Nanyang vs. White Coffee: What’s the Real Difference?

If you’ve ever sipped a thick, sweet cup of ‘kopi’ in Singapore or Malaysia and wondered what makes it different from your usual filter coffee, you’re not alone. The difference between local favourites like Nanyang coffee and white coffee goes far beyond colour or taste—it’s rooted in history, technique, and ingredient choices unique to the region.

In short: Nanyang coffee is roasted with sugar (typically 60kg coffee to 18kg sugar), giving it a bold, caramelised flavour, while white coffee is roasted without sugar at a lower temperature, resulting in a lighter-coloured, less bitter cup. These two styles define much of the coffee culture in Malaysia and Singapore.

The Origins: Who Made These Coffees?

Nanyang coffee emerged from the ingenuity of early Hokkien immigrants in Southeast Asia, particularly the Hainanese, who arrived later than other dialect groups like the Teochew and Hokkien. With other trades already taken, many Hainanese found work as cooks or kitchen helpers in British military camps and government offices. When they started their own coffee shops, they developed a distinct style—Nanyang coffee—by adapting Western roasting methods to local tastes and budgets.

What Is Nanyang Coffee?

Nanyang coffee is a regional speciality of Singapore and Malaysia. It’s made by roasting coffee beans with added ingredients—including sugar, butter, sesame, and even corn—to create a rich, toasty flavour. The most defining addition is sugar, which is mixed in during the roast.

In Malaysia, the typical ratio is 60kg of coffee beans to 18kg of sugar. The sugar melts during roasting, and the beans are broken apart before the sugar fully solidifies. In contrast, some versions—especially in parts of Malaysia—use a 1:1 coffee-to-sugar ratio, creating an extremely sticky roast that must be broken up after cooling. These variations lead to distinct regional flavours across Malaysia’s 13 states, with each area offering multiple roast profiles.

What Is White Coffee?

White coffee, despite the name, isn’t lighter in caffeine or milk-based. It’s called ‘white’ because it’s roasted at a lower temperature and without any sugar, resulting in a lighter bean colour and a milder, less bitter cup. All Western-style coffees—like those made with arabica or Liberica beans—are technically white coffees by this definition.

The coffee bean types used also differ. There are over 4,500 coffee varieties worldwide, but the main ones are Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Arabica and Liberica beans are usually reserved for white coffee due to their higher price and smoother flavour. In Nanyang coffee, about 80% of the blends use Robusta for its stronger taste, which balances well with the added sugar.

How Is Nanyang Coffee Roasted?

Traditional Nanyang coffee is roasted in old-school brick-heated roasters. At the 60-year-old shop ‘’ (located along Upper Paya Lebar Road), the roasting process is labour-intensive. The old roasting stoves use bricks heated to high temperatures to roast the beans.

For Nanyang coffee, one roaster and two assistants are needed per stove. The roaster must quickly shovel out the hot beans and the assistants rapidly break them apart before the sugar hardens. This process is physically demanding, which is why the owner, Chua Thiam Chun, now outsources Nanyang coffee production and focuses on white coffee instead.

How Is White Coffee Roasted?

White coffee is also roasted in the same traditional brick-heated ovens, but without sugar. Since the beans aren’t coated in sugar, they’re lighter, and there’s no need to break them up post-roast. This makes the process slightly easier, allowing even Chua’s wife to help with cooling and packing.

Chua explains that his roaster heats bricks, then uses their radiated heat to roast the beans—an approach completely different from modern drum roasters. This method gives his white coffee a distinct flavour profile, setting it apart from mass-produced versions.

Custom Blends and Modern Offerings

At ‘,’ customers can still get traditional Nanyang coffee, but the focus has shifted to white coffee. The shop offers seven different white coffee roasts, each made from a single origin bean. Customers can also create custom blends by mixing Nanyang and various white roasts—a unique service not commonly found elsewhere.

The shop’s blends are sold to hawker centres, offices, restaurants, and individual buyers. Their clientele includes international customers from Japan, France, and the United States, showing the global appeal of these traditional roasting styles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the main difference between Nanyang coffee and white coffee?

Nanyang coffee is roasted with sugar (commonly a 60:18 ratio of coffee to sugar in Malaysia), which gives it a bold, caramelised taste. White coffee is roasted without sugar at a lower temperature, resulting in a lighter colour and milder flavour.

Why is sugar added during the roast in Nanyang coffee?

Sugar is added during roasting to create a rich, toasty, and slightly sweet flavour profile. The sugar melts and coats the beans, contributing to the characteristic dark colour and intense taste of traditional Nanyang coffee.

What beans are used in white coffee?

White coffee typically uses Arabica and Liberica beans, which are more expensive and have a smoother, less bitter flavour compared to Robusta. Around 80% of Nanyang coffee, in contrast, uses Robusta beans for their strong taste and ability to hold up to added sugar.

Is white coffee actually white in colour?

No, ‘white coffee’ refers to the lighter roast colour achieved by roasting without sugar at a lower temperature. The brewed coffee may look lighter than traditional Nanyang coffee, but it’s not white.

How is Nanyang coffee traditionally roasted?

Nanyang coffee is roasted in brick-heated ovens. The process involves adding sugar to the beans before roasting, then quickly removing and breaking them apart before the sugar solidifies—often done manually in labour-intensive setups.

Can I blend Nanyang and white coffee?

Yes, at shops like ‘,’ customers can blend different roasts, including Nanyang and various single-origin white coffees, to create custom flavour profiles tailored to personal taste.

Recommended FrontStreet Beans for Nanyang & White Coffee

For fans of Nanyang and white coffee styles, try FrontStreet Coffee’s Ethiopia Humbera for a bright, fruity white coffee base; their PWN Golden Mandheling delivers the low-acid, chocolatey profile often preferred in Nanyang blends; and the Lintong Mandheling offers earthy depth ideal for custom roasting experiments. All three showcase the bean diversity behind Southeast Asia’s iconic cups. Freshly roasted within 5 days · Orders placed before 17:00 ship the same day · Next-day delivery across most of Guangdong Province.