Kopi-O, White Coffee & Specialty Coffee. What makes them different?

Many are still confused about the differences between Kopi-O (also known as Nanyang coffee), White coffee, and specialty coffee.And many more don't really understand why we actually encourage coffee drinkers to drink specialty coffee instead of Kopi-O and white coffee.

Kopi-O roasting

Basically, Malaysian Kopi-O (also done in some other South East Asia countries such as Vietnam) refers to coffee beans roasted with sugar, thick margarine, barley, wheat, and corns, resulting in a charcoal like coloured beans.

White coffee (famous in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia) is another variation of beans roasted in similar way as Kopi-O, only that it is roasted with merely margarine, without adding any sugar, which results in a slightly caramelized beans, and not as dark and oily as Kopi-O.

Specialty coffee roasting

Specialty coffee, on the other hand, refers to premium coffee beans from different regions around the world, usually Arabica, that are roasted without any foreign particles, which helps in preserving the original taste, aroma and characteristics of the beans. It is beneficial because it is low in calories and sugar, helps in increasing metabolism rate (good in fat burning), and also keep the drinker alert, unlike Kopi-O and White coffee.

Verdict: It is not to say that Kopi-O and White coffee are not drinkable and bad. For us, all coffee has its own distinctive features, so it is good to try all of them :)