BY TREMOR CHRIST

There are throngs of people who consider coffee a cheap fuel to get them through a brutal workday, others still who dabble in exotic roasts, and fewer still who consider it a topic worthy of extensive research and financial spenditure. For all walks of life, you will find a cafe below to suit your tastes.

From the uber expensive geisha pour-overs that taste of glorified tea, to dark brews in lovely atmospheres, to tasting menu's in hip counter-bars and busy downtown cafes to grab brunch and a brew on the go, The Mouth sent serial caffeine injector "Tremor Christ" to hunt down the spots that fly under the radar and offer a more local experience in a city full of chain coffee shops with their sterile atmospheres and badly roasted beans.

#THEMOUTHSCHOICE

FADE BY SB

This charming neighborhood cafe in PJ vibes like a Koenji neighborhood cafe, with cups and saucers you'd expect at your grandma's house and a delightfully friendly couple running the show. The coffee is good and the atmosphere is just what you need to bring a book and relax with the backdrop of old doo-wop and jazz on the stereo.

ONE HALF COFFEE ROASTERY

Our pick in KL for those who prefer their coffees to resemble a whisky tasting. The staff are highly knowledgable, the menu reads like a dream offering espresso (our pick), pour-over/filter, cold brew and selling a few uber-nerd accessories for your dream coffee counter at home.

Another branch of One Half lies in the trendy neighborhood of Taman Paramount, reachable by Grab taxi. This shop offers retail goods, high quality coffee and baked goods from their partner Doudoubake nearby. Directions are here.

TING COFFEE ROASTER

Tucked away in a side street of Petaling Jaya, and official roaster to the 103 Coffee shop nearby, Ting looks like a coffee shop about to close down with it's dark interiors and boxes scattered all over the place, but the coffee here is exceptional. Forget 103 and pop in here instead because what you sacrifice in ambiance, you'll gain in quality coffee.

TRANSPARENT COFFEE

Located a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Tandang Records, a quirky and hip stop for a good caffeine fix. Affiliations run deep in this city and these cats are connected to the One Half gang.

DOUDOUBAKE

Brunch lovers can visit this ultra sleek concrete and glass cafe near Accha Curry House to slurp some dark bliss and munch on freshly baked pastries from the kitchen out back.

KURO COFFEE

Should you have $26 to blow on a single cup of coffee, and lighter roast geishas are your bag, then Kuro is the perfect place to sit and watch the barista conjure up a cup of coffee in methodical movements and satiate the biggest nerds expectations.

CONTOUR

Old Town Petaling Jaya caffeine hunters flock here. If you're in the area, this is our pick.

FEEKA

Should your feet take you to familiar streets such as Bukit Bintang, then find refuge and decent coffee at Feeka Coffee. Their food menu is also a solid start to the day if you can get a table.

COMMON GRIND

Not to be mistaken with the Common Ground co-working spaces scattered around KL, this small cafe on Heritage Row provides a satisfactory cup of coffee and good wifi for those last minute emails. Head to Limapulo or Yarl for lunch, and pop over to Licky Chan for an ice-cream dessert if the heat is baking.

Food is forever evolving, and sometimes it devolves. Owners change, locations change, chefs change. We can only assure you that when we visited, we liked it.