Coffee revolution brewing to meet Asia’s growing demand
Against a backdrop of soaring bean prices and changing consumer habits, the Asia-Pacific region’s speciality coffee scene is an industry in flux
When Stuart Wee entered the coffee industry, he did so to fix what he saw as a fatal flaw in speciality coffee shops, mainly, that “they don’t seem very special any more”.
Today, the co-founder of Singapore’s immersive Restaurant Absurdities and its minimalistic Asylum Coffeehouse has adopted a strategy of quality and innovation, going so far as to spend two years developing his own roast using a cutting-edge, low-energy digital roaster from Taiwanese company Rubasse.
“Speciality coffee is still a niche product,” says Wee, “so the challenge is to get the customer to try new products that aren’t just high-volume milk-based ones.”
Last year, the Specialty Coffee Association held the inaugural World of Coffee Asia convention in Busan, South Korea, while the second edition took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, last month.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large cohort of young consumers with high disposable incomes, for whom, says Wee, “coffee is increasingly seen not just as a treat but as an image product that appeals to the region’s growing middle and upper-middle classes. This is why there’s so much more choice in coffee now”.