Feeka Coffee Roasters

And back to another coffee post. The third wave coffee scene had really been hitting Kuala Lumpur hard with more and more coffee shops offering lightly roasted coffee beans to preserve the original sweetness and taste, not to mention sourcing them from independent microlots to sustain the life of coffee growers. This café (the term coffee shop is not used because it offers more than just coffee and pastries) opened last week at the Mesui street, famous for select eateries, bar and even the infamous jazz venue, No Black Tie. The name Feeka, comes from the term Fi•ka (fē'ka) [Swedish] means to have a social coffee break. It is the brain child of both Asianage Holdings and Coffex Coffee (as mentioned in The Malay Mail).

This café hits my soft spot for its simplicity and ingenious method used in collaborating natural lighting (sun) into the interior; something I learned in environmental-conscious engineering. The raw industrial interior also incorporates several thick I-beams to support the aged structure of the building, of which the former costs a bomb. I visited this cafe on the 23rd of November, just a couple of days from its opening date and was already experiencing steady flow of patrons; similar case happened to VCR back on its launch day. 

PS: Please don't be fooled into thinking that this blog only features the top coffee houses worth mentioning. Nay! I did this because I am lazy (or rather, don't find the occasion) to update my blog regularly. Thus, only a select ones will be entered (usually quality recent third-wave coffee shops). More coffee shops/café will be featured in the future where deemed worthy. 

(left) Incorporating translucent roof, (right) Enabling natural light to flood into the interior below.

How is the coffee? They offer a wide variety of espresso-based coffee and filter coffee. As I personally prefer the latter, order was placed for Kenya Getare AA on Aeropress and Curtis Gold Cup Brewer (CGC). The CGC, well known for its ability to brew a perfect, golden cup of coffee do makes a difference; it provides an initial shot of brightness (acidity typical of Kenya AA) then end with a short finish and no after-taste when compared with the overwhelming glass of Aeropress. 

Kenya Getare AA from Aeropress and Curtis Gold Cup Brewer.

I can't help but notice they only have Aeropress, cold brew and CGC under specialty brew. Upon enquiry, Joseph Long, the barista, answers that the filter/hand-brew methods will have to do with the CGC. As hand-brewing coffee takes time due to its meticulous process, time can be saved by fine-tuning the CGC settings and changing its outlet head to suit the several methods of hand-brew (chemex, woodneck, clever dripper, V60, etc). He then showed me the CGC unit itself, and the modularity of its design to fit multiple filtering methods.

The Curtis Gold Cup Brewer. Picture taken from www.wilburcurtis.com

However, while the CGC eliminates the inconsistency of hand-brewing, it also somewhat diminishes the whole point of hand-brew. To this, he mentioned that it (the CGC) is a brewer that bring consistency to vastly inconsistency from barista to barista and from brew to brew. It can precisely replicate a brew recipe through its temperature, water dispensing dose and steeping time while giving consistency in every brew whether one outlet or more than one outlet. This decision is also in-line with the café prospect to deliver food and beverage at speed. 

Coffee bar set to be at the centre of attention in the café; Kees van der Westen Spirit Triplette in service, similar to the custom-made one in Artisan Roast HQ.

Next, Joseph introduced their current seasonal blend of 4 types of beans; Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (washed), Sumatra Mandheling Tano Batak, Brazil Mount Mogiana pulped natural and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Sigri. This very blend is claimed to be the celebrated blend back in Plan b. Roasters. I ordered espresso-based coffee subsequently, cappuccino and latte to be exact, to taste the fusion between its espresso with the milk. The taste is somewhat milder as opposed to the expected high acidity from Yirgacheffe and Tano Batak. 

Cappuccino and latte.

Surprisingly afterwards, Joseph produced a shot of espresso for me to taste the complexity of their seasonal blend. As he educates me, the espresso initially gave a shot of sweetness, overwhelming brightness and creamy, too creamy in fact, very spicy, full bodied and ends a short finish. The taste profile was taken from the properties of each beans; complex and unique, but was washed down when combined with milk.

The celebrated blend of 4 types of beans from Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

All in all, this is a good café to escape from the ever-bustling city of Kuala Lumpur (sounds familiar?) and get your fix of coffee. Oh, did I mention they do serve breakfast, lunch and dinner? Yes, that's what separates them from coffee shop. The invitingly bright interior with would be ideal to spend a good time treating your stomach while enjoying the artworks hanged on the walls, or even people jolly-gagging* outside while enjoying their coffee under the natural shades.

Inviting interior.

Feeka Coffee Roasters

Opens from 8.30am to 12am daily.

19, Jalan Mesui, Off Jalan Nagasari, 

50200 Kuala Lumpur.

Located beside No Black Tie.

Tel: 03-2110 4599

*A term I created; means happily laughing while in conversation.

Edited: Include further information and the compatibility of CGC and types of seasonal blends. Thanks for the heads up Joseph Long!