GEORGE TOWN, Oct 11 — The Spacebar duo, Joachim Leong and Shean Tan, needs no introduction among coffee lovers in the Klang Valley.

They started their venture into coffee-making as a pop-up coffee bar in August last year at Awesome Canteen in Petaling Jaya before going on to Le Lapin Cafe and Await Cafe for several months at a time.

Finally, a few months back, they opened their first permanent coffee bar at Sekeping Victoria here alongside Awesome Canteen.

It was a decision the duo does not regret and despite earlier misgivings, has found that Penang is a great place to start their first permanent cafe after all.

Much has been said about the duo’s passion for coffee but many probably don’t know Joachim used to be a practising lawyer while Shean was an “accidental barista.”  

Here, Joachim and Shean share their story and Spacebar experience.

In their own words:

Joachim: Spacebar evolved out of our pop-ups, in terms of two things: drinking coffee and making coffee. I know there’s a bit of war of words about good coffee, great coffee but I think it’s how we manage expectations... I think good coffee is good enough. If it’s great, it speaks for itself. So that’s our tagline, there’s always space for good coffee and from there, after popping many places, different events, different venues, we ended at Awesome Canteen in Sekeping Victoria.

Shean: At first, it’s more like a fun thing. Starting this was more about sharing coffee with other people, slowly we start doing more events, get to experience how is it like doing events just the two of us or with another friend helping. With different locations, we came up with our own blend, we start working with more roasters, then curate our coffee to suit wherever we are popping up at.

Joachim: For me, before this, I was going to way too many cafes and drinking way too much coffee and got drawn to a cafe that was opening up in KL… at first I was approached to be an investor. I turned down the investor offer but I wanted to experience coffee making. Before that I was doing sales and marketing in a small start-up company selling software to lawyers. I used to be a lawyer, a trained and qualified lawyer but I no longer practise. That was a huge jump into coffee. That’s my story.

Shean: I was kind of like the accidental barista because I had just come back from UK and I didn’t know what to do next. I had always been interested in coffee because in London, I always went cafe hopping, exploring different cafes. After I came back, there was this opportunity so I decided to try it out, that’s how it began and now, I’m here in Penang, doing Spacebar coffee.

Joachim: Actually, people here are quite welcoming, people are quite open to us. We also try to contribute to the community. There’s a strong appreciation for good food in George Town so why not good coffee as well? We are still adapting definitely.

Shean: One thing that’s very different... in KL, a lot of locations are very far apart, we have to travel by car, it takes 15 minutes, even half an hour to reach a destination. Here, it’s so convenient... 10, 15 minutes. And people know each other. It’s a much more close-knit community, especially the coffee community.

Joachim: Before we left for Penang, I don’t know... maybe some people don’t want us to leave, they told us George Town is haunted. You know, because of the old buildings and coming here, thankfully, I managed to rationalise why people are coming up with these things. It’s because the buildings are wooden, they creak when the wood expands due to heat and also sound travels between neighbours quite easily especially in these kinds of buildings. Touch wood. No otherworldly experiences. We’ve been through one Hungry Ghost Festival here already.

Shean: Actually, my parents used to study here so it’s interesting that now I’m based here. One is from Peng Hua (Penang Chinese Girls High School) and another from Han Chiang.

Joachim: We are still exploring Penang… in terms of food, in terms of people, in terms of locations. We’ve heard really nice things about the National Park… so maybe one day we will put on our hiking shoes and hike up. In terms of coffee, we just got our new machine… maybe join some competitions in future just to keep us on our toes a bit. There’s a lot to look forward to in Spacebar Coffee. We are joining Brewers’ Cup in January next year. We will be here at least a year plus and maybe take the next step for our dream. Some people said we should never tell our dream, so keep it quiet for now.

Shean: I want to enjoy the rest of my time in Penang.