Kopi (Nanyang Coffee)
Also kopi, kopitiam coffee, Hainanese coffee
The kopitiam coffee of Singapore and Malaysia: dark sugar-roasted beans brewed in a cloth sock over condensed milk, ordered with a code of suffixes.
RegionalServed hotFrom Singapore
- Volume
- 190ml6.4 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 0shots
- Caffeine
- 60mgderived, USDA FDC
- Coffee to milk
- 1:0.3
The build
Watch it made, step by step- dark coffee from beans…150 ml79%
- Condensed milk40 ml21%
- Volume
- 190ml
- Caffeine
- 60mg
- Espresso
- 0shots
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
Sock-brewed coffee over condensed milk; a vocabulary of suffixes changes the recipe: O (black, sugar), C (evaporated milk, sugar), kosong (no sugar), peng (iced), gao (thick), po (thin), siew dai (less sweet), gah dai (sweeter).
Caffeine
Derivedin a 190 ml kopi (nanyang coffee)
USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee volume in components, assuming 1 g per ml. FDC 171890 (Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water) 40.0 mg/100 g x 150 ml.
USDA FoodData Central record 171890 · read 2026-10-26
A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.
Variants by country
8| Name | Country | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| kopi-o | Singapore | Black with sugar; Wikidata records a Malaysian item. |
| kopi-c | Singapore | With evaporated milk and sugar. |
| kopi kosong | Singapore | Black, no sugar. |
| kopi peng | Singapore | Iced, with condensed milk. |
| kopi gao | Singapore | Extra-strong brew. |
| kopi gu you | Singapore | With a pat of butter melted in. |
| kopi tarik | Malaysia | 'Pulled' between two jugs to froth. |
| cham | Malaysia | Half kopi, half teh. |
History
Popular accountHainanese immigrants ran the coffee shops of colonial Singapore and Malaya and developed the margarine-and-sugar roast (popular account). Wikidata has items for kopi-o and Ipoh white coffee in Malaysia.
Singapore and Malaysia kopitiams.
Parts of this story are repeated widely but were not confirmed against a source this atlas accepts. They are kept as the story people tell, not as fact.
Related drinks
Kopitiam coffee with a slice of butter melting into it, Southeast Asia's original butter coffee.
Regional Cham 240 ml · 40 mgMalaysia's half-coffee, half-tea with condensed milk, served hot or iced at kopitiams.
Regional Cà Phê Muối (Salt Coffee) 190 ml · 48 mgHuế's salt coffee: strong phin coffee topped with a salted sweet cream. The salt rounds off bitterness and became a nationwide trend.
Regional Ipoh White Coffee 190 ml · 60 mgIpoh's lighter-roasted sock coffee with condensed milk. 'White' describes the roast without sugar, not the colour of the drink.
Regional Kaffeost 200 ml · 60 mgLapland's coffee with cheese: cubes of bread cheese dropped into hot boiled coffee and eaten as they soften.
Regional Kopi Joss 200 ml · 80 mgYogyakarta's charcoal coffee: a glowing coal dropped into sweet black coffee for a hiss and a smoky, less acidic cup.