Coffee drinkers from across the world are now flocking
to Malaysia's Ipoh city to taste a beverage created there for the first time - white coffee.
Ipoh, the capital city of Perak state, has been one of the pioneers of white coffee in the world. It is more than just coffee to the locals; it is a part of Ipoh's history. In the 19th and early 20th century during the British
colonial era, Perak was a booming tin-mining state. Many British tin-mining companies set up bases in Ipoh, making it a prominent city in the country.
The Ipoh Old Town area is where white coffee originated. The town used to be a meeting hub for Chinese migrants, whose special preference inspired the making of white coffee.
The name white coffee has nothing to do with the colour of the coffee. The word actually means "without" and "nothing added" in the roasting process.
Regular coffee is normally made by roasting the beans with sugar, margarine and wheat, but white coffee is produced with only margarine - without sugar, giving it a lighter shade.
"You will taste the different layers of flavour in the (white) coffee. It is thick and aromatic," Ho Seong Hoey, a producer of white coffee, told Xinhua news agency. Ho is managing director of Home's Cafe, one of the oldest white
coffee makers in Ipoh.