Kopi Lau Workshop- Trades Archive
project initiative by Jeffrey J C Lim 林猷進
project space
Studio 25, Brickfields
Kuala Lumpur
Trades Archive
An initiative on documenting the intangible knowledge of traditional trades. This 2nd project under the #tradesarchive initiative is structured differently, focusing more on workshop activities apart from archiving with film, mapping and publication.
W O R K S H O P
咖啡漏
Kopi Lau Workshop is a research project on the Nanyang / Nusantara coffee culture of Peninsular Malaysia, from factory* to cup.
* 咖啡粉廠 (Kopi Fun Cheong) / Kilang Kopi / Coffee Factory ~ chinese naming convention for a coffee roaster, kopi 'flour mill', directly translated as 'Coffee Factory'.
Kopi Lau Workshop is a documentation & archival project on the Nanyang 南洋 / Nusantara نوسانتارا coffee culture, mainly focusing on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Initiated by Jeffrey Lim, his aunt's family ran a heritage Kopitiam and coffee factory in Kuala Lumpur for almost 90 years which closed down during the pandemic in 2021. Inheriting most of the kopi brewing tools, Jeff learnt and has extensively spent the last few years understanding & documenting the local kopi culture. In the hopes of passing on this cultural practice, and share in order to preserve our cultural heritage.
The humble coffee, Kopi the local reference in this region, was traditionally Malayan-grown beans, Liberica but now they are only available at limited quantities and higher cost and is mixed into a blend. Currently local coffee are mainly made up of Robusta, grown locally or imported, shipped in by 60 kilograms gunny sacks in green form. Traditionally 'roasted' over a huge wok fuelled by wood fire, the finished coffee grounds are a blend of around 50-80% beans, the rest are made up of mainly sugar as an additive filler. Similarly practised in South Asia, Chicory was used as an additive substitute, however in Southeast Asia, there are practises of including other ingredients / spices into the mix that gives local kopi unique taste accents.
There are three main stages which coffee goes through before reaching us in a cup; grown and processed at the plantation, 'cooked' at the coffee factory*, and lastly, brewed at the coffee shop. This research project is primarily focused on the middle and last stages, although attempts will be made to document the first stage too. This 2nd project under the #tradesarchive initiative is structured differently, focusing more towards workshop activities apart from archiving with film, mapping and publication. The project has four major parts explained below.
Tooling— is an important part of our coffee culture and one of the major focus, researching two traditional trades– tin-smithing & pottery. This involves acquiring, repairing & learning tin-smithing, rebuilding machinery and understanding the local pottery heritage behind the unique kopi cup & saucer.
Workshops— from basic to advanced workshops on kopi brewing methods, demonstration of roasting and differentiation of coffee grounds; through the use of traditional and modern apparatus. Also includes Open Studios and tasting sessions.
Mapping— online digital mapping of authentic traditional & contemporary Kopitiams along the Peninsular west coast with documentation, field trips to coffee plantations, factories and coffee ground supply. Also identifying traditional tinsmith and pottery makers. Assembling a Kopi taste chart.
Publication— anecdotes, research abstracts, graphic diagrams and photo-documentation in printed forms, film, audio recordings. An 'Archive Package' will be made for distribution at the end of the project.
Jeffrey Lim, photography artist, and cultural worker, is a communication designer by training, and has been involved in cycling & accessibility advocacy. He engages in many self-initiated and commissioned social art projects.
His current focus revolves around the Trades Archive initiative, a research & documentation, archival project through apprenticeship. Kopi Lau Workshop, documenting the local coffee culture (2023-current) is his 2nd project under this initiative.
The project has an exhibition gallery and archival depository in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, where events will be held through the year; workshops, talk, exhibition, open studios and more. Join the instagram/kopilau account to keep up to date. Visits by appointment only.
老行業全記錄
Trades Archive intends to document traditional trades in detail, in it’s living form with the Master tradesman / craftsperson, using the original tools and materials. Through the use of modern mediums such as motion film, technical drawings, 3D rendering etc, producing a detailed manual of how the trade product is created and made.
This project hopes to inspire other Master tradesmen to evaluate their trade skills as invaluable knowledge to be recorded. Encouraging them to also start documenting and archiving their trade skills on their own. It is a way to also establish the origins of our traditional trades, and bridge beyond the trade family and spread the legacy of this unique Malaysian cultural identity, bringing it to a wider, newer generation of cultural artists, designers, & makers.
I believe in a creative commons model, to share this methodology with other artists and cultural workers in creating their own trades archive, in their own cities and communities. Trades Archive hopes this effort will preserve the intangible knowledge, and bridge the gap with future generations, to inspire and pick up where these trades have left off.
Jeffrey J C Lim