Brewing bold ambitions: Kopi Kenangan and Fore Coffee venture overseas
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Hi readers,
I’ve heard before that the best coffee is the one you make at home, and I tend to agree. But I also think the convenience of having a nice, warm (or iced) latte delivered at home or in the office can sometimes be a godsend.
That’s why even after buying an espresso machine and finding my go-to roaster, I still hop into my food delivery app to get my caffeine fix whenever I feel lazy or have somewhere to be. And this is where players like Fore Coffee and Kopi Kenangang come in.
During last year’s Tech in Asia Conference, the founders of both coffee chains said that there is still room to grow for coffee shops of any size.
Also, as the two firms expand to countries outside Indonesia, they must remember to leverage their secret weapons: their home country’s coffee culture. For Fore Coffee in particular, among the most popular beverages on its launch day in Singapore was gula aren latte – an Indonesian blend that uses palm sugar to sweeten coffee.
Personally, I’ll be keeping an eye out for a potential launch here in the Philippines and lining up to have a taste of what Indonesia has to offer.
— Miguel Cordon, journalist at Tech in Asia
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Image credit: Timmy Loen
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