Dear friends and family,

I’m Ben, and I’m here to give a short introduction about Clod to all of you, our readers, future friends, and family.

Before the story starts, I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who has reached this point. Thank you for being interested in our story and for being willing to spend your precious time to understand why we started the business and what the philosophy behind it is.

At Clod, we have only two very simple and straightforward philosophies: “Different coffee for different people” and “Coffee is a fruit.” After being involved in the industry for years, I believe the coffee culture in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia, is totally different from the rest of the world due to our very own diverse coffee culture.

Since we were small, we have had the traditional “Nan Yang” style of coffee that our parents consumed at traditional “kopitiams” — a “wok-fried” coffee with sugar and margarine, creating a unique style in the world. Our neighbors in Vietnam also have their own Vietnamese style of coffee, another traditional kind found in the world, which also influences the broader Asian coffee culture. You will find that we often consume it with additional sweetness such as condensed milk and sugar due to its unique burnt flavor created by caramel and margarine, which accompanies the heavy bitterness that encourages us to add sweetness to achieve a balanced taste. This cultural aspect also contributes to locals having a wider acceptance of bitterness and some even seeking it out as a criterion for great coffee.

But back to our field: what is specialty coffee? I will always say, “Coffee is a fruit,” just like other fruits. Please remember that fruit itself has distinct flavors born from its variety, terroir, and, of course, the care given by the farmers. However, a fun fact is that a specialty roaster cannot (we will not accept) roast coffee to such a dark degree because most flavors will be replaced by burnt caramel flavors due to the high roast temperature essentially “burning” everything in the coffee, including much of its terroir characteristics. This is not an ideal condition for most specialty coffee roasters, drinkers, and consumers, especially when the origin taste is affected by additional elements.

Returning to the topic, “coffee is a fruit,” we wouldn’t enjoy any “burnt fruit,” so why coffee (at least personally, I can’t recall any burnt fruits that I liked — please share if you have any favorite burnt fruits)? What we love about coffee is its ability to always surprise us with flavors from its origin terroir, a gift from the soil, variety, and the farmers behind every single coffee cherry. Numerous processing methods have evolved within the industry’s growth. We all know that specialty coffee, unlike other beverages such as tea, wine, and beer, lacks a deep history, but we are creating history now — a generation defining what coffee should look like and how it should be enjoyed. There are so many interesting elements that drive us to crave more “good coffee.” We believe that our customers, who are willing to pay nearly 5-8 times more compared to traditional coffee, are not just seeking caffeine and burnt coffee itself, but also quality and the philosophy of the roastery, and growing together with the industry because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. We used to be customers, staff, and observers at specialty coffee shops, and every time, what drove us there was not just getting a good cup of coffee that scored 80+ on the score sheet; it was also the desire to connect with people and our belief that those making the coffee were putting in over 100% effort and understood their craft. This motivated us to start the “Clod” project.

The idea behind Clod is simply to combine the concept of extending fruit flavors into coffee, our local coffee culture, and our preferences, finding a balance and harmony to commercially be craftsmen behind the scenes, serving the best specialty coffee depending on whom we serve. By following this path, I believe it’s the only way to make coffee more easily integrated into our daily lives.

Brewing is what we do, roasting is what we love, and you defines who we are.

Welcome to be a ‘Clod’.