00:00Can I have my coffee?
00:02Yes, of course.
00:06You can ask, I can help.
00:08Hi, I'm Lim Eng Lam.
00:10I'm the founder of 9YearOldCoffee.
00:12We founded 9YearOldCoffee in 2007.
00:14And we've been around
00:16for 16 years now.
00:30We're all growing up drinking coffee.
00:36Without realising that actually our coffee is very unique.
00:38A lot will say, you know,
00:40Western coffee is better, but traditional coffee
00:42is not as good.
00:44But I think, otherwise,
00:46our traditional coffee can be that good.
00:52Singapore coffee is very unique.
00:54And it has its own character.
00:56So different from the world.
01:00In the past,
01:02when visitors came to Singapore,
01:04they would only say,
01:06let's have chilli crab,
01:08let's have chicken rice.
01:10You never say,
01:12let's have a cup of coffee before you go back.
01:14So we hope to actually
01:16pass down
01:18and promote our own traditional coffee.
01:20So we have been doing that
01:22for 10 over years.
01:24Why I decided to start up 9YearOldCoffee?
01:26Actually, one day,
01:28my uncle came to me and said,
01:30hey, can you help in the factory?
01:32At the time, it was a
01:34family-run coffee factory.
01:36He was diagnosed with cancer.
01:38So he didn't want the factory
01:40to actually pass away
01:42together with him.
01:44My uncle's biggest dream is
01:46he wants to have a shop
01:48that sells his own coffee.
01:50When my uncle
01:52started his own coffee,
01:54when I stepped into
01:56the coffee factory,
01:58I was 40 years old
02:00and I knew nothing about coffee.
02:02Before I joined, I ran
02:04a design house and event company.
02:06So I used what I learned
02:08from the design part
02:10and applied it into 9YearOldCoffee.
02:12And that's where
02:149YearOldCoffee was born.
02:16What is the difference
02:18between our Singapore
02:20traditional coffee
02:22and the Western gourmet coffee?
02:24Can I get my pot?
02:26You can, of course.
02:28Our traditional coffee is
02:30hand-brewed.
02:32So this is our
02:34brewing pot.
02:36This is our serving pot.
02:38This rolling pin is just to mix
02:40the water and the powder together.
02:42Some say it's sauce.
02:44You know, it's our strainers
02:46that we actually filter off
02:48the coffee powders.
02:54Our coffee bean is
02:56raised with a
02:58thin layer of sugar.
03:00So it blocks off all the oxygen.
03:02So our coffee beans can stay
03:04fresh for a longer period of time.
03:06It is kind of like
03:08natural packaging.
03:10And then we use these methods
03:12over the years
03:14and until today.
03:18Gourmet coffee normally
03:20is not as strong as our traditional coffee.
03:22Usually we use
03:24a lot of Robusta.
03:26We also actually formulate with Arabica
03:28and another bean called Lybrica.
03:30So it creates
03:32a different kind of taste.
03:34Singapore coffee actually
03:36we learn it from the British.
03:38So when the Hainanese
03:40actually came to Singapore
03:42they worked for the British families.
03:44So that's where they actually
03:46learned how to make coffee.
03:48And from there, the Hainanese
03:50actually started to sell coffee
03:52and then they opened coffee shops
03:54all around Singapore.
03:58I'm very passionate
04:00about not just
04:02coffee, but
04:04heritage in Singapore.
04:07Maybe I'm quite
04:09old at heart, not young at heart.
04:11I like the old things.
04:13I mean, the world actually invented
04:15a lot of new coffee machines.
04:17But I think for us, we still
04:19prefer very basic
04:21kind of brewing methods.
04:23And there's no machines
04:25you actually can replace.
04:37Every cup
04:39of our coffee is
04:41tailor-made to individual
04:43kind of preference.
04:49With sugar, no milk.
04:51No sugar, no milk.
04:53Then use the black coffee.
04:55The coffee horn.
04:57Black coffee.
04:59And I think
05:01although we have a lot of
05:03traditional coffee shops
05:05I think our ordering lingo is
05:07amazing.
05:09Just in one coffee ordering
05:11you have so many
05:13languages and dialects.
05:15So it's just like, I want kopi C,
05:17I want kopi O, siew tai.
05:19So we will actually do according to what you like.
05:21People think that
05:23coffee is just coffee.
05:25But a coffee shop is a place
05:27where people communicate
05:29or they bond together.
05:31And then
05:33they exchange ideas.
05:35This is
05:37a thing that is so
05:39Singapore.
05:41It's a place where people
05:43communicate.
05:45It's a place where people
05:47communicate.
05:49It's a thing that is so Singapore.
05:51We live with
05:53this kind of coffee culture.
05:55So in a cup of coffee, it's not just
05:57a cup of coffee.
05:59There are memories, there are
06:01friendships, there are bonding.
06:03All happen in this coffee shop.
06:05And it's very sad
06:07that
06:09we see a lot of trade
06:11vanishing.
06:13Coffee is the last thing I want to see
06:15that
06:17oscillate and
06:19we can't even drink a cup of coffee.
06:25It is not easy to actually
06:27attract younger generations to
06:29come into our trades. To reach out to
06:31more audience, I think
06:33social media is one of them.
06:35We have our own Facebook,
06:37Instagram, TikTok.
06:39We need to actually create a new
06:41purpose for the new era. We have to
06:43innovate the system.
06:45We have to actually
06:47put in more attention into the
06:49service, the ambience.
06:51We're coming up with more
06:53experiences, not just
06:55to have a cup of nice coffee
06:57but they can also actually experience
06:59the whole process.
07:03To create a traditional coffee
07:05awareness, we conduct our
07:07traditional coffee
07:09appreciation workshop.
07:11So it's a very kind of relaxed
07:13way, you know, you learn about our
07:15history and culture. And then
07:17you also actually get to brew
07:19your own coffee. So we do for
07:21schools, we do for companies
07:23you know, so that
07:25all this
07:27heritage will be
07:29passed down. We also actually have
07:31a museum behind.
07:33This is a museum
07:35that you actually smell
07:37the coffee. You can actually
07:39taste the coffee and then you also actually get
07:41to see, you know, some of the
07:43olden day stuff. We see
07:45parents that actually bring their kids over
07:47but it's to share, you know.
07:49That is daddy, last
07:51time, you know. This is
07:53what we play, this is what we have.
07:55You know, we don't have computers.
07:57You know, this is the characters.
08:01And when they bring the elderly
08:03here, I tell you there's
08:05so many things that they can actually
08:07talk about. And then in a way
08:09we
08:11are creating a lot of
08:13talking topics amongst
08:15generations.
08:17It's also a way that we actually
08:19pass down the heritage.
08:23What we
08:25hope to have is that
08:27we can actually bring our coffee out
08:29of these small islands
08:31to the world. And to have
08:33other people in the world that are able
08:35to actually taste our own
08:37Singapore coffee every day.
08:43Back then,
08:45you know, during my time, I still can talk to
08:47elderly that's 90 years old
08:49where they know
08:51exactly how the coffee tastes
08:53like, what is the culture, what do
08:55they actually do in the coffee shop.
08:57But if we don't do it now
08:59and get all the records,
09:01our
09:03next generations, it is
09:05difficult for them to revive
09:07all the history and culture
09:09back again.
09:11Music
09:33I know
09:35sometimes it's just a very
09:37casual
09:39words from the customers.
09:41They say, I really like your coffee.
09:43I mean, when you heard that, it's like
09:45all the hard work we have put in
09:47that someone is
09:49appreciating it. So that's
09:51most rewarding.
09:53Music
10:07So I think right now,
10:09coffee
10:11status is getting higher and higher.
10:13So this is something that we like to see.
10:15Of course I can't say
10:17we are the one
10:19but we contributed.
10:21So I'm
10:23glad I managed to actually
10:25work on it and hold on to the business
10:27until today.
10:29Music
10:31To me,
10:33I'll do
10:35my very best to
10:37promote our coffee. We've been doing
10:39it for 16 years.
10:41We will keep on doing it
10:43and create more
10:45exciting programs
10:47so that they
10:49can enjoy by learning
10:51the heritage that we have.
10:53This is what I hope for.
10:55So
10:57it's just
10:59like an unpolished gem
11:01that is waiting to be
11:03polished. So when it's
11:05polished, it will actually shine.
11:07So this is what I
11:09hope we can do
11:11to make our coffee shine
11:13and be loved by
11:15all the coffee lovers.
11:17Music
11:21Okay
11:23Music
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