Getting to know One Half Coffee Roastery.
What's the story behind One Half Coffee and how did it all start?
One Half Coffee Roastery was founded in August 2023 by Keith Koay, a three-time Malaysian Barista Champion, seven years after he opened his first café, One Half x Ilaika. Today, we have three main stores under the One Half name, along with several sister brands that serve our coffees and share our belief in making specialty coffee part of everyday life, with intentionality at every step.
Competition is also part of our DNA. In recent years, our partners have won the Malaysia Brewers Cup (Ang Weiliang, 2024) and the Malaysia Barista Championship (Tan Shing Win, 2025). These achievements reflect not only individual skill but our wider philosophy: being intentional in everything we do, from farm to cup.
Can you share more about your approach to sourcing and roasting coffee?
We focus on quality, seasonality and harmony. We source coffees that express their terroir, showcase their variety and are purposefully processed, because we believe where a coffee comes from matters, and its inherent flavours are what we aim to highlight.
When roasting, we focus on bringing out origin character without letting roast flavours mask too much of it. The resulting espressos and filters are aromatic, clean, sweet and acidity-forward, a celebration of our favourite aspects of specialty coffee.
What motivated One Half Coffee to explore the capsule coffee format?
Coffee is part of how we all live, and offering our coffees in more formats, to suit different lifestyles and coffee rituals, has always been a dream of ours.
We all have our morning routines, and coffee is often a crucial part of them. What is your morning ritual like?
A quiet, peaceful moment just before sunrise, sitting at the bar counter and waiting for a long black from the espresso machine.
We make a point of opening all our shops early, by 8am, because a good day starts by rising with the sun, with a good cup of coffee.
What are you most excited about right now, and for the future of One Half Coffee?
Ten years since our first café, One Half is slowly coming into its own, developing its own personality, taste and following. The future is here, but the best is yet to come.
