KOPI FAQs

'Nanyang' is a Chinese term literally meaning 'Southern Ocean'. It is used by the Chinese to describe the warm land and islands of South East Asia, around the South China Sea. 

Simply put, 'Kopi' is how the Malays pronounced 'coffee' when it was brought over to the islands by European immigrants c. 18th century. It's now the defacto Malay word for coffee.

But 'Nanyang Kopi' is more than just a name. Though young, it has a rich and diverse history.

This unique coffee was developed in Singapore. It's the Bean. It's the Roast. It's the Brew. It's a culture all to itself and celebrated in the region.

Nanyang Kopi is coffee done the Singapore way.

With a rich history, there's no real short answer as to what Nanyang Kopi is, and how it came to be. It is a culmination of a group effort of the Malays, Teochew, Hokkien, Fuzhounese and perhaps most importantly, the Hainanese.

Early Singapurah [Singapore] and SE Asia in general has had much influence from European and Western powers throughout it's history. The most notable influence comes from the Portguese in the 16th Century, the Dutch in the 17th and the British in the 18th.

The Portuguese brought arabica coffee with them which had been roasted and sugar coated ['torrefacto' roasted] to survive the long journey to SE Asia. Without any express shipping, their supplies would be expected to run low before new incoming shipments would arrive, especially with an ever growing community.

The Malays saw this shortfall in supply as an opportunity and have have been credited with starting the process to move the early Westerners from roasted arabica coffee to the local 'lower quality' robusta coffee.

They roasted the local robusta coffee in large woks over a charcoal fire [some say this produces the most fragrant coffee] and copied the torrefacto principle by caramelising the intensely roasted coffee in molten sugar.

It's said the Portguese loved this new style of coffee - different to their own, similar in some ways but just as delicious.

And so, early Kopi was born as result of the European love of coffee meeting the local Malay palate. But it wasn't quite 'Nanyang' yet - it hadn't been recognised as it's own distinct type.

By the 18th century, more immigrants arrived, said to start with the wealthy Teochew of Southern China [originally believed to be of Northern Chinese descent], the Southern Chinese of Fuzhou, and the Hainanese of Hainan Island.

The former two had already emmigrated from their homelands and settled in parts of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, bringing with them their wealth and skills at trade.

They then emmigrated to Singapore around 1819, soon after the British arrived, bringing their trades with them.

By the time the Hainanese arrived en masse [circa 1850-1900] there was little left to exploit in the local economy as wealthier Chinese communities [the Teochew, the Hokkien, the Fuzhou etc] had already had the pick of the best - textiles, spices, and coffee!

With their buying power, they were able to import large quantities of products into the little island of Singapore.

With little to exploit, the Hainanese turned to a local and little touched staple - Coffee. They continued to develop the roasting and brewing method, and opened up Kopitiams [coffee shops] endearingly called Hainanese Kopitiams because of how affiliated the Hainanese are with this trade in Singapore.

They worked long hours on low profit margins to brew the now local coffee drinks for the local population, and provided not only coffee, but food highly affordable for the local immigrant communities, such as the local breakfast of half-boiled eggs, kaya [coconut jam] toast and a sweet, strong and fragrant cup of coffee and along with other famous staples such as the famous Hainanese Chicken Rice.

The developement of local coffee saw the addition of maize [corn flour] and margarine. Maize was added not for flavour, but to act as a bulking ingredient to lower the overall price of coffee so that it could be afforded by the majority of locals, not just the wealthy ex-pats and affluent Chinese. Margarine was added to help separate the sticky sugar caramelised beans as they cooled.

It just so happens that adding maize, paired with the intense and sugar roasted process, resulted in a distinct, robusta and unique flavour.

Even today Kopitiams use coffee roasted with maize as it's now considered part of the flavour of local coffee.

It's this coffee which is now known as 'Nanyang Kopi' ['Southern Ocean Coffee'], popularised by the Haiananese, served to and loved by all. 

Dark and glossy with a massively fragranced nose, Nanyang Kopi is unmistakably different to your average Western cup of coffee. 

There are three main areas that separate the two types:  the bean, the roast and the brew.

Bean

Nanyang Kopi is a coffee blend predominantly based on the Robusta bean where as Western coffee is largely based on Arabica. Our exclusive Nanyang Kopi blend contains robusta, arabica and liberica beans. These are often the standard when it comes to Nanyang coffee roasting.

Robusta beans thrive in tropical climates, unlike the fussier Arabica, which is one of the major reasons why it's become so popular.

Nanyang Kopi was born by creating a new unique coffee drink that the local Malays could make for the coffee-loving Europeans using local beans. It was so delicious it became the defacto coffee drink of the region.

Roast

Our Nanyang Kopi is traditionally roasted in a unique 2-stage process.

Stage 1 is taking the beans to a Full City roast. Stage 2 sees the beans caramlised with sugar in a wok.

This process produces Nanyang Kopi's characteristic sheen and bold chocolatey fragrance. Continued roasting burns off the sugar, leaving behind an intensely caramelised bean.

This is unlike any coffee you've had before, and probably some of the best coffee you've never had!

Your average cup of unsweetened black kopi [Kopi-O Kosong] is comparable to your typical black Americano with about twice the caffeine.  But the flavour profile of Kopi really sets the two apart.

Brew

The Italians famously crafted the espresso. The Malays crafted, well, the Coffee Sock . There's nothing delicate or 'artsy' about this unique brew method but there's certainly skill with quantities and timing.

Espresso serves as the base for many coffee drinks but it can also be drunk as is.  On the other hand, many would consider freshly brewed Kopi too strong to drink so it's almost always diluted when made into Kopi drinks. We refer to undiluted Kopi  brew as 'Kopi Base'.

There are many ways to enjoy our Nanyang Kopi. Why not check out the Recipes page?

Historically, the coffee roasters couldn't afford to buy their own coffee for personal use - only the wealthy Europeans could do that. So they reduced the amount of coffee and bolstered out the blend by adding Maize [corn-flour] to reduce the cost, and marginarine during cooling to assist with  separating the sticky caramelised coffee beans.

Our exclusive blend, roasted just for us, contains neither maize nor margarine, meaning a cleaner coffee taste and longer shelf life.

Our Nanyang Kopi blend is just great quality green coffee beans, roasted to 'Full City' and caramalised with sugar in the typical Nanyang Kopi style. No maize means more coffee.

We maintain the signature Nanyang Kopi flavour by selecting the right beans, and every batch is taste tested by a master Nanyang Kopi taster.

The unique roast creates a unique brew.

Kopi is dark, glossy and thick.

It's big. It's bold. It's very full bodied.

It's a stronger, richer cup. This is coffee like no other.

Huge upfront hits of cacao, unfolding into burnt toffee and a nose of butter, red wine, raisins and smokey oak.

Without the typical maize and margarine, you're instead presented with with an incredibly smooth and robust cup of Kopi, with the flavour really shining through.

When made into 'Kopi' (i.e. with condensed milk), many say it takes on a chocolatey profile.

Don't expect any feeble coffee drinks here.

There are about 132 ways to make Kopi so there is no set way to have yours but there are certainly popular recipes. 

Kopi is most commonly had with condensed milk, but it can also be had with evaporated milk. With a little or a lot of sugar, or none at all. You can have it hot, warm or iced. 

The traditional brewing method sees it served in regular cups, not large mugs but the way you create your Kopi is up to you.

As condensed milk is the traditional way to make Kopi, it's still in use today. Fresh milk in the region was historically hard to keep [think 'tropical climate'], so those who didn't want sweet condensed milk but still wanted a milky coffee would order their Kopi with evaporated milk [aka Kopi-C] .

However, to appreciate the complex bold flavour of Kopi we think it's best black and without sugar [aka Kopi-O Kosong].

Still, we do love a cheeky cup of Kopi [condensed milk] as nothing can replace that creamy chocolatey richness. You'll come back craving for more.

Check the recipes section to understand the variations!

We source our Kopi directly from artisan coffee roasters based in Singapore. Many of them have been trading as a family business for generations and supply their Kopi to nearby Kopitiams [coffee shops] who in turn provide daily brews for millions of locals.

This ensures we are providing you with the real deal. Our Nanyang Kopi Powder is not an imitation product. It is not manufacturered else where and simply marketed as a product from Singapore. Our coffee is authentically Singaporean.

There are plenty of ways to brew your Kopi at home. Our preferred methods are the Coffee Sock  (available in our online Shop), French Press, Hario V60 and AeroPress.

Only the Coffee Sock produces the authentic taste and silky-smooth mouth-feel of Kopi, but if you are interested in a more mellow brew, we do love using the Hario V60.

Alternatively, if you're a dab hand at an AeroPress, we encourage you to get experimenting with this pressure based method. We have an AeroPress recipe listed in the Brew section, but let us know how you do yours.

Early kopi roasters couldn't afford the pricier filters that the Europeans used. They needed a more cost effective way to filter their coffee, and so, as the story goes, they reached for a cotton cloth to catch and filter the brewed coffee grounds.

In time this evolved into the traditional Coffee Sock Filter seen through out Singapore and the region.  Only this method produces the unique dense and silky smooth mouthfeel to Nanyang Kopi.

The more a Coffee Sock is used, the more it's 'seasoned', meaning your coffee tastes better each time.

For the freshest flavour, consume your Nanyang Kopi Powder within a month of the packing date.

If stored in vacuum containers [available online], we found our Nanyang Kopi Powder still tasted great for 3 months.

As with other artisan coffee, there is no Best Before date on the packet because it all depends on how you look after it. Still, we advise keeping your Nanyang Kopi Powder no longer than 1 year though you should consume it well before then.

Always store your Nanyang Kopi Powder in a suitable airtight container, away from sunlight, and away from strong odours [just like regular coffee] and certainly not in the fridge!

Nanyang Kopi is our signature product.

It's why Kopi House exists - to bring the historical coffee culture of Singapore to the West. 

With so much importance on this unique coffee, we felt it deserved it's own FAQs.