Interview with LS Yip, Founder of Beans Depot

LS Yip, Founder of Beans Depot

Interview with LS Yip, Founder of Beans Depot

What do you do and how did you get into the industry?

I am a coffee roaster cum barista. After leaving the corporate world as a HR Manager, I first conducted research on the local coffee industry followed by Italian coffee culture of various countries prior to an investment into a café business. From there, I’d indulge myself with more related specialty coffee qualification to fulfil my craving for coffee knowledge. (SCAA Roaster Guild, SCAA Golden Cup Technician, SCAE Barista)Share with us an interesting story from behind the scenes.
In my search for the best beans, I often get myself attached to a coffee farm as part and parcel of my coffee journey. One time I was on a mountain that’s 1400 meters above sea level in Chiangmai, Thailand, where all the resources are limited and precious. Looking at the condition of the host family for sharing their best facilities with us, my heart feels warm. After a long day of work on the farm, I tried to bath in a 15 square feet bathroom with cold water under the temperature of 15 degrees Celsius in the air. It was a life time experience which I’ll remember forever.

What’s the worst part of your job?

Every coffee cherry is the result of very hard work of farmers: having to discard/dispose of a cherry, for whatever reason, makes me feel really bad.What’s your personal favourite drink/ meal at Beans Depot?

My favorite coffee cocktail is Black Jack and my favorite dessert is Berries Galore.When you’re not getting your caffeine fix at Beans Depot where do you go?
Whenever I’m away from Beans Depot and need a caffeine fix, I go to Tossed Café in Jaya Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya where they serve fantastic food too.

What’s one of the scariest things you’ve seen behind the scenes?
I have nightmares about finding corn in a sack of coffee beans: that’s pretty scary to me.

A day in the life of a barista is…

… awesome when I see a bright smile of satisfaction on my customer’s face after drinking my coffee.

What do you do for fun?
Play games on my handset.

What’s something you’d like guests to know about Beans Depot?
Beans Depot is a “playground,” “dreamland,” “laboratory,” “café,” “lounge” and “training/tuition centre” for all coffee aficionados. You get to play with different brewing equipment, fulfil your desire as a barista or bartender, experiment with a signature blend of your own, have a cuppa or alcoholic drink and practice your barista/coffee brewing skills here. We specialize in coffee bean roasting and coffee cocktails, and we’ve been featured in famous cuisine magazines.

What’s your favourite food and coffee pairing?
Berries Galore with cappuccino.What’s your view on the Kuala Lumpur coffee scene?

Specialty coffee culture in Malaysia is still in the infant stage. However, those in the industry are working hard on their skills and knowledge to bring out the best of coffee even though the coffee drinking population here is still low. You can see that we are benchmarking the world standard in serving a good cup.What’s in store for you in the upcoming months?
We’ll be soon relocating to a bigger shoplot with an extended kitchen to facilitate a better food menu.