[Muslim-friendly] Forest Cloud is our favourite cafe discovery during our Penang trip.
Max takes his coffee quite seriously – so he always looks out for a coffee place that doubles up as a café and a roaster.
We enjoyed the coffee and space so much that we came back again and ordered some coffee beans for our homebrew at home.
“Be coffee my friend,
A cup that soothes the soul and
calms a fretful mind.”
– a TKM haiku
Forest Cloud Coffee Roaster
Forest Cloud Coffee Roaster occupies a stand-alone heritage building on Jalan Penang.
The shop facade still features the wooden lunette (semi-circle) windows from the early “Straits” 1910s era – which wouldn’t feel out of place in Chiang Mai, Thailand or Singapore.
However, step inside and you’ll find yourself in a simple and modern space with wooden trimmings and art deco pieces.
Forest Cloud – more than a café
As mentioned earlier, Forest Cloud is more than just a cafe.
It houses a roaster at the back of the building and offers its own roasted coffee beans from espresso blends to single origins. It also sells coffee equipment, cocoa powder as well as matcha.
Single-origin cocoa and matcha at Forest Cloud
Hojicha
Forest Cloud sources its cocoa powder from single-origin Amelonado cacao, which is organically grown on the volcanic soul of Tawau, Sabah.
Meanwhile, Forest Cloud’s matcha powder is supplied from Uji Tawara, Japan. The owners believe the matcha’s distinct seaweed and roasted nuts aroma are well-suited for its Matcha Tea and Latte offerings.
Coffee tasting platter
Flight – coffee tasting platter
On our second visit, we ordered the Flight (RM25) – a tasting platter showcasing a coffee bean in three different cups.
We opted for the single-origin Costa Rica Las Nacientes honey process beans.
The coffee beans are sourced from the Café Rivense del Chirripó farm in the Brunca region of Costa Rica.
On paper, the beans have notes of goji berries, red apples, and grapes.
Perfectly extracted espresso shot
L-R: Espresso, dirty latte, kombucha
We enjoyed the Flight offering- which showcased the single-origin in three forms: espresso, dirty latte, and kombucha.
Espresso – This was one of the best espresso shots we had – perfectly extracted to highlight the nuances of the beans. The espresso was rich, velvety and full-bodied. We really enjoyed the acidity – reminiscence of grapes with a mild tannin at the end.
This is to our preference: we enjoy fruity coffee with mild acidity. This is one of the best espresso since the shot we had at Brother Baba Budan in Melbourne many years ago.
Espresso shot is lovely! 
Milder tones with the dirty latte
Dirty Latte – The velvety richness of the espresso is significantly tempered in this cup. Nevertheless, we tasted more floral notes with no bitter notes at all.
Kombucha – In this iteration, the coffee notes are even milder with strong fizziness and sour notes from the kombucha. If you enjoy kombucha, you’ll love this.
Overall, it was a great experience trying out the bean in its three variations. Obviously, the espresso was our favourite.
The Flight is also available for Matcha and Hojicha, if you prefer tea.
Filter coffee – Bale Mountain
Single-origin Bale Mountain V60 
On our first visit, we sampled their single-origin Bale Mountain Ethiopian beans, brewed with the V60 method (RM18).
If you like filter coffee and Ethiopian beans, we definitely recommend this.
The coffee had a lovely citrusy acidity with soft floral notes. The flavour is definitely more balanced and delicate – typical of Ethiopian varietals.
Hojicha Usucha
Hojicha Usucha
The iced Hojicha Usucha (RM11) was strong and aromatic with mild seaweed-like umami. We liked that we could enjoy it without milk or sugar, which is how Ming prefers her matcha drinks.
Check out their online shop
Check out their Christmas bundle set
Overall, we really enjoyed the space and drinks here. You can also purchase Forest Cloud’s beans and various coffee accessories and machines for home brewing. There’s free shipping in Peninsular Malaysia with orders over RM60.
Check out their Christmas bundle promo and sale.
More to come
Sneak peek… 
… of our next post
We bought the Forest Cloud Drip Bag Bundle (RM95) on promo – which comes with a drip kettle and 10 bags of their freshly-grinded signature Lunarfall house blend.
We also took home a bag of their Danilo Perez La Cabana beans, which we used to brew at home using French press and V60 methods.
We’ll share our experience in our next post!
More pictures of Forest Cloud
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More recommendations in Penang
Check out the link below for more recommendations in Penang:
Check out our posts on two more cafes in Penang – Lunabar and Norm – below:
Forest Cloud Beverage Company
Address: 132, Jln Penang, George Town, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Hours: 10am-6pm Daily
Phone: 016-555 1335
Website: https://www.forestcloud.com.my/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forestcloudbev/
