JOHOR BARU: THE love affair that owner cum barista Ang Yee Siang, 21, of Art52Coffee, has with coffee started way back when he was growing up in Penang.
As a kid, he had access to a range of beverages like Chinese tea, various brands of 3-in-1 instant coffee and kopi-O kau, the strong dark brew that his grandmother used to offer for ancestor worship.
So at a young age, Ang discovered his innate fondness for coffee.
His career in coffee kicked off at the tender age of 17 when Ang was a waiter with a café in Butterworth.
As he helped out with mixing drinks at the bar, he observed his colleague’s skills in creative latte art on brewed coffee and this fascination spurred him on to learn more.
Over the next two months, this colleague showed him the ropes and at every opportunity, Ang tried his hand at it, with encouraging results.
Very often, when he got home after his night shift, Ang would spend time online, researching about latte art.
He would be so deeply absorbed with the many ways of pouring to create latte art that he felt that morning always came too soon.
With no time left for sleep, Ang would go directly into his morning shift, still pumped up with new knowledge about coffee and latte art!
“I tried out what I learnt online in the café but was sad when I received negative feedback,” said Ang, who on looking back, thinks that it was probably far too advanced for the budding speciality coffee culture in Penang then.
Not to be disheartened, Ang persisted in his pursuit for excellence and about six months later, his skills and talent in coffee brewing and latte art was recognised by his employer.
This was because throughout this time, Ang was honing his skills with the advice of other coffee professionals and his employer now wanted him to train others before reassigning the 18-year old as assistant manager for a new outlet.
Inspired by Lin Tong Yuan, the Taiwanese barista champion and founder of the popular Gabee Café in Taipei, Ang was determined to develop himself and he gradually moved from learning latte art to improving his skills in pulling espresso shots.
He knew that espresso is the base for a range of coffees like caffe latte, macchiato, mocha, Americano and cappuccino, and was aware that he could learn more about the industry when he moved into a more vibrant coffee scene in the Klang Valley.
He seized the opportunity to be the shadow of a magazine journalist and travelled with him to Kuala Lumpur to explore coffee factories and coffee outlets, and on one such trip, Ang had the most incredible tasting experience that awoke his senses to the natural flavours of good coffee beans!
Ang quit his management position and moved to the capital city as a barista with a café in Fahrenheit 88 where he was mentored by Japanese barista trainer, Masahiro Aoki — now with Wa Café in Pavilion KL — and his instinct proved him right because in 12 months, he was promoted to head that outlet.
At 19, Ang emerged the first runner-up in the Battle of Baristas Championship 2013, an achievement that reminded him that he was on track to achieving his goal of serving good coffee to true connoisseurs.
Around this time, he met JB girl, Stella Teo, who started as a cake customer at the café and as she learnt more about coffee and developed her skills in latte art, she ended up as his friend and future business partner.
Teo, a make-up artist who was involved with local hit movie, The Journey, shares Ang’s vision and while they explored the possibilities to set up their own café, Ang remained single-minded about finding a small space to serve his style of coffee in an intimate setting where the barista can interact with his customers.
In JB, Ang and Teo discovered Art52Gallery and met owner Eric Tan and his artist wife, Grace Lim, who invited them to use the space in their upstairs gallery.
Their tiny café aptly named Art52Coffee, recently opened with a modest menu of snacks to savour with servings of Ang’s hand-brewed artisan coffee.
“Ang is an artist who is creating art out of coffee,” said Tan who is not only pleased with how regulars are often finding their way back to Art52Coffee but also with Ang’s artistry in coffee that complements the art in the gallery.
Art52Coffee is located upstairs of 52, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, JB.
It is open daily, from Sunday to Friday from 9am to 6pm and on Saturday up to 9pm.
For details, visit www.facebook.com/art52coffee or call 016-782 8376.