Does Southeast Asia Run on Coffee?

This article was originally published in the Grab Medium account on December 4, 2019. Reposting it here for your reading pleasure.

There is no surprise as to why coffee is a go-to drink in the region. For one, almost a third of coffee is produced in Asia, giving us easy access to beans. Coupled with the plethora of local cafes and stores at every corner in Southeast Asia, coffee has become an accessible and affordable drink — and one that enjoys a huge following.

For many, a morning cuppa is fuel to kick start their day. For some, it’s the secret weapon to a food coma; for others, it’s the fuel to keep them going throughout the day.

To get a glimpse of how our fellow Southeast Asians refuel with coffee on a daily basis, we took a look (along with our ‘kopi’) at GrabFood data, and here is what we found.

Did You Know: Coffee Orders have Grown 1,400% on GrabFood?

How much do we actually love our coffee? It seems like we do, a lot.

Coffee orders on GrabFood has been growing pervasively throughout the major cities, and a time-lapse visualisation based on data from GrabFood orders show us the growth of orders across major cities over a 9-month period:

Time for Coffee?

But how reliant are we on caffeine? We analysed the coffee consumption behaviour of GrabFood users from major SEA countries across a typical week.

Coffee Orders by Day of the Week: Singapore Coffee Orders Peak on the Weekends

Turns out most coffee orders are placed on Wednesdays — clearly a much needed shot to overcome the dreaded hump day. And as we head into the weekend, orders begin to decline as Southeast Asians wind down from the work week.

However, the complete opposite happens for our friends in Singapore and the Philippines! Coffee orders actually spike on the weekends, and especially so on Sundays. It can only mean that Singaporeans and Filipinos surely enjoy their coffee catch-ups with friends and family.

AM- Coffee… PM- Still Coffee

The question begets — when exactly do SEA coffee drinkers summon that life saving cup from our delivery heroes in green?

Check out this trippy visualisation that resembles jumping coffee beans:

Coffee Orders by Hour of Day — Orders Peak at 10am for Thailand and 2pm in Indonesia

While other cities generally reach for the Grab app at noon for that extra boost to fight that food coma through the rest of the day, our friends in Thailand gets their caffeine fix early, with most orders coming in at 10.00am, just before the lunch hour.

Interestingly, coffee orders for Singapore peak at about 4pm in the afternoon… are they working hard, or are they hardly working?

GrabFood’s Love is in the Air, and It Smells Like Coffee

Curious as to what coffee flavours our SEA neighbours prefer? We spill the (coffee) beans!

Top 3 Coffee Flavours in Each Country

What is a Non-coffee Drinker to Do?

Also known as Matcha Latte, Green Tea Latte seems to be the next big beverage fad in the region , serving as a perfect coffee alternative for non-coffee drinkers.

Matcha latte, made with concentrated shots of green tea and topped with frothy, steamed milk, is gaining popularity. While it offers the same quantity of caffeine as a cup of brewed coffee, the drink is perceived to be as more energising , because of the slower release of caffeine.

It has consistently been one of the top 10 beverage items ordered on GrabFood, and we’ve delivered over 25 million cups of these green, frothy and creamy ‘heaven in a cup’ over the last nine months!

Southeast Asian’s love of tea-based latte (other than green tea) is apparent in Grab’s data! Some of the unique flavours that are being ordered on GrabFood include the following flavours:

GrabFood Coffee is a Hug in a Mug

Is your blood type coffee? Whether you feel like caramelly and chocolatey Macchiato, or fruity and floral aroma of freshly brewed Americano, or intense and bitter double-shot Long Black — GrabFood has got you covered! May your coffee get delivered (and kick in) before reality does!

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