If there is one thing that one could learn from Coarse and Fine is that it’s never too early to start working towards your dream. Jonathan Kevin, founder of Coarse and Fine, would nod in agreement to that as the young chap casually divulged that he learned to become a barista at the tender age of 15 and started his own coffee venture only two years later.
Kevin may be the most cheery and radiant barista around, but when it comes to coffee he is dead serious about it. For example, he would readily fix you with a second cuppa if he feels the first one doesn’t cut it for his customer. Same thing goes with his spirit towards promoting good coffee beans, which brings the 17-year-old to source coffee beans from abroad.
For those of you who are excited just by hearing the following coffee roasteries: The Cupping Room (Hong Kong), Market Lane (Melbourne), Nylon (Singapore), and 3fe (Dublin); Coarse and Fine would no doubt be a place you’d soon frequent, where you can have the luxury of tasting different types of roasting profiles from a wide-ranging coffee roastery.
Non-coffee individuals shall not worry; there are still many reasons to visit this place. Situated in a quiet shophouse (ruko) complex in Alam Sutera, the tranquil surroundings of Coarse and Fine creates the impression that you are being cut off from the rest of the hubbub outside the neighbourhood. Especially whenever the time chimes at 5pm, the floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor would roll open, exposing visitors to the balmy evening air that is best matched with a glass of iced latte.
If you’re coming with friends, the second floor offers the best spot for you to chill out – you could either flop down into the sofa, tune yourself into your favourite TV channel (yes, there’s a communal TV) while gobbling up the house’s moreish Crispy Chicken sandwich, or settle down on the communal table while contemplating the sun as it dips into the sea of buildings.
Whichever way you prefer to cosy yourself up, the establishment seems to coax you into extending your stay here. It could be the coffee. But it could also be the atmosphere that induce you to spend your languorous days here, while dreaming of your future pursuit, say, starting your own coffee shop?