZero, because its floral notes work well in the cocktails,” said Lam.
The Cold Brew Negroni (RM30) has the potency of its gin-sweet vermouth-Campari combination masked by the intense, aromatic coffee and twist of orange peel for a smooth, fresh mouthful.
Complementing all these is a menu of classic café food with a twist, ranging from the brunch specials like organic Eggs Benedict (RM38), to dinner time specials like the 36-hour grain-fed beef short ribs (RM88), which are meant for sharing. Crusted with crisp, herbed breadcrumbs, the tender beef is cooked sous vide for 36 hours, then served with a lemon-spiked mashed potato, grilled mushrooms and salad.
There are only two sharing platters for dinner – the other features a whole barramundi, with a spiced coconut crust.
For the super-popular Eggs Benedict, the runny, free-range eggs sit on tender-crispy slices of braised ox cheek, with chive Hollandaise, in a nest of arugula. The Common Man Veggie Wonderland (RM38) is a meat-free big breakfast, with two free-range eggs, fried halloumi, spinach, herbed confit tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, sliced avocado and lemon, and slices of sourdough or honey-rye bread.
Lunch and dinner menus are the same, with just a couple of extra sharing dishes only available for dinner. A set lunch is also available at RM30 on weekdays, featuring dishes which boast the same attention to individual components as the rest of the ala carte menu.
And for dessert, the KL Churros (RM19) are great versions of the fried dough fritters, curved into circles and dusted with toasted coconut and walnuts, served with a 70% cacao sauce and vanilla ice cream on a bed of house-made crumble.
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Common Man Coffee Roasters KL
No.1 Jalan Tun Mohd Faud
Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL.
Tel: 03-7731 7095
Open daily, 7.30am to 10pm[/vc_column][vc_column width="2/3"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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