Do you know ... our local kopi ?

> We celebrate International Coffee Day this week; it is celebrated on three different days – Sept 29, 30 or Oct 1 – in different countries.

> So let’s celebrate our local kopi today.

> Malaysians love their strong, robust and aromatic kopi, though foreigners may consider it an acquired taste.

Our specialty coffee

> Most coffee is made from Arabica and Robusta beans.

> But 95% of Malaysia’s coffee beans come from the the Liberica coffee plant.

> Only about 2% of the world’s coffee production is Liberica which is considered harsh and acidic.

> That’s why local kopi is stronger that the smoother expresso made from Arabica beans.

Liberica beans are also much cheaper than Arabica beans.

> That’s why you pay much less for a cup of kopi than a cup of espresso.

Double roasting

> Malaysian coffee is roasted twice.

> During the second roast, sugar, margarine and salt are added to give it its unique flavour.

> Ipoh’s famous white coffee is slow roasted without sugar, only with margarine.

> Fans claim it makes for a smoother and more aromatic cuppa.

Kopi kick

> We don’t need fancy apparatus to make kopi. All we need is a tapis, a sock-like filter made from cloth. Just pour hot water into a pitcher through the tapis filled with lots of coffee beans.

Here’s how we enjoy our kopi.

Kopi-o- black kopi with sugar

Kopi - kopi with condensed milk, lots of it!

Kopi-si - kopi with sugar and evaporated milk

Kopi-cham - kopi with tea

Other terms to know . . .

Peng - to add ice, so kopi peng is iced kopi with condensed milk

Kosong - no sugar

Kaw - extra strong