The best cafes in Kuching for pour-over are Earthlings Coffee Workshop and Elementary Coffee Roasters if you want a roaster’s filter bar, Zoey Coffee and Yia Coffee Company if you want a small old-town counter, and Oori, Moon and Sun and Flat_kch for the newer slow bars along Padungan and Wayang Street. That is seven cafes, which is a short list for a city with hundreds of places calling themselves cafes. I used one test: a hand-brewed filter coffee has to be on the regular menu. Chains, kopitiams, late-night hangouts and dessert cafes with an espresso machine behind the counter are out, however good the cake. Cafes that roast their own beans rank higher. I have been to Earthlings, Elementary and Oori, and to Black Bean and Blendsmiths, which did not make the list. I have not been to the other four.
TL;DR
- Earthlings and Elementary are sister roasters with the deepest filter menus: rotating single origins, Sarawak Liberica and Libex, and pour-overs from about RM23 to RM32 a cup at Earthlings.
- Zoey on Carpenter Street is the place for a V60 brewed by the owner; Yia on Ewe Hai does a light-roast Sarawak Liberica pour-over.
- Flat_kch runs a slow bar with five rotating filter beans and roasts in-store; Moon and Sun runs a four-course coffee omakase.
- Oori is the newest, with hand-pour filter and a manual lever espresso machine.
- Black Bean has roasted Sarawak Liberica since 2001 but does not do pour-over, and Blendsmiths only brews filter at occasional events, so neither is on the main list.
- Most of the old-town cafes close at 5pm or 6pm. Earthlings and Moon and Sun stay open until 10pm, Elementary until 11pm.
Which Kuching Cafes Serve Pour-Over?
Seven cafes in Kuching serve pour-over as a normal menu item, and they split into two groups: roasters with a filter bar (Earthlings, Elementary, Yia, Flat_kch, Moon and Sun) and small counters that brew beans from other roasters (Zoey, Oori). Most of the city’s cafes fail the test. A lot of what gets called a “cafe” here is a matcha or dessert place with an espresso machine, and the old kopitiams do something different entirely, as what kopitiam coffee tastes like at Choon Hui Cafe shows. Pour-over is not a snobbery filter. It is the quickest way to find the people who care how the beans were sourced and roasted, because a filter cup has nowhere to hide.
Earthlings Coffee Workshop
Earthlings sits in Soho East on Jalan Wan Alwi, has roasted its own beans since 2013, and runs the most complete filter programme in the city. The pour-over list rotates single origins such as a Kenya Nyeri peaberry and an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe alongside Sarawak-grown Liberica and Libex, the Liberica-Excelsa hybrid, brewed on Hario gear. The Liberica costs about RM23 and a Taiwan Geisha up to about RM32. Twice a day, at 11am and 3pm, they run a pour-over sharing session you pre-register for, and the Earthlings Academy upstairs teaches hand-brewing. The room is quiet, with power points and easy parking, which is rare for this list. It is open 9am to 10pm daily.
The weak spot is the espresso-based drinks on the Black Market blend, which some people find sour. The filter cups are not always consistent either, and some local drinkers rate Earthlings’ filter below Elementary’s. Go for the single origins and ask for whatever they are excited about that week.
Elementary Coffee Roasters
Elementary is on Level 1, Lot 30, Block A2, Saradise, and is Earthlings’ sister shop: the same company, built to be the easier, everyday version. Beans are roasted in-house and sold at the counter, and the staff will let you smell the options before you choose. The house lines include Hornbill, the one to order black; Venture, an Arabica and Canephora mix for milk drinks; and Crisper, a lighter, fruitier blend from Brazil and Ethiopia. Filter coffee arrives in a glass beaker. Espresso starts from about RM10 and a latte is about RM13. It is open 9am to 11pm, so this is the one to come to for a filter coffee after dinner.
The downside is consistency. Local filter drinkers rate Elementary’s filter well “when on a good day”, and different baristas pour differently here. Iced drinks have also been sent back as mostly ice.
Zoey Coffee
Zoey is at 57 Carpenter Street, a one-man slow bar inside a bookshop of zines and self-published titles, run by Sean, who is owner, barista and baker. He serves only pour-over on the hand-brew side and rotates beans from a range of roasters, including light-roast Malaysian Liberica and batches from KuraKura. He will walk you through the cup options and the beans before he brews. He serves iced coffee in a wine glass so you can smell it properly. The cheesecake and the hummingbird cake are his too. It is small and quiet, with jazz on. Hours are 9am to 6pm daily, with a lunch break from 12:30pm to 1:30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays. Zoey is also a short walk from the rest of the Carpenter Street and Ewe Hai stretch, which makes it a natural first stop on a coffee crawl.
Because one person does everything, a full room means a wait, and there is no espresso machine to fall back on if you came with someone who wants a flat white.
Yia Coffee Company
Yia is at 75 Ewe Hai Street, a few doors from Black Bean, in an open-fronted shophouse with a vintage feel. It describes its coffee as in-house roasted and carries a long run of Liberica blends. The pour-over to order is the Borneo Sarawak Liberica light roast: smooth, not sour, very easy to drink. The espresso is good enough that regulars compare it to Italy, and an almond cookie comes with the coffee. Hours are 10am to 5pm, closed Wednesdays, the shortest day on this list.
Oori Coffee
Oori opened in 2026 on the ground floor of the Yun Phin Building on Jalan Padungan. It does hand-pour filter coffee and pulls espresso on a Flair 58, a manual lever machine, which is unusual in Kuching. The dirty latte has a faint coconut note and is the drink people talk about. To eat with it, order the shio pan, a salted butter roll, or the bow-shaped bread. The room is small and homely, with records playing. It runs occasional cupping sessions of 20-plus beans, about RM58 a head. Hours are 8:30am to 6pm daily.
Moon and Sun Coffee
Moon and Sun is at 11 Wayang Street, near the Tua Pek Kong temple, and opened in June 2024. It roasts its own, including a Sarawak Liberica and Libex, and the hand-brew list runs from Ethiopian and Sumatran single origins to a cold drip. The reason to book, though, is Moonlight Journey, a four-course coffee omakase for six guests at a time, priced at about RM250 a head, where the host, Pauline, and the barista talk you through each pour: origin, process, why this method. Cups have ranged from something close to Ribena to deep chocolate to floral. The burnt Basque cheesecake is the pastry to get. It is open 8am to 10pm daily, so it covers the evening gap in the old town.
Drinks run higher than the neighbours, about RM13 for a cold americano and RM16 for a dirty matcha. The second branch on Jalan Badruddin is the one with the -86°C “dirty” drinks.
Flat_kch
Flat_kch is at 230 Jalan Padungan, small, minimalist and run by its owner. The slow bar carries five rotating single-origin filter beans, all roasted in-store, and the other signature is a flat kopi made with Robusta roasted without the butter and sugar a kopitiam would use. It is also one of the priciest filters on this list: a filter coffee can run to about RM30, close to Earthlings’ top Geisha, against about RM14 for a matcha latte. Hours are 8am to 6pm with last orders at 5:30pm, closed Wednesdays.
The room divides people. Some call it calm; others find it sterile and a little warm. The matcha drinks outnumber the coffee in what people order, so the filter side can feel like the quiet corner of a matcha bar.
Roasters Worth Knowing That Do Not Do Pour-Over
Two roasters fail the pour-over test, and they still matter if you brew at home.
Black Bean Coffee at 87 Ewe Hai Street has roasted Sarawak Liberica since 2001 and is the place to taste it: the house blend is Robusta and Liberica, you can ask for single-origin Liberica, and the roast is dark, with smoke, spice and dark chocolate. The menu is espresso and americano only: an espresso with a cookie is about RM6.50 and a cup on the Kenya blend about RM8. Seating is a dozen chairs with a one-hour limit. Open 9am to 6pm, closed Sundays, and there is a second branch at Tabuan Desa.
KuraKura Coffee Roasters is a family farm and micro-roastery in Kampung Semadang, about an hour south of the city, run by Lars and Liz, growing and roasting Liberica since 2012. The farm itself is not somewhere you drop in; visits are by appointment and the homestay has closed. Their light Liberica is made for filter, though, and you can buy the beans at Zoey or at the airport.
Why Blendsmiths and Ember Are Not on the List
Blendsmiths in Block A1, Saradise, a block from Elementary, is a good mid-century room for cakes, croissants and brunch, open 9am to 11pm, and it hosts pour-over afternoons with guest brewers a few times a year. There is no filter coffee on the daily menu, so it does not qualify. Ember Coffee Roasters, inside Roxy Hotel at 256 Jalan Padungan, is a brunch cafe first; the eggs and pasta get more attention than the coffee, and I could not find a filter cup on the menu.
What Is Worse About Specialty Coffee in Kuching?
The hours in the old town. Zoey, Yia, Flat_kch, Oori and Black Bean are done by 5pm or 6pm, and Yia and Flat_kch close on Wednesdays, so an afternoon crawl along Carpenter Street and Padungan needs planning and an evening one is impossible; Moon and Sun is the only old-town option after dark. Parking around Ewe Hai and Carpenter Street is poor, and I would not drive in at lunchtime if you can walk or take a Grab. The deeper problem is consistency. Some local filter drinkers say the cup depends on who is behind the bar that day, even in cafes with serious machines and grinders, and Earthlings and Elementary both draw that comment.
FAQ
Which Kuching Cafes Roast Their Own Beans?
Earthlings, Elementary, Flat_kch, Moon and Sun and Black Bean roast in-house, Yia describes its coffee as in-house roasted, and KuraKura is a farm and roastery first. Zoey and Oori brew beans from other roasters.
Where Can I Get a V60 in the Old Town?
Zoey Coffee on Carpenter Street and Yia on Ewe Hai are the two counters, and Moon and Sun on Wayang Street and Oori and Flat_kch along Jalan Padungan are the other options in the same part of town. Ask which beans are on filter before you order, since every one of them rotates.
Is Sarawak Liberica Worth Trying?
Yes, and try it two ways. Black Bean’s dark-roast Liberica is the traditional style, smoky with dark chocolate; Yia’s light roast as a pour-over is smooth and clean and shows what the bean does without the roast getting in the way. Earthlings’ Libex, the Liberica-Excelsa hybrid, is the third stop.
Which Cafes Are Open in the Evening?
Earthlings until 10pm, Elementary until 11pm, Moon and Sun until 10pm. The rest finish by early evening. For food after dark, the places in where to eat once the cafes close are a better bet.
Planning a Move to Kuching?
If you are weighing up a move here and a decent filter coffee is part of your daily life, the moving to Kuching guide covers the rest of the decision: where to live, what it costs and how the visa side works. The cafes above are a good excuse for a first weekend of walking the old town.