Following on the Taiping Zoo post, if you make a day-trip from Penang to Taiping to visit the zoo, it is a good idea to also visit the Antong Coffee Factory (or Antong Café). Antong Café is the oldest coffee mill in Malaysia. The factory pride itself as “Malaysia’s Most Historical Coffee Mill”.
At Antong Café, you will get an introduction on how Malaysian coffee is roasted/made – there is a video introducing the manufacturing process of Malaysian coffee. You can also walk through the factory. It is probably a good idea to call in advance, to check whether they will have people doing the introduction and factory walk through for you when you visit.
Antong Café also provides Malaysian coffee testing. Interestingly, I learnt that there is a difference between northern and southern Malaysian Kopi-O (Malaysian black coffee). After coffee testing, you can look around at the shop and buy the various Malaysian coffee products manufactured by Antong Café.
I find the visit to Antong Café educational (about Malaysian coffee), and relaxing. I am a big fan of Kopi-O (Malaysian black coffee), so it is definitely a nice stop after visiting the Taiping Zoo.
Here is the location of Antong Café (designated Aun Tong Sdn. Bhd.):
