If you’re looking to brew your own cup of kopi at home, look no further.
We’ll share popular kopi recipes in this article.
Click on the images to skip to the drink or scroll down to read:
How to brew a Kopi Concentrate
We’re building on these kopi recipes using a Kopi Concentrate.
For full brewing details, please refer to our How to brew Kopi at home guide.
In the meantime, here’s a quick guide to brewing your own kopi concentrate:
For a single serving:
- Add 8g – 12g of kopi powder to 200ml water just off the boil,
- Let kopi steep for 5 mins,
- remove kopi powder,
- Add condiments as per recipes below.
For 4 servings:
- Add 500 ml water just off the boil to 100g of kopi powder,
- Let kopi steep for 3 mins,
- Remove kopi powder (you can use a coffee sock or a cheese cloth),
- Add condiments as per recipes below,
- dilute to desired strength, if necessary.
You would notice the single serving recipe does not call for dilution, this is based on our preferred strength.
We use 200ml as an average cup size for kopi, feel free to reduce the amount of kopi powder instead if you prefer a weaker kopi.
How to make Kopi-O
Black, robust Coffee.
Dark, strong and sure to wake you up. This recipe is for folks who like their coffee black. Sugar is optional.
Ingredients to brew 1 cup of Kopi O:
- Kopi concentrate – 4/5 cup (‘cup’ here, refers to your cup, not the US measuring cup!)
- Sugar – 1 teaspoon (tweak amount to taste)
- Hot water (95 to 98°C) – 1/5 cup
Kopi-O Recipe:
- To an empty cup, add 1 tsp sugar
- Add 4/5 cup of kopi concentrate
- Top up with hot water. Feel free to dilute your kopi to desired strength.
- Stir well to dissolve sugar.
- Enjoy.
Kopi Recipe
Ingredients to brew 1 cup of kopi:
- Kopi concentrate – 4/5 cup (‘cup’ here, refers to your cup, not the US measuring cup!)
- Condensed milk – 1 teaspoon
- Evaporated milk – 1 teaspoons
- Hot water (95 to 98°C) – 1/5 cup
Kopi Recipe:
- To an empty cup, add condensed milk and evaporated milk (feel free to tweak amount to taste)
- Fill 4/5 of the cup with kopi concentrate.
- Top up with hot water. Feel free to dilute your kopi to desired strength.
- Stir well to dissolve milk.
- Enjoy.
How to make Kopi-C
Traditional coffee with evaporated milk.
If you like your kopi strong, with a tinge of milk, this is the Kopi C recipe for you.
Ingredients to brew 1 cup of kopi C:
- Kopi concentrate – 4/5 cup (‘cup’ here, refers to your cup, not the US measuring cup!)
- Sugar – 1 teaspoon
- Evaporated milk – 3 tablespoons
- Hot water (95 to 98°C) – 1/5 cup
Kopi C Recipe:
- To an empty cup, add evaporated milk and sugar (feel free to tweak amount to taste)
- Fil 4/5 of your cup with kopi concentrate.
- Top up with hot water. Feel free to dilute your kopi to desired strength.
- Stir well to dissolve condiments.
- Enjoy.
How to make Kopi Peng?
Iced kopi with condensed milk.
If iced coffee is your go-to drink, then this recipe is for you. Many coffeeshops tend to simply add condensed milk in their kopi recipe. However, based on the taste tests we have done at Alliance Coffee, we think adding an additional dash of evaporated milk gives adds a touch of creaminess and luxury that makes a perfect cup of kopi peng. Here’s our kopi peng recipe:
Ingredients for 1 cup of Kopi Peng:
- Kopi concentrate – 4/5 cup (‘cup’ here, refers to your cup, not the US measuring cup!)
- Condensed milk – 2 teaspoons
- Evaporated milk – 1 teaspoon
- Ice Cubes (large)
Our Kopi Peng Recipe:
- To an empty cup, add condensed milk and evaporated milk (feel free to tweak amount to taste)
- Fill 4/5 of your cup with freshly brewed kopi concentrate
- Stir well to dissolve milk.
- Top up with ice.
- Enjoy.
P.S. You do not need to dilute the kopi concentrate for iced coffee drinks.
How to make other variants of kopi
Kopi continues to be the comfort, go-to beverage for many because it is easily accessible and approachable.
You won’t get judged for customising your kopi to your liking.
Here are the common variants of kopi, and how you can tweak your kopi at home:
- siew dai = less sugar
- ga dai = more sugar
- gao = thicker coffee, increase your kopi concentrate to water ratio as required
- po = thinner coffee, decrease your kopi concentrate to water ratio as required
- di lo = use kopi concentrate directly, skip dilution with water.
I want to make Teh…
Teh, teh O, teh C, etc follow similar recipes as the kopi recipes shared above.
You can substitute the kopi concentrate with your own teh contentrate instead.
A note on milk replacements
If processed milk products are not your thing, feel free to replace them. *There will be slight taste differences.
Using Fresh Milk as replacement
Evaporated Milk refers to fresh milk with at least half of its water content removed. Although many evaporated milk products are now made using milk solids.
We’ve found that evaporated milk helps add to the body of kopi, you may find your kopi a little thin if you substitute evaporated milk for fresh milk.
Condensed Milk refers to evaporated milk that is sweetened before canning.
Condensed milk adds sweetness and body to a cup of kopi. Likewise you can replace it with fresh milk.
Other milk alternatives
If you cannot take milk or processed milk products, you may want to consider substituting it with dairy free options like coconut milk or coconut condensed milk.
Kopi with coconut milk is often enjoyed as “Kopi Lethok” in Indonesia. Here’s a quick recipe:
Kopi Lethok recipe:.
- To an empty cup, add 3 teaspoon of coconut milk
- Add 4/5 cup of kopi concentrate
- Top up with hot water. Feel free to dilute your kopi to desired strength.
- Stir well
- Add sugar to taste (optional)
- Enjoy.
If you’re into other milk substitutes and are adventurous, feel free to try your kopi with your favorite oat milk or almond milk.
We’re not that into those options yet but…have it your way! 🙂
Browse our kopi brewing kits and start brewing at home today.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions on kopi brewing. Click here to read more.
