Date: 29th August 2008
Time: Starts at 9pm
Place: Segafredo, Sunway Pryramid

That is the day when the 1st coffee lover’s gathering happened in Malaysia. This get-together is organized by KF Chan, a coffee lover that I recently stumbled when I visited his blog.

A lovely guy and he is the one you can look for if you need to know anything about the Malaysia’s coffee scene as he knows the people of the major coffee vendors in Malaysia & Singapore, notably Phil from Highlander Coffee. Shortly said, he know where to get fresh coffee. I stopped drinking coffee as I couldn’t get fresh supply but now, I am able to appreciate coffee again.That evening turns out that it is not KF Chan and I alone that appreciates fond of this black gold. Several people turned up and I was little late that night as I only go back home from office around 7.30pm. Even then, I am glad that I turned up that night to meet some new friends.

Myself, Irving Chang, KF Chan, Mun Shin, Michelle, Kevin & Jean

Kevin & Michelle

Magneto Low, SF Fong & Michelle

These new friends are all in different industries, that is why I am so intrigued by the influence that coffee can have over people. It is not only a commodity that is consumed by millions of people for caffeine purpose but it is also a luxury if you have ever see people can spend a lot of money for the best lot. Cup of Excellence is one program that does that and the coffees are really very good (I mean it as I have tried some of the COE’s coffees when I was studying abroad in UK).

For more on that night, you can actually read KF Chan’s post at his blog. Otherwise I will be talking on the same thing. Most notable is there is a new friend, Jean, who is in the F&B business and is now exploring on Kopi Luwak. He showed us a video on his laptop.

So what is this Kopi Luwak? Basically, it is coffee beans that contains less acidity due to the Civet cats. Civet cats will pick the green coffee beans and eat them. However these coffee beans are not digested and comes out in the Civet cats’ flees.

Then the farmers will go and pick their flees and washes the coffee beans. As the coffee beans goes through the body of the Civet Cats, the acidity in the coffee is halved. However it is also said that the coffee also loses some of its body in the process. Even then, this Kopi Luwak is the “in” thing at the moment and people are spending big money on this coffee.

Personally, another new friend that I was happy to meet is Irving. He is guy who is really serious on coffee and had got himself a brand new Rancilio Silvia (2nd generation) from Phil and with a Compak grinder. That is so cool as I myself also owned a Rancilio Silvia paired with a Mazzer Mini grinder.

He only owned the machine recently, so he will have to learn to get used to the finicky Silvia but the learning process is worthwhile. What’s more, he also signed up classes with Phil. That is why we talked quite a lot between us on that evening and we even touched on PIDing our machine in later months as he is an engineer. PID, that is my ultimate dream modification since I bought a Silvia but not daring enough to do myself.

Enough said, now let’s back to the main focus of the evening. How was the espresso drinks at Segafredo?

Of out of the lot, only KF Chan, Irving and I had ordered espresso. The others had milk-based espresso drinks. This was kind expected as bitterness is always associated with espresso but it is unlikely if u have ever drink a great shot where the espresso is well-balanced with sweetness, acidity, body & after taste. That can be the difference and will make you appreciate coffee when it is properly done as espresso will give you the best and the worst of its flavours all in a cup.

Probably it was because I have experienced great espresso when I was in Norway attending the NBC, short form for Nordic Barista Cup championship. That was a great concept of championship where the Nordic countries compete with each other as a team and more importantly, the NBC is a barista get-together event to share insights and knowledge.

So what is the verdict on the espresso of Segafredo? Firstly, Segafredo is one of the big three coffee roasters in Italy and Italian coffees usually consists some percentage of Robusta in the blends. The purpose is to add some kick into the coffee. Secondly, the coffee blend is only specifically available at Segafredo, so you won’t get it anywhere other than Segafredo coffee bars itself in Malaysia.

Verdict: KF Chan gave a thumbs up for his espresso as he finds the barista in Segafredo pulls a decent shot compared to other coffee bars or cafe. Irving and I found a little bit too much acidity in the espresso. I couldn’t tell where the problem lies as I didn’t look at the extraction process as I was first time at the place. I am not saying acidity is a bad thing. There are good acidity but in espresso, it is a disaster if there is too much. On the other hand, the barista in Segafredo also do decent microfrothing for milk-based drinks if espresso is too strong for you.

Guiness draught & Mocca coffee (Nice microfoam, which will definitely taste way better than Starbucks coffee. Kudos to the barista for doing the job right!)

All in all, I would recommend Segafredo to any people who would like decent coffee. You can also try the food as it looks good on the menu. KF Chan had a spaghetti and he thinks it is value for money. Additionally, if you are on a night out, you can also drink alcohol at Segafredo’s.

On that evening, Jimmy the manager even offered us snacks on the house, which explains the service is excellent and the staffs are friendly.

There was a 2nd gathering at Espressamente, KL Pavillion on 26th September 2008. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it. You can read KF Chan’s post on the gathering. From what I know, Espressamente uses Illy coffees. Next time when I am around KL Pavillion, I will definitely drop by and review the espresso and see how both the two big giants of Italian coffee fare against each other.

*The pictures shown in this post are courtesy of KF Chan.