The search for good coffee in Puchong

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Coffee drinkers usually head to Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bangsar, Publika or SS15 in Subang Jaya where cafes are aplenty. If one cafe is closed, you can just walk to another within a few minutes.

Also, coffee drinkers often find out about cafes through social media and recommendations so these coffee spots become very popular.

What about places not known for good coffee but better known for its eateries?

Puchong is not high on most coffee drinkers' list as a cafe hot spot. Most people go there for the Chinese dai chow and local kopitiams. So, if your friend from abroad asks you for a cafe recommendation, I highly doubt you would say Puchong.

Coffee is served in many forms – ask the barista at TiPsy Brew O' Coffee for a recommendation.

As a hand drip coffee hobbyist, every weekend I would visit a new cafe. My criteria is simple: the cafe must serve a good long black or pour over. I don't care if it has WiFi or the most stunning decor.

I'm not really particular if the baristas won trophies or if the cafe got some award crowning them as the best cafe in Malaysia. All I care is that the cafe serves good black coffee, whether it is a blend or single origin. Not a very difficult customer to please, am I?

TiPsy Brew O' Coffee has an industrial look with exposed brick walls and wooden elements.

So, over a period of time, I dropped by Puchong to try and find good coffee. The task was made easier thanks to Google but I needed to taste that cup of joe. Yes, customer reviews are important but you still need to drink to know whether it suits your palate or not.

After going to four cafes, I finally decided that only two were worth a mention. At the time of writing maybe another few cafes have opened up. Maybe they can be better or maybe not. But these two certainly changed my perception about finding good coffee in Puchong.

TiPsy Brew O'Coffee was a big surprise for me. Located at Setia Walk, I didn't think to look for cafes in a mall. The cafe has a nice setup with cosy chairs.

What drew my attention to the brew bar was the familiar ice drip equipment. I only know one person who supplies this equipment from South Korea and it is my Korean hand drip instructor.

At the entrance, when you look up, you will find books suspended on the ceiling. I noticed some best-sellers and books I had read before. Nice touch to the interior, I thought to myself.

Book lovers will find this interior design touch fascinating at TiPsy Brew O' Coffee.

I ordered a latte and a V60 hand drip Ethiophian Sidamo. Curious to see why this cafe has the Korean equipment, I went to the bar and talked to the barista who turned out to be the co-founder of the place.

She did her hand drip very well, with the perfect blossom and a consistent waterline. In hand drip coffee, a perfect blossom is achieved when the beans "bloom" into a muffin-like shape as you pour water onto the beans.

When I asked the co-founder, she told me that she did take lessons from my Korean hand drip instructor. I texted my Korean instructor who praised her as well, saying that she does an excellent hand drip.

TiPsy Brew O'Coffee's espresso-based coffee is handled by the other co-founder. Both owners of TiPsy Brew O' Coffee complement each other with their strengths.

The latte that I ordered was good and better than some cafes I had visited before. For me, the latte art doesn't matter but the taste has to be balanced with the milk. I also got the try their iced brew which was a blend. It was light, just the way I like it.

The coffee beans here have stories to tell, just ask the friendly barista.

The other cafe was the interestingly-named CAFFEine;. It is also located at Setia Walk, but at a higher floor and different block.

Here, I ordered a latte and seeing that they also have single origin beans, I also ordered a hand drip coffee. They have V60 hand drip as well as the moka pot, which is rarely seen in any cafes I've been to. The moka pot is similar to a syphon, according to the barista.

At CAFFEine; be prepared to fall in love with the hand drip coffee!

I enjoyed the hand drip, which was made by one of the co-owners of the place. Because I was very specific about the temperature and taste, she made it above my expectations.

My Ethiopian Yirgacheffe via V60 hand drip had the perfect amount of acidity, body and sweetness. Hats off to CAFFEine; for such a lovely hand drip! The latte was pretty decent too, which was served with biscotti.

Speaking to one of the co-owners, I found out she learned hand drip through watching YouTube videos! I was really impressed at the quality of the hand drip because it is truly about practice. She told me she just kept practising until she got it.

Curious about the grind size. Here is a shot glass filled with hand ground beans at CAFFEine; (left). Chill out, do some work on a laptop or have a meeting here – the possibilities are endless (right).

As a person who appreciates and learns hand drip coffee, I always had this perception that you need to learn from someone to master the skill. But the hand drip coffee at CAFFEine; really showed that sometimes, it really is up to the person to master the skill. If you really want to learn something, you can learn it online too.

For me, TiPsy Brew O'Coffee and CAFFEine; are definitely must-go places for coffee, if you're in Puchong. Do ask the barista what kind of coffee beans are available and if you want hand drip, find out more from them.

They will be happy to share with you more information about the coffee beans. If you have any preferences, notify them and they can make recommendations to suit you.

TiPsy Brew O'Coffee
C-07-G, Block C, Setia Walk,
Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong, Selangor
Opening Hours: 11am-11pm (Tue to Fri), 9.30am-11pm (Sat and Sun)

CAFFEine;
G-09-1, Level 1, Block G, Setia Walk,
Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong, Selangor
Opening Hours: 1pm-11pm (Mon to Fri except Tue), 12pm-11pm (Sat and Sun)