Ome FAQs

We’re an independent, multi-roaster specialty coffee bar in George Town, Penang, with in-house rustic cakes. Founded by Joachim Leong and Shean Tan, we’ve been here since 2017. Small space, rotating coffees, and no place like Ome.

You’ll find us at No.1, Lorong Toh Aka, 10100 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

Friday: we open at 7:30am for coffee only. Last dine-in is at 12:00pm (noon), and last takeaway is at 12:20pm.

Saturday–Tuesday: we open at 7:30am. Last dine-in is at 3:00pm, and last takeaway is at 3:20pm. We’re closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The dine-in and takeaway cutoffs are different—please plan your visit around the service you need.

Fridays are coffee only. We open at 7:30am, with last dine-in at noon and last takeaway at 12:20pm. If you’re coming for our bakes, plan your visit for Saturday–Tuesday.

Our menu section links to the main menu, Ome Recommends filter menu, and full multi-roaster filter list, including frozen reserve. The daily cake menu is at the cashier. Coffee availability can change, so check with the team when you visit.

Email hello@ome.coffee or call +60 19-690 8259. For questions, feedback, press enquiries or collaborations, our contact section is a good place to start. You can also find us on Instagram at @ome.space.

It means we serve coffees from different roasters rather than only one. At Ome, we rotate single-origins from roasters around the world, so the bar offers different approaches to sourcing and roasting, and a changing range of flavours.

Single-origin coffee comes from an identified origin rather than a blend of different origins. Depending on the coffee, that might mean a country, region, farm or specific lot. The origin, variety, processing and roast all help shape what you taste; ask us about the coffee on the bar today.

Espresso uses pressure to brew a small, concentrated coffee, usually with a fuller texture. Filter coffee passes water through ground coffee and a filter, giving a longer, less concentrated cup. Neither is inherently better; they offer different ways to experience the same bean.

A stronger taste doesn’t automatically mean more caffeine. The coffee dose and serving size matter too.

Pour-over is one type of filter coffee: a person pours water over the grounds in a dripper. Filter coffee is the broader family, which also includes machine-brewed batch coffee. Pour-over lets the brewer adjust the pouring pattern and flow for a particular coffee.

Our filter selection rotates weekly, with availability depending on what’s on the bar when you visit. The full in-café selection can be more comprehensive than the short recommendation list. Ask us what we’re enjoying today.

Yes—we have different batch brews each week, usually served hot. It’s an option if you’re in a hurry; ask the team what’s available that day rather than assuming a particular coffee will be on.

Filter coffee can involve a wait of up to 20 minutes at the bar. That is the service wait, not the recipe’s brew time. If time is tight, let us know and ask about the day’s batch brew.

Tell us what you tend to enjoy—fruit-forward, floral, chocolatey, a fuller body, or something unfamiliar—and whether you’d like espresso or filter. We can talk through the available coffees and their tasting notes. Those notes describe flavours associated with the coffee; they don’t necessarily mean ingredients have been added.

Our Brewing at Home blog brings the guides together. Start with “How We Brew at Ome” for water, filter, espresso, Liberica/Libex and iced filter guidance. The article describes our bar setup and starting parameters for Ome Selects, not a fixed recipe for every coffee.

At the bar we use Cafec Flower Drippers. Our published baseline is a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio, water at 92–94°C, and 3–4 pours in total. Start with a 45–50ml bloom for 30–45 seconds, then pour in 2–3 even stages, working from the centre out as the bed nearly draws down.

The guide gives a general brew-time range of 2:45–4:00, but also says to stop and taste Ome Selects at 2:30 before continuing. Taste matters more than chasing the clock. Read the full guide for grinder settings, water and troubleshooting, and adjust for your coffee and setup.

It’s in the Espresso section of “How We Brew at Ome”. The starting range is 1:2 coffee-to-beverage weight, with room to adjust by ±0.2, water at 92–93.5°C, and 25–32 seconds.

A shorter 1:1.8 shot can give more body for milk-based drinks; a longer 1:2.2 shot can open up clarity and acidity. These are starting points—temperature and yield change with the coffee, and the guide recommends tasting first.

Yes. Our guide discusses Malaysian Liberica and Sarawakian Libex, described there as a hybrid of Liberica and Excelsa. We use a finer grind than our standard filter approach and a two-stage brew to manage the coffee’s distinctive body and finish.

Read the Liberica/Libex section for the specific adjustments. Start conservatively, taste, and adjust rather than assuming your usual Arabica recipe will behave the same way.

Look for “Ice Brews/Iced Filters” in the guide. This is hot coffee brewed directly onto ice—not a cold-brew recipe. The published range is 1:8–1:10 total, counting hot water and ice together, split 50% water and 50% ice.

Put the ice in the server before brewing, use a slightly finer grind than hot filter, and pour the hot water in four stages. The article also suggests adding more ice afterwards to chill fully. Check the full guide before adapting it to your own dose and equipment.

Start with a dripper and matching filter papers, a kettle, a scale, and a cup or server. A burr grinder lets you grind whole beans and adjust the grind; a timer helps you compare brews. A gooseneck kettle makes controlled pouring easier, but you don’t need to copy every piece of our bar equipment to start.

Use a recipe that suits your dripper, then change one thing at a time.

Finer grounds generally extract more readily and can slow the flow through a filter. Coarser grounds often drain faster and extract less. Too fine can contribute to harshness or bitterness; too coarse can leave a cup thin or under-extracted, though water, temperature and technique also matter.

Our guide suggests going coarser for a bitter or harsh filter, and trying finer first for a flat or watery cup. Make small changes and taste—grinder numbers aren’t interchangeable between models.

Water, bean age, grinder, ratio, temperature and pouring all affect the result. You don’t need identical equipment, but start with the same coffee and a repeatable recipe, then change one variable at a time.

Our guide puts water first and explains how mineral content can change the cup, especially with RO or alkaline dispenser water. It also recommends starting around day 10–14 after roasting, noting that coffees at our bar often peak around days 21–30. These are the guide’s recommendations, not a guarantee for every bean. Check the roast date and follow the coffee’s own guidance.

We make rustic cakes in-house with top-notch ingredients and whatever fruit is in season. The selection isn’t a fixed list—check the daily cake menu at the cashier and ask the team what’s available. Fridays are coffee only.

We have a daily cake menu at the cashier, so use that for the day’s selection rather than expecting every cake to be available every visit. Seasonal ingredients and what’s been baked shape the offering. Our online PDFs aren’t a substitute for that day’s cake menu.

No. Ome is a specialty coffee bar with in-house rustic bakes and sweets, not hot food or full meals. Fridays are coffee only.

Please tell our team before ordering and ask about the specific item you’re considering. Our bakes contain common allergens including gluten, dairy, eggs and nuts, and drinks are prepared in an environment where dairy milk is used.

We cannot guarantee that an item is completely free from allergens or cross-contamination. Guests with severe allergies should exercise caution; please read our allergen information in the terms.

Yes—our online shop offers rotating single-origins and house blends to take home. Check the current listings for available coffees and their details; the selection can change.

Alongside coffee, you’ll find Ome ceramics, mugs, merch, books and magazines. Check the shop for what’s currently in stock rather than assuming a particular item is always available.

The shop’s current published shipping policy lists Malaysia and Singapore, with orders dispatched from George Town, Penang. Read the shop’s policy for delivery estimates and charges, and check the options shown at checkout before ordering. For an address outside those listed destinations, ask the shop before placing an order.

INO is our sister natural wine bar, at No.13, Lorong Toh Aka, 10100 George Town, Penang. It focuses on minimal-intervention wines from small producers and the same unhurried pace. Check INO’s Instagram for its current hours and events—Ome’s opening hours don’t apply to INO.