A boost for tired brains

When its comes to discussing the street culture scene in Brunei, it would be impossible to ignore the burgeoning coffee and cafe culture that the sultanate is currently experiencing.

Years ago, one would be hard-pressed to find speciality coffee that didn’t come from a coffee chain. These days, however, it’s a different story as independent cafes and roasters now regularly pop up in Brunei, offering residents a chance to experience a wider range of speciality coffee flavours.

Waqiuddin Hj Abdul Rahman, founder of Brew Department, which prides itself on being an underground coffee movement with a penchant for pop-up events, says the Bruneian speciality coffee market is “definitely starting to mature”.

Waqiuddin acknowledges that the speciality coffee scene in neighbouring Malaysia or Singapore is way ahead, but says that Bruneians, particularly the younger generation, are more aware of better quality coffee.

“Bruneians are also much more willing to pay four to five dollars for a good cup of coffee, and they’re aware that it’s totally different from what you get at coffee chains.

“There are people coming to us now who are into ‘pour over’ coffees and cold brews. Two to three years ago, no one even knew what a pour over was.

“But now people are into it, so I would say that the coffee culture and the search for quality coffee, is definitely on the rise,” Waqiuddin says.

For Tiong Sian Chon, producing and serving good quality coffee is the main focus of his business. Tiong, who is the owner of Kapra Coffee Roasters, the first of its kind in Brunei, also notes the trends in the local coffee scene, saying that those who have spent time overseas inevitably come back with a taste for quality coffee. 

“I think that the product is the heart of everything – you can package a lot of things nicely but if the product itself is not substantial in terms of quality, it’s not going to work out in the long run.

“For us at Kapra Coffee, we want to serve quality, and likewise, customers in Brunei shouldn’t be underestimated in their sense of taste – they’ve tasted quality and now expect it,” he says.

Foo, the owner of Verve Espresso cafe, points out that speciality coffee comes in a wide spectrum of flavours these days, which appeals to the current generation of coffee enthusiasts. 

“Purists will say they want it black and bitter – that’s old school – people now want the full flavours. And the spectrum of available coffee flavours today can range from bitter to sour, sweet to fruity, floral, woody, herbal, so on and so forth,” he says,

“Customers these days have higher demands and expectations, particularly those who are more coffee-educated and well travelled. They enjoy pour overs and cold brews. The biggest group speciality coffee drinkers are youngsters aged 18 up to the early 40s,” he says, adding that the older generation still prefer to have their coffee at the local kopitiam. 

“Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that coffee contains caffeine which gives us that much-needed kick in the morning, which the younger working population appreciates. “Coffee is a good addiction because it’s the only drink that keeps your productivity up and makes you a better worker,” Foo says.