The
morning sun shone brightly on the mural painted across an entire wall of the
warehouse in the My Liberica farm in Simpang Renggam near Bukit Batu and I
watched as visitors took turns to pose against it for an attractive photo
backdrop.
 |
Tour Manager, Vivonne Soong [Right] sharing information
with visitors on the My Liberica farm tour |
Cars
were arriving to park in the spaces provided and I observed that some of the
number plates were not local but registered in other states like the Federal
Territory, Selangor, and Perak.
As
more cars with various number plates arrived, I guessed the Public Holiday
weekend probably encouraged more visitors to come to Johor from afar.
I
was standing among the pockets of people gathered, waiting for others to arrive
for the start of the farm and processing mill tour. While waiting, I could not
help but listened to snippets of conversation in Mandarin and English, floating
around.
I
inadvertently tuned in to the chat among a few men – whom I later learnt were from
Kuala Lumpur – who said their visit to Johor was the outcome of a bet.
 |
I was chatting with My Liberica founder, Jason Liew,
outside the farm's warehouse |
Apparently,
the one familiar with the My Liberica brand of specialty coffee won the bet
against his friend who had confused My Liberica with Iberico pork.
The two names, in fact, had similarities and to find out more about
My Liberica specialty coffee, they decided to make this trip to experience the
Specialty Coffee Grand Tour!
In
the two-part tour, Part One was from 9am to 11am in the farm located at Kampung
Melayu Bukit Nyamuk, Simpang Renggam, to experience the Growing and Processing
stages of the My Liberica coffee beans.
Part
Two from 12pm to 5pm was at the My Liberica Roastery located in Johor Baru
Ecohub to learn about the Roasting and a hands-on experience in Brewing (and
tasting!) coffee from beans that were roasted at three different levels.
 |
The farm practices intercropping where calamansi plants
[Right] are grown alongside the coffee trees [Left] |
With
an early start, visitors should assemble at the farm for Part One of the Grand
Tour and then proceed to the Roastery for Part Two, where lunch was also
served.
There
was of course, much opportunity to sample a range of brewed coffee and teas
created through innovation from coffee beans, coffee flowers and coffee berries.
Led
by Tour Manager, Vivonne Soong, the tour kicked off with a trek to the fringe
of the plantation for a closer look at the coffee trees while she provided an
informative commentary.
Visitors
could walk among the coffee trees and experience the taste of the sweet
mucilage on a ripe coffee bean, removed from a split coffee berry that was
freshly plucked from the tree.
 |
| A close-up view of My Liberica coffee berries on the tree |
While
walking among the lush green plants, I observed that this farm practices
intercropping where calamansi plants were planted among the coffee trees to
maximise the use of the land.
Started
in 2014, this is the first specialty coffee processing plant which is dedicated
to Liberica coffee in Malaysia.
In
the farm tour, visitors not only observed the processes but also had the
opportunity to try their hand at tipping baskets of coffee berries into the
machine which jigged and jogged to separate the various sizes of harvested
berries.
 |
Visitors lend a hand in tipping coffee berries into the machine
which should separate the various berry sizes and drop
them into three separate baskets in front [on the ground] |
To
remove the outer skin of the coffee berries, the fruits were then passed
through a de-pulping machine which sliced off the berry skins to reveal the
beans within.
These
moist beans were then laid out on rectangles of concrete ground to dry in the
sun.
The
farm had constructed shelters that would automatically glide over the concrete
at the touch of a button, to protect the drying beans from rain by day and from
dew by night.
At
the end of each day, the drying beans would be raked into a pile and covered by
these shelters for the night.
 |
Tipping a bucket of coffee berries
into the de-pulping machine |
The
next morning, these shelters would be drawn back, and the beans raked across
the concrete ground again to continue being dried in the sun.
When
the coffee beans were completely dried, the beans would then be packed in bags
and stacked up to “rest” inside the warehouse.
Finally,
we were invited into an air-conditioned lounge to rest and sample a range of
specialty coffee and tea, uniquely created by the My Liberica brand.
Tiny
glass tumblers were distributed for us to fill with sample sips of innovative
brews of tea created from coffee leaves, coffee flowers and cascara or the
dried skin of the coffee berries.
Then
the team members served us one drink after another, with Liberica Leaf Tea,
Liberica Blossom Tea and Liberica Cascara Tea, for a taste of these innovative
products.
 |
| Coffee beans laid out to dry on the ground |
After
taking orders for each individual choice for coffee – black, with condensed
milk or sugar, Liberica Classic Coffee was served in traditional kopitiam
cups and saucers.
For
a touch of nostalgia, cream crackers fondly called soda biscuits (Hokkien: soh
tah piah), were also served.
I
was amused to see one of the older gentlemen, cracking the square biscuit and
dipping it into his cup of brewed coffee, before eating the damp biscuit.
Then
it was time to sit back and watch the screening of a recorded episode when
Malaysian TV host Jason Yeoh AKA Axian, interviewed Jason Liew, on his visit to
this farm.
 |
| Bags of dried coffee beans "resting" in the warehouse |
Part
One of the Grand Tour came to an end as visitors were invited to buy packs of a
range of My Liberica specialty coffee from the counter and to collect their
souvenir before leaving.
This
souvenir was a tiny flowerpot, filled with earth and planted with two coffee
beans for visitors to take home to nurture and grow our very own coffee plant.
When
I arrived at the My Liberica Roastery in the Ecohub, I noticed that not all the
visitors from Part One of the Grand Tour chose to join the second part of the
tour. Instead, there were some new participants who joined us just for Part
Two.
 |
My Liberica specialty coffee served
with a side of cream crackers aka STP! |
As
lunch was part of the Grand Tour, we were invited to take our pick of the main
course item from the menu and while it was being prepared, a refreshing salad
and tasty appetizer were served.
Then
I overheard one of the visitors requesting for coffee after his meal and
Vivonne assured him that there will be plenty of coffee to drink in the latter
part of the itinerary when we will have a hands-on experience to grind the
coffee beans and brew coffee to drink, not just our own but also brews by the
other participants.
When
everyone had comfortably finished our lunch, Vivonne continued the tour with an
information sharing session on coffee cultures and coffee appreciation around
the world, and the roast levels adopted at My Liberica before we moved into the
hands-on coffee brewing experience.
With
thoughts of the Cinnamon Roast, Medium Roast, City Roast, Full City Roast,
French Roast, and Italian Roast still steeping in my mind, I was more than
ready for a taste of our self-brewed pots of coffee.
 |
| Vivonne [Right] conducting Part Two of the Grand Tour |
Just
as was promised, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee along with the taste of each
of the three different levels of roasted beans, more than satisfied any coffee
cravings.
It
was eye-opening to learn the better way to grind the roasted beans, the
temperature recommended for the hot water, the method of pouring in boiled
water onto the ground coffee, and all the nitty-gritty details to achieve a
quality cup of freshly brewed coffee.
By
5pm, I had my fill of delicious freshly brewed coffee – not just my own but
from the other participants too – and gained a better appreciation and respect
for My Liberica specialty coffee, proudly prepared from seed to cup.
For
more information and to join the next Specialty Coffee Grand Tour in Johor,
call or WhatsApp to Tel: +6016 733 1082 or +6011 1099 9768.
