Suhaimie Sukiman
Paperback, 300 pages
9798897773824

 

Coffee in Singapore is a story of history, routine, craft, and community. It’s the kopitiam uncle pouring kopi from a long-spouted kettle with effortless precision. It’s the barista behind the counter of a specialty café, carefully weighing beans and adjusting the grind size for the perfect shot. It’s the entrepreneur taking a leap of faith, pouring everything into a café dream. It’s a city that has embraced both the old and the new, where a strong kopi O and a single-origin pour-over exist side by side.

 

Kopi, Coffee & Craft is a personal journey through this world. The book begins at the heart of Singapore’s coffee culture: the kopitiam, a place of early mornings and simple joys, where robusta beans roasted with butter and sugar have fueled the city for decades. I explore the history of kopi, how Hainanese migrants shaped its traditions, and why a thick sock filter remains the gold standard for brewing.

 

From there, the book moves through time, tracing how coffee in Singapore has evolved. The arrival of global chains, the rise of third-wave coffee, it captures the shift from convenience. I share my own experience of stepping into a specialty café for the first time, feeling both curiosity and skepticism, and how that moment led me down a path I never expected.

 

Through every chapter, this book reflects on what coffee really means: as a beverage, a craft, and a community. It is about the people who shape Singapore’s coffee culture, including the roasters, the baristas, the café owners, and the customers who make it all possible.