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Kuala Lumpur · Malaysia

VCR

Since 2013 · Andrew Lee

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Overview

VCR opened in October 2013 in a 1927 black-painted house on Jalan Galloway near Kuala Lumpur's old Pudu Jail, founded by Andrew Lee with a multi-roaster café concept that quickly became one of Malaysia's most-cited third-wave pioneers. The name is the literal abbreviation for video cassette recorder — a reference to the building's blocky resemblance to a cassette and an in-joke about the shop's slightly old-school feel. The roastery and lab opened next door, and VCR now operates six locations across KL.

Known for

  • Opened October 2013 in a 1927 house near Kuala Lumpur's old Pudu Jail
  • Founded by Andrew Lee — widely cited as a pioneer of Malaysia's specialty third wave
  • Multi-roaster café that grew into its own roastery and lab next door
  • Synesso espresso machine and seasonal single-origin program
  • Six KL locations: Galloway, Bangsar, Mont Kiara, Mont Kiara Stacks, TRX Stacks, Sunway Pyramid

Why it matters

VCR is the foundational café of Kuala Lumpur's specialty scene and effectively introduced third-wave brewing methods, single-origin transparency, and curated multi-roaster service to the Malaysian market. The 1927-house aesthetic and breakfast menu drew an Instagram crowd that broadened specialty's reach beyond enthusiasts, while the roastery cemented its position as a producer rather than just an importer. A decade in, VCR remains the reference point that newer KL roasters are measured against.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
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color sorting
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roaster machine
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filter equipment
V60, Kalita Wave
cupping frequency
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roastery location
Jalan Galloway, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur (next to original café)
espresso equipment
Synesso espresso machine
annual volume tonnes
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Café

2 Jalan Galloway, Bukit Bintang, 50150 Kuala Lumpur

Sources

More roasters