Singapore — Despite the growing influx of Western coffee chains and artisanal espresso joints, Singaporeans still flock to kopitiams for their caffeine fix. It is a unique culture surrounding the traditional sock-brewed cuppa that is filled with quirky practices (such as drinking from the saucer) and a colourful range of customisable drinks. “We have a long history of drinking coffee way before the hipster independent coffee-roasters started this present coffee culture,” said local artist Jahan Loh, who decided to preserve these memories in a book titled One Kopi At A Time, which was launched yesterday at the National Library Building.

As part of a project called Singapore Kopi Culture (which is supported by the Singapore Memory Project’s irememberSG Fund and includes an exhibition of the same name at the National Library Building that ends today), the book seeks to document Singapore’s unique coffee-drinking culture and preserve memories of what the author described as “a sunset trade”. “Traditional coffee roasters are dying and there are only a handful of Singapore coffee roasters around,” said Loh, who had interviewed founders of the country’s first coffee shops to better understand the origins of the beverage. It revealed several interesting facts, such as how coffee was once grown on Orchard Road, and that the traditional white marble-top tables and wooden chairs actually come from as far as Europe.

Loh believed it was the significance of preserving this aspect of Singapore’s history that won him the grant. “I chose Singapore kopi as the topic for my project, as I feel very passionately about it,” he said, adding how after nine years in Taiwan (where his creative agency Invasion Studios is based) he began to wonder “why Singapore coffee tasted different from coffee everywhere else”. “The whole concept of being able to eat different kinds of food in one single eatery, such as a kopitiam, made me realise that we take a lot of our local food for granted.”

But Loh remains hopeful that there will always be a place for traditional coffee. “Coffee is a staple for many Singaporeans,” he affirmed. And maybe after reading my irememberSG Fund book, they will learn the value of how much work and process go into making a cup of Singapore coffee.”

According to the Singapore Memory Project, the aim of the projects under irememberSG Fund is to foster deeper emotional ties and cultivate a stronger sense of belonging to Singapore, and it “encourages its recipients to develop content and initiatives that will collect, interpret, contextualise and showcase Singapore memories leading up to SG50”.

Loh said his book will need to be catalogued and processed before copies are distributed to all public libraries in September.

“My book can only be sold commercially next year, and I am thinking of selling a more updated version around March next year,” he added. “Through my continued research, I have learned more, and hope to continue discovering even more, to supplement my book. My dream is to distribute my book internationally and let more people learn about Singapore’s unique coffee culture.”