“Our goal is to create a platform where people can enjoy and learn about coffee without the intimidation factor.”
KOPISTAN
When the craft coffee scene blew up in Singapore over a decade ago, bean aficionados flocked to speciality coffee roasters Chye Seng Huat Hardware, Common Man Coffee Roasters and Toby’s Estate for their fix. Today, these pioneering players have been joined by a slew of local businesses.
One of them is Kopistan, a small-batch, home-based coffee roaster. Friends and business partners Muhammad Afiq, 36, and Siti Nazhifah, 33, who are regular volunteers with Islamic non-profit Sout Ilaahi, launched Kopistan last year after noticing that attendees were ordering their own coffee from nearby cafes during events by the organisation. The pair wanted to share their love of the brew, which marked the start of this joint venture.
What makes Kopistan markedly different is its earnest DIY philosophy. Afiq, who takes on the role of experimenter and creator, works out of his Punggol HDB flat and uses a $100 machine with a grinder, which he has tweaked to a different custom pressure. He makes his coffee using a second-hand coffee machine fixed on top of a modified vintage sewing machine
