The Taste of Malaysian Coffee

I've tried a wide variety of coffee over the years-I'm not fussy about the beans, but I do prefer the more expensive varieties when I can afford them. I enjoy the local ways of serving coffee, such as Turkish and Vietnamese styles. But, the most unusual taste of local coffee that I tried was from Malaysia.

On a trip with my wife and parents through Malaysia in 2008, I came across a lot of coffee shops. Having spent the previous three years in China, coffee shops were a rare sight (especially when it wasn't Starbucks). Although these coffee shops brewed fresh coffee, I noticed that most local restaurants used an instant powder for "white" coffee-a blend of coffee with sugar and milk that was rather refreshing in the heat of the Malaysian summer. While I enjoyed that white coffee, I was more interested in finding local ground coffee that I could bring back to China.

In Malacca, we wandered through the narrow colonial streets and enjoyed the quiet town less than two hours outside Kuala Lumpur. While my wife shopped for clothes, I came across an inconspicuous coffee shop. The store looked like a garage-there was very little to distinguish the establishment as any sort of business. The shelves were full of coffee beans, ground coffee, and instant mixes. I was offered a taste, but declined the offer because I was exhausted from walking around in the heat-I figured water was more important that coffee at the time. I smelled the grounds instead.

At about two dollars for half a pound of coffee it much cheaper than anything I could buy back in China. I decided to buy two tins of ground coffee (one was a gift for a friend who also made desperate searches around our city for coffee). When we arrived back in China, I eagerly opened my Malaysian coffee and brewed a pot. I should have read the ingredients on the tin or done some research on Malaysian and Ipoh coffee. It claimed that it contained 70 percent coffee and 30 percent salt, margarine, and sugar. For regular black coffee, they roast the beans in a mix of those last three ingredients, though I never found out in what ratio. My first taste of the Malaysian coffee was terrible. But, as I was desperate for coffee, I finished the pot. The taste of salt, sugar, and margarine in coffee grew on me-when I brewed a second pot I enjoyed the taste. Ever since finishing that small tin of Malaysian coffee I have craved more. However, I have yet to find Malaysian or Ipoh coffee anywhere else.