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Alun Evans

Male

Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

Profile Information:

What is your position in the coffee industry?: coffee shop owner, coffee roaster, coffee grower, home barista, industry professional, service tech/repair, supplier
Where are you located? ( City and Country ): With the new year upon us, its time to announce a few changes! I am splitting myself into 3 and will be spending not too much time in Indonesia in 2009 as we have 2 off-shore projects that I will be looking after pretty much full time. So... depending on the IP address I am either in Singapore, New Zealand or relaxing somewhat in Indonesia!!
How many years have you been in the industry?: 15+
If you are a barista or shop, are you interested in a barista exchange with another coffee shop/barista?: yes
Tell us more about your coffee shop or barista skills.: A coffee roaster (with 11 cafes+3 roasteries) located in a pioneering region of the specialty coffee world- and one located so close to so many unique and famous origins. Experience with a huge number of Indonesian origins- travelled all over North and West Sumatra, Java, Bali (tough that one!), Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, East and West Timor, Papua, Sulawesi and Kalimantan (Borneo). Working with direct, sustainable trade with small holders all over Indonesia. A number of challenges that mean you will never have a dull day, hour, minute...or even second!!

These days our cafe and roasting businesses are spread between Jakarta, Indonesia; Hong Kong, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
What cities or countries are you interested in traveling to?: Europe (any), USA (lived in Colorado for a while back in 89/90 love going back), Africa- especially South Africa,Botswana (thanks Alexander Mcall Smith!) Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Yemen. Always enjoy trips back to New Zealand: especially to home town Wellington. Always enjoy my trips to Italy- want to work on my Italian and also Spanish for some future plans ;p
About Me:: Fulfilling a lifelong, caffeine fuelled passion; I have been working full-time with Indonesian Coffee since 2004. With my wife Arlini, Merdeka Coffee is determined to develop and showcase Indonesian Arabica coffees here and overseas. Merdeka Coffee conducts frequent tours around coffee growing areas, as well as running various education programs. From late 2008 my focus is actually on project work outside Indonesia- the company is being run by a team of well trained local management.

The company works with a number of small-hold growers around Indonesia. I drink 15 espresso shots a day and can be contacted day or night! (explains why I am on soooo much at such odd hours!)
About My Company:: Merdeka Coffee (or "Freedom Coffee" in Indonesian) is a boutique coffee company dedicated to the sourcing, selection and roasting of the best Indonesian coffees. "Kemerdekaan atau mati..."Freedom or Die" was the battle call of the Soekarno led independence movement in the 1940s. Our clients are individuals, institutions and wholesalers who share our vision for exceptional coffee obtained through fair & equitable local trade relationships.

At Merdeka Coffee we believe in developing partnerships with small hold growers and farmers, both at plantation and village level. This is why we use "merdeka"...freedom for the farmers we work with. A percentage of our profits are shared with our Indonesian partners in order for them to develop their communities, their coffee expertise and to assist them promote environmental conservation.

Our retail arm is "Antipodean Coffee" with outlets in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. We have plans for openings in Penang, Bangalore and hopefully Abu Dhabi over the next 18 months. We retail in Sydney through Merdeka Coffee in the CBD
What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?: Dynamic change, working with a huge range of talented, interesting and knowlegeable people. The spontaneous nature of the business.
Website:: http://www.antipodeancoffee.com

Comment Wall:

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joko purwanto

Hi Mr. Evans, thx for the invite..
Yap, i think i'll find what i need to grow up my coffeehouse and my coffee knowledge here. Thanks for the sharing.

Jan 12, 2009
Danny

Hi Alan,

I am in town this weekend...read your latest blog on the lever machine...Totally awesome...

Jan 12, 2009
teresa pilarz

Hi Alun,
Nice to hear from you again! Yeah, your bro-in-law IS lucky to have his job in the Auto Industry, which is suffering big here in MI. A bit of positive news is that GM says they will open a lithium-ion battery plant in MI, and there is much talk of our state becoming an alternative energy center. That would open up a lot of jobs! Anyways, as far as my shop goes, I'm not on a strict timeline as of yet. Still working on my plans, changing my mind on my concept and tortuously pining away for coffee. I'd like to have something going by the end of the year, but I'm also keeping an eye on what the economy is doing.

Hope you're enjoying your coffee week! That lever machine is gorgeous. Keep in touch. Ciao!

Jan 13, 2009
Charlize Kang

Hey Alun,
Nice to hear from you. I'm from Santino Coffee Specialists in Singapore. We're not an operating cafe though. We're a one-shop cafe supplier (supply coffee beans, espresso machine, blender, frappe powder, fruit juice, gourmet syrups, etc)

:)

Jan 13, 2009
Charlize Kang

:) That's nice to know
Yea, we have a booth in FHA this year. In fact, we participate every of this biannual event since 1998 I think. There's not plans for cafe operations. At the moment though we still do consultation services for budding/existing cafe owners. The directors thought about it before though... However, we are still in talks to do something more interesting :) heh!
Yea, I would love to catch up with you when you visit Singapore :)

Jan 13, 2009
nik orosi

yes...will see you there...

Jan 15, 2009
Batana Yost

Dear Alun,
Thank you for the welcoming comment. There is a lot to do in the specialty Coffee Industry in Mongolia. 6 years ago, there was not a single coffee shop. Now we have more than a dozen in Ulaanbaatar. It's just beginning. The brewed coffee tastes like the one you find at Sheetz..
Most of the customers are foreigners. The marketing research showed that majority of consumers (Mongolians) do not know the difference between using instant coffee and freshly ground coffee. That's where we are now.
Thank you,
Batana

Jan 16, 2009
Steve MacDowall

Hi Alun -- wow it's time for a coffee! By the way: the weather: -24°C (-11° Fahrenheit) this morning in Moncton but it is going up to -19°C (-2° Fahrenheit), with some sun and clouds. -- have a great weekend - Steve

Jan 17, 2009
Danny

Hi Alun,

did not see you last week. If you are dropping by again sometime, let me know!

Jan 18, 2009
Will

Thanks Alun, a little Miles goes a long way.

Jan 18, 2009
George

Alun:

The Indo refers to primarily India but includes the entire orient. I emailed you already but will ask again. The Mercy Corps crew in your area, do they operate programs that affect your workers? That would be great news on our end. Also, do you currently use a distributor or broker ion the USA?

Thanks, George

Jan 20, 2009
Danny

Hi Alun,

you are right, its a pity that destiny did not allow us to catch up...sigh...ok ok will wait for your next visit. Over here, I am also preparing for the up and coming Singapore National Barista Championship...pretty excited..

Jan 21, 2009
Tony Tan

Hi Alun,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I did notice a number of Singaporean contacts in your message exchange. Will try to participate when time permits.

Best regards,
Tony

Jan 22, 2009
Carlo Grenci

I will be in Milan at the HOST-SIC in November in a joint small booth with Kees van der Westen, do You know him? Manufacturer of the famous MIRAGE machines.
We are official distributors for Italy. He also manufacures a great looking and ever improving lever machine whose name is "Idrocompresso" , like the first lever machine manufatued by FAEMA
I could also be in Atlanta in April for the WBC...but I am not 100% sure yet

Jan 24, 2009
Danny

Hi Alun,

the competition will be held from Feb 5 -7 at Suntec. If do drop by, give me a shout.

Jan 24, 2009
Putu

wow, that is so correct! all of them are correct. Seems you know Bali very well. Thank you for the welcome message. I am in Milpitas, CA right now, but I am going to Indonesia next month probably. Anyway, it's nice to meet you ;)

Jan 28, 2009
Putu

75% for sure I'm coming and this time it's between vacation and looking opportunity to open a business in Surabaya or maybe in Bali. I'm just curious, do you live in Jakarta? what are you doing over there? Well, bout the crisis, I also hope for the best, we just have to move on whatever happens.

Jan 28, 2009
Greenway Barista

its good to see artisan coffee coming from indonesia. my girlfriends family lives in bogor! i plan on making a longterm trip to indo sometime in 2010. everytime someone comes to houston from indo i request a suitcase full of este emje! its the bomb.

Jan 29, 2009
George

Happy to talk to anyone. Please forward them this contact info:

George Constance
Indonique Tea & Chai
860-970-2645
george@indonique.com
PO Box 1298, Glastonbury, CT 06033

Jan 29, 2009
Alberto

everything fine...quite cold and windy actually in Trieste, but....
a perfect weather for a warm and tasty cup of coffee!

Jan 30, 2009
Greenway Barista

Hai nama saya Ecky. David cerita banyak tentang Alun. Senang sekali saya waktu dengar ada juga di Bogor yang menghargai kopi sebesar saya. Dimana tepatnya tinggal di Indonesia?

Jan 30, 2009
Greenway Barista

Ah high school saya dulu di Pelita Harapan Sentul. Jadi saya tahu persis dimana Sentul Selatan. Dengar dengar banjir dimana mana ya sekarang? Saya selama di Indonesia belum pernah ke kebun kopi. Jadi tidak sabar untuk pulang and do the coffee trip.

Feb 1, 2009
Greenway Barista

hey alun! if you know any small batch green brokers over there with some exceptional harvests please let me know! i think it would be worth the shipment to get a hold of some 1st rate Sumatran.

Feb 2, 2009
Greenway Barista

well i think Houston is lacking a strong Sumatran, or Indonesian coffee at all really, so the smaller the more fun it will be to experience with my roasting buddies and customers as well! the more info i can provide to our customers about how their coffee purchase came to be is always on the top of my mind!

Feb 2, 2009
Rick

Hi Alun, your fascination with the lever machines has sparked my enthusiasm for them again. I started on a a 2 lever Cimbali about 20 years ago and as we are opening our Coffee Bar we briefly thought about using one but were promptly shot down by everyone we had contact with as it was thought to be to labor intensive and difficult to use, all I remember was the incredible espresso it produced, what machine do you think is the best out of the bunch, I would be interested in your reply.

Feb 3, 2009
Nigel Branken

Thank you for your welcome to the site. I just looked though your site. you certainly are in "coffee heaven". On the weekend we had the South African barista championships happening and I met loads of people involved in the coffee industry here. There are so many ways one can get involved. for me now, I just love pouring coffee and enjoying watching people's expressions as they taste quality coffee for the first time. I was quite interested in the one pic I saw on your site which showed money from each cup going to clean water in communities - how did you organise that project? I would love to do something like that out here.

Feb 3, 2009
Verkshop

Thanks for the Comment,, I'm looking for a 3 group lever for our new shop.. I'm in Portland now because you can't use Lever machines in Calif. (Idiots) Damm insurance company's..

Feb 3, 2009
Verkshop

Because of liability.. They think there dangerous... All it takes is one bozo to get hurt and ruin it for the rest of us,, especialy in California...

Feb 3, 2009
Alistair Ramsay

Hi Alun,

Yeah really great! Just a few more bugs to sort out and we'll be live! Its looking really great. We have Rocket on board from Milan and they are giving away a Rocket Giotto Premium which is cool. Anyone who writes a review, users or spotters, go in the draw to win. I'm really looking forward to launch. I assume by the ned of next week we'll be live!

Feb 4, 2009
Mont Blanc Gourmet

The Mile High is something special and we are very happy to call it home. Let us know when your cruising through the states and happen to be stopping in the Rockies, we will have to do a Single Origin Chocolate tasting!

Feb 5, 2009
Alex

Thanks! Sure you weren't at the King street Mecca?? The the one with two Mistrals? The Alex who works the bar there is many times better than myself!

Feb 6, 2009
nik orosi

i used to work and for with illy..have so much to say about but...

Feb 8, 2009
Kris Wood @StAli

Do you have skype? and are you possibly willing to yalk in regards to us buying some coffee

Feb 11, 2009
Ben Cram

Hi Alun,
The Barth came with the cafe my wife and I bought two years ago, and has been in the shop for just over twenty years. The owner of the building brought it from Germany when he moved here and set it up. As far as I can tell it is a 1936 drum roaster with a capacity of around 7kg. It was in use until last November and is now waiting to be restored and upgraded, (better probe placement, manometer, digital thermo etc...) We also roast on a 24kg Diedrich.

You have some great photos, looks like you're in a very beautiful place.

Feb 11, 2009
Pangi

Awesome photos bro. How are things down there? Can you school me on some nice green beans to purchase from your neck of the woods?

Feb 11, 2009
Kris Wood @StAli

Are you in Jakarta at present? or would email be easier for you?
krismwood@iinet.net.au

Feb 11, 2009
sunny cho

hello Alun

Feb 12, 2009
Danny

Hi Alun,

I have just completed my blog on the recent SNBC 2009 held recently from 5 - 7 Feb at a local convention centre here.

Cutting to the chase, I came in 5th overall among 18 participants. I enjoyed the experience despite the anxiety that comes with it as I had little preparation both mentally and equipment wise.

Check out my blog at http://blog.omy.sg/ezprezzo. The event was not really well publicised in Singapore as the media had little interest in it. Well, that does not stop our passion for the profession and the industry, particularly for independent cafes like ours.

One thing that I did really found beneficial was the opportunity to get to know the community of Baristas. Without participating, I would have no single opportunity to meet so many of them in one place.

As a result of my involvement, I am now starting to help in the development of the barista community by organising and participating in more small local barista get-together. One Jamming session is gonna be held at my place on the 28 Feb. A latte throw down is gonna be held on 24 Feb in another upjoint cafe in town. Another mini barista competition will be held in April this year in Raffles place as well.

The local barista scene is really cooking after having gone through 3 years of competition. Awareness has taken root but more needs to be done. I take this opportunity to contribute and share the espresso passion with similarly minded individuals out there. Woohoo!

Feb 12, 2009
Greenway Barista

thanks for the invite! i can guarantee we will be corresponding as we get closer to an actual timeline of going over there. I am planning more of a long term trip, possibly a year or longer, so i am getting the logistics ready for a 2010 departure (hopefully USD will still be worth a damn in 2010). when are you planning on expanding your ventures to singapore is it?

Feb 16, 2009
Greenway Barista

by the way, do you have skype?

Feb 16, 2009
Greenway Barista

thats exciting to hear! i leave the roasting end of things up to my compadres locally and nationally, and I am focusing on branding our store this year in order to replicate in Jakarta. we are changing our look, equipment, and structure to better accommodate a barista/owner experience, where in the grand scale of things a barista could be the owner of his own store. thats the dream i guess!

Feb 16, 2009
Greenway Barista

sounds interesting! i just got a lesson on what kaki-lima is by the way, lol. the jakarta location sounds like its going to end up in a mall of some kind. i am working on creating a format here in the states that can be used to help "career" baristas become their own boss, from all angles: financing, location, and design. Our store is in a business plaza, and as far as a daytime job, its not a bad gig, and i think i could help more baristas advance from employee to employer by placing them in similar situations. its a concept right now, but something i want to focus on in the coming years.

Feb 16, 2009
Rick

Thanks for the info Alun, years ago I had a 2 head Cimballi lever and found it made great espresso, in fact the Cimballi importer at that time was a gentleman from Tuscany about 70ish that loved them. I am going to look into the new Nuovo line because they are such a feast for the eyes and the palate. We are going to use a La Marzocco 4 head FB70 for starters at our shop, thanks for the reply and sorry to get back to you so late.
Rick

Feb 17, 2009
Greenway Barista

sorry i missed the skype! i will keep my eyes peeled

Feb 18, 2009
Mont Blanc Gourmet

Hey Alun, sorry it took me a while to get back.
AFC Champ game! That sounds awesome, deffintally let us know if your out here.

We currently do not have a Indonesian Single Orgin yet. We are currently playing with some South American Cocoa, Central Americas, and Africans. But I bet a Java mocha would be great, I'm going to ask to lab to start looking. I know there is some great chocolate bars coming from Indonesia.

Scott

Feb 18, 2009
Scott Bruggman

Hope you get to make it to D-town. We will have to taste some mochas in our lab if you do.

Feb 18, 2009
Nat Paolone

HI Allun nice to hear from you. I have been to Indonesia years ago but I always want to return, hope one day soon. One of my favourite coffee is Sulawesi Toraja. Just awesome.

Feb 19, 2009
Nat Paolone

Well mate, I went from extreme high quality boutique roaster, to Lavazza. Well, I know what you're thinkin'... but here in Vietnam its my best option. My boss, just recently started importing Lavazza a year ago so he hired me shortly after to be the training manager. I was already in Vietnam for 10 months, doing some private training on my own. I also went to the Lavazza training center in Torino, Italy. Thing is, I teach only the best barista techniques just as if I was working for any quality roaster, and the resuls are much better. Its quite challenging working with low-end equipment, but I do have one client with a LaMarzocco GB5 which is great, and other clients with high-end stuff. In the mean time its a struggle to get people to purchase quality equipment, and even install a proper water filter. Ah well gotta start somewhere right? I sure miss working with really high end coffees and techniques... Tell me what you're up to mate? Are you from Sydney? I lived in Australia for 2 and a half years, then to Vietnam. I didn't plan on staying but here I am almost 2 years later.

Feb 19, 2009
Nat Paolone

Hi I was browsing through your photos... pretty cool stuff. What is your connection with Illy? You were in Italy for a coffee conference, looks really cool. I was in Torino and Milano last October for a Lavazza conference and also visited the Faema/LaCimballi plant. We are also distributors for Wega, but unfortunately most people don't want to spend much on a machine here in Vietnam, even large 5-star hotels and high-end restaurants. They just want stuff for free.
Nat

Feb 19, 2009
Ryan

Well, i still stand behind that Wild Bean Cafe at BP Connects are the best for coffee, very cosistently GOOD coffee, not always excellent tho. Gloria Jeans on Queen Street also decent, but i honestly have never come across a Cafe that ive been able to get decent coffee each time I go

Feb 20, 2009