SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

2013 JULY INTAKE

Culture and Civilisation [FDES0815]

Lecturer: Miss Delliya Mohd Zain

Submission date: 13th June 2014

Name: Liew Hong Zhi

Student id: 0315836

Concept and theme

The theme of my postcards is Coffee Art. That’s a lot of people nowadays don’t just drink coffee like a normal coffee which you can brew at your house by just adding hot water and a pack of coffee powder. People nowadays always request for more beautiful, better looking of the coffee design on top. In terms of that, I would like to share some passion towards coffee through taking photos of it. With this theme, I would like to capture photos of the art design of the coffee that brewed by the barista. I choose coffee as my theme because I have a lot of friends around me that love to drink coffee. I might know more and I will try to understand more about the art of coffee. I have taken quite some photos of coffee art to show different kind of design made by baristas. I chose Flat White that located in SS15 area because it was just few minutes car distance from my house. Flat White was a coffee shop that actually handled by a few students. The other coffee shop that I have chosen is RT Cafe which located in SS15 area too.

Summary

Flat White Cafe.

RT Cafe.

These are the look of the coffee shops that I visited in SS 15 area. At first, I went to SS 15 and walk around to spot some nice coffee shops after my friend suggested me to have a look within the area. Once I reach SS 15, I went to Asia Cafe to have a lunch first. After I finished my lunch, I saw Flat White Cafe just exactly right in front of me. It was actually at the second floor. So I went upstairs to have a look before I really started to order some coffee. It was definitely a nice and quiet place to drink coffee. Since it was a nice place to sit down, my friend and I ordered two cups of coffee to take some photos.

Next, it was the RT Cafe. RT Cafe was located beside RT Pastry House since it was an addition from RT Pastry House. I actually wanted to go back since after I visited Flat White Cafe, the weather was not so good and it started to rain. But once my friend and I walk past through RT Cafe, we decided to spend little more time since we’ve came to SS 15. So, we visited RT Cafe and it was nicely designed inside. It has a rustic look with the red bricks wall with some alternative panels of mirrors and wall lamp at the wall which is Figure 1 that you can see next page.

Figure 1

That’s another photo of the environment inside RT Cafe. It was really relaxing and peace inside. You should really spend a day to have a look in this cafe and read some books here. They do provide magazines and newspaper for the customers there to read. As you can see in Figure 1, I ordered a cup of Mochachino. It was a very new kind of coffee which I never drink or see before, so I would like to have a try after being suggested by the staff.

Research

First, Flat White Cafe served coffee junkies and of course the passion-brewed coffee to pair with delicious breakfast, sandwiches and pastas also. When I visited Flat White Cafe, I found out that the staffs there were passionate about what they’re doing. They served me amazing art of coffee. They’re actually kept on looking into new innovations to excite. They were very friendly as well as I saw them chatting with the customers and they brought joy and friendship in the name of coffee in terms of just serving coffee without interacting with the customers.

The exact location of Flat White Cafe:

No 73-1, Jalan SS15/8a,

Subang Jaya,

47500 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Business hour: Monday to Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Friday & Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Next, RT Cafe was established in the year of 2003. The RT Cafe is actually an addition from RT Pastry House, which is an extraordinary bakery company that provides newly concept of Japanese and Taiwan style. I am very sure that most of the locals have heard before about RT Pastry House. RT actually stands for Retention Taste, so I think the RT Cafe will serve us different kinds of coffee art. The staffs there were very nice when I was ordering my drink. The price of the coffee was reasonable compared to the other branded coffee shops.

The location of RT Cafe:

B5-G, Jalan SS15/4D,

47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Business hour: daily from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Figure 2

As you can see in Figure 2, there are some photos I’ve taken when the staffs of Flat White Cafe was brewing the coffee for me. It might be very easy when you’re looking them brewing the coffee, but I am truly sure that brewing a cup of coffee needs real profession and skills.

The last but not least, there are some few simple steps which I found to brew great coffee.

STEPS:

1. Use good water since coffee was mostly water, the type of water you choose can really make a difference to the taste of the coffee. If you’re investing a high quality of coffee making equipment, you shouldn’t have spoiled it with bad water. Filter the water before you use it to brew your coffee and you might also try bottled water.

2. Proper amount & correct grind of coffee. The standard strength is 2 tablespoon for every six ounce cup of coffee, but you can adjust the strength according to your own personal preferences. Using too little coffee will over-extract the grounds and lead to bitter taste. Next, grind your beans to the correct coarseness.

3. Controlled brew process in time & temperature. With a normal drip brewer, you have no control over the brewing time. But you should wait for the coffee to be fully brewed before taking any. The bitter flavors are released later in the time when you’re brewing. For which you do control the brewing time, brew between three and five minutes. Other than that, get the water temperature right. Cold water makes for the freshest taste. Most coffee makers set the temperature for you. The best coffee making water temperature is just under boiling. Boil the water and let it sit for a minute.

4. The right equipment for quality filtration & extraction. With so many sizes, shapes, and models available, the right coffee brewing for your operation is an individual choice. Whatever equipment you do must have the capability of delivering your entire chosen flavor created.

5. Holding time. The amount of time your coffee will stay fresh after brewing is called the Holding time. Holding the coffee around 80 to 88 degree Celsius will maintain its fresh brewed flavor over a specified period time.

Layout

Postcard:

Front layout (A5 size)

Back layout (A5 size)

Background Text

Packaging

Packaging (A2 size)

I decided to print it in A2 size because it was too small if I print in A3 size. I put the A5 size in the A2 so that I can straight cut it down and fold it like a letter.

The final packaging template

Sample of postcard

Front sample

Back sample

Mind map

Types of popular coffee

Espresso Cappuccino

Americano Caffe Latte

Caf au Lait Mochachino

Caramel Macchiato

Styles of making coffee art

Free pouring Etching

Conclusion

At last, I am very glad that I have learnt a lot of knowledge about art coffee and how to brew a great coffee. Those coffee lovers should have been appreciating the cup of coffee that brewed by every barista because it is not that easy even though it looks very simple. It was a quite tiring assignment but once I saw the art design of the coffee, I felt that it worth everything. I was quite impressed that the taste of the coffee didn’t change but still remain the same or maybe increased better when they add on those beautiful elegant designs on top of the coffee. This assignment absolutely let me to learn more about the art of coffee.