KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — The brew is tea-like, its colour like liquid rubies. Such a heavenly aroma. You taste pineapple and hibiscus yet there is no fruit or flowers added.
This is a cup of single origin filter coffee at YiLuDou Roastery in Taman Taynton View, Cheras. Specifically, the bean is Ecuador Juan Velez #14 (the country of origin, the farm, the lot number).
We are, of course, a far way from South America. Tens of thousands of kilometres away. But this cup of coffee is a taste of South America, of Ecuador, tinged with the flames of a micro-roastery in KL.
For what makes YiLuDou Roastery stand out from other coffee roasteries in Malaysia is owner Lois Loo’s commitment to roasting coffee beans over direct fire.
She told me how direct fire coffee roasting is nothing new but a centuries-old traditional method: “Direct fire gives the coffee a unique flavour. Of course, one needs to be skilled and attentive as the beans can easily burn or roast unevenly.”
With such risks, there are rewards too. Those who enjoy light roasted coffee, as I do, will be pleased to learn that direct fire roasted beans don’t require resting (to allow the flavours to fully develop and avoid the “grassy” taste) as long.
Loo shares, “With direct fire roasted beans, instead of waiting 2-3 weeks from the roasting date to enjoy the coffee, you only need a week or even a few days.”
Light roasting is more commonly identified with the Nordic style (think Fuglen and Tim Wendelboe in Norway) compared to other coffee traditions such as that of Japanese kissatens, those cigarette smoke filled shops of yore, with their dark, robust brews.
So it’s a nice surprise that the exterior of YiLuDou Roastery’s shop is more reminiscent of machiyas (traditional townhouses) in Kyoto than the more modern, steel-and-concrete structures in Scandinavia.
Upon entering, one is greeted by a row of coloured glass bottles, each containing a different single origin coffee bean, all of them direct fire roasted. Various coffee brewing paraphernalia to ogle and ask questions about.
Then the magic of slow brewing itself as the baristas make you pour-over coffee, taking their time to get everything right. This is their main product, after all: their coffee.
How far we have come! Long gone are the early days of specialty coffee in Malaysia when so many café owners and baristas told me their cafés needed a food menu to survive.
Nowadays there is a growing number of coffee shops such as Brewsmith and Sweet Blossom that can draw a steady stream of regular customers who return for just the coffee.
Interestingly, the common denominator for such shops might be that most, if not all, are also coffee roasteries. The same, naturally, applies to YiLuDou.
Here, brown paper bags of roasted beans are kept in a vintage cupboard, befitting their slightly hippie and bohemian vibe.
The labels are simply stamp printed and not ostentatious; clearly Loo wants her direct fire roasted coffee beans to stand on their own merit, rather than marketing and design.
Consider the washed processed Ethiopia Mewa that has notes of lily flowers, orange and honey. Or the Honduras Hanabi (anaerobic natural) that promises the indelible flavours of banana, tempoyak and mulled wine.
Call it gentrification or call it progress. These days even our parents know the difference between a Colombia and a Costa Rica single origin coffee.
Reading the labels and tasting profiles of coffee beans is like perusing the spines of books in the biggest libraries in the world. You never know what new discovery awaits you, what delicious brew to be lovingly crafted at home.
The other shelves are filled with coffee equipment required for such a ritual, from coffee filters to grinders and paper filters. This is a truly fantastic emporium for both serious coffee geeks and casual coffee lovers alike.
In fact, the entire café feels like a tiny, self-contained wonderland. The space, inside and outside, is suffused with a beautiful play of shadows and sunlight.
The silhouettes of baristas taking their time to measure out coffee beans, grind them and slowly pour hot water to craft the brew they desire. The green tendrils of young vines falling from the shop’s side walls.
How quaint! And how charming. To finally have a space to while away the hours, deep in conversation or comfortable silence, meditatively sipping on coffee without a care in the world.
Perhaps this is what enlightenment feels like, if for the briefest of moments, to see the dance of light and shadow, and to know both are part of a greater whole.
YiLuDou RoasteryGarage 29, Jalan Goh Boon Hong, Taman Taynton View, Cheras, KLOpen Wed-Thu 12-6pm; Sat-Sun 10am-6pm; other days closedPhone: 012-247 4710IG: https://www.instagram.com/yiludou/FB: https://www.facebook.com/yiludouroastery/
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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