A slice of contentment
Kopenhagen Coffee is a cosy little space to enjoy the Danish concept of the ‘hygge’, writes Sulyn Chong
“HERE’S your cappuccino,” announces the kindly waitress as she places a dainty white porcelain mug on the table. It looks rather similar to the Chinese blue porcelains commonly found in many Chinese homes. However, instead of intricate squares and Chinese characters, this mug is handpainted with simple blue floral patterns, which are intertwined with blue vines. The colours contrast starkly with one another, with the blue standing out beautifully against the pure white background.
But the feature that fascinates me most is the absence of a handle on the mug. Hesitantly, I wrap my hand around it, half expecting the vessel to be burning hot. Astonishingly, the mug only feels a little warm to the touch. “Don’t worry, it’s not hot because it’s double-walled. It blocks heat from escaping quickly so it keeps your coffee hot for longer,” explains Peter Sehested, the founder of Kopenhagen Coffee located in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, who’d suddenly materialised and taken a seat next to me. “This allows you to hold it snuggly in your hands so it’s great for cold winter days,” he adds.
This simple little tableware may not seem like much to us, but it’s one of the components in what’s known as the hygge (pronounced hue-guh) in Scandinavian lifestyle. “We Danes love to hygge. It’s a part of our daily life. It’s essentially who
we are,” reveals Sehested. And it’s not surprising that his little upstairs cafe has been designed in such a way to promote the
hygge lifestyle with cosy little nooks, comfy furniture, and wide windows that allow for natural lighting to filter in.
Hygge is a Danish word used for acknowledging feelings or moments of cosy contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life. Typically, this unique lifestyle can be achieved on your own or in the company of family and friends.
We’ve all experienced hygge at least once in our lifetime, albeit unknowingly. And being human, it’s normal for us to crave it once in a while in a world that’s so hectic and stressful. To put it into perspective, imagine you’re snuggled in bed on a cold night with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book. Or perhaps, spending a weekend with your family dining on your favourite home-cooked comfort food and later adjourning for a cup of freshly-brewed coffee at a cosy cafe with friends. That’s what hygge is essentially all about.
Even the menu in this cafe has been crafted to promote this ideal — with a simple and comforting food selection that can be paired with warm cups of coffee. “There are some choices which have been Malaysian-ised,” reveals Sehested with a chuckle. “It may not be Danish, but hygge isn’t about being entirely Danish. It’s a description of the feeling one gets when one finds comfort in the familiar. Like your
home. So, serving something familiar to our customers hopefully will promote that
hygge concept in this country.”
COSY FEELINGS
In Denmark, there’s very little sun, and even less during winter, shares Sehested. “This is why we cherish feelings of cosiness and warmth a lot. And we usually do it over copious amounts of coffee paired with simple yet comforting food. There are no frills to the proceedings. Just simple happiness.”
This may explain why Denmark often comes out top of the list as one of the world’s happiest countries, despite its notorious winters. This concept of a warm cosy lifestyle has been practised since the 1800s when the word first appeared in the written language, derived from the Norwegian word for “well-being”. Many parts of Europe too are known to practise it, albeit under different names.
The Dane, who has called Malaysia home for the last six years, is more than happy to share and spread this simple lifestyle concept here. “Hopefully, this will help cultivate happier people in a city that’s so stressful,” he says, smiling. I nod, concurring wholeheartedly. We can certainly use a bit of hygge in our lives, particularly after a bad traffic jam.
MALAYAN ROOTS
It was his grandparents who first piqued Sehested’s curiosity about Malaysia. “They
used to live here over 50 years ago. Even before Singapore became independent. My dad was also born here, but he was sent back to Europe for boarding school and ended up settling down in Denmark.” Cheekily, he adds: “The weather made me stay.”
Apparently, his grandparents weren’t the first from his family members to reside here. His great grandparents had also made the journey much earlier. “My great grandfather was a civil engineer and he was sent to Asia to help with the infrastructure and construction of buildings back in the 1940s which included Malaysia. My grandfather was with him then; it was here that he met my grandmother (a Scottish),”
recollects Sehested.
So after graduating from business school during the remaining years of the financial crisis of 2008/2009, and having been romanced by stories about this country, he decided to see the place for himself. He first started as an intern with United Plantations and eventually landed a full-time job with a Danish oil and gas corporation here. After five years in the corporate world, Sehested decided that he needed a change. He quit his job in 2016 to start his own software business.
COFFEE NERD
It was also during the same year that he became intrigued with coffees and the business behind it. “A friend of mine works in this really famous coffee shop in Copenhagen called Coffee Collective and he introduced me to the workings of coffee when I was home last Christmas. He gave me classes on how to brew the perfect cup and I was hooked!” enthuses Sehested.
Animatedly, he adds: “I became such a coffee nerd thereafter and became thoroughly enchanted by the thought of owning a coffee shop that I leapt at the chance to open Kopenhagen Coffee upon my return here after Christmas.”
Even though the cafe is still considered a rather young player in the coffee scene, the business has since grown. “The first time it hit me that efforts were finally paying off was when we started to get really busy on the weekends,” he shares.
Smiling, he continues: “Initially, we were only opened for five days a week, and catered to customers who comprised parents or caretakers who were dropping off or picking up their children from the international school opposite. Then, I began opening on Saturdays too because the school usually had activities during the day. I was hoping to cater to the parents who were waiting. Then slowly, people started trickling in and I noticed that they were not just the parents or people from around this neighbourhood!”
That realisation drove Sehested to open his cafe on Sundays as well and since then, the traffic has continued to rise. This hardworking Dane shares that ever since opening the coffee shop, he hasn’t had much time for himself — a contradiction somewhat to the lifestyle that his cafe is trying to promote. But when he is able to free himself, Sehested confides that he’ll usually end up travelling even if it’s only for a short while. “Being a boss isn’t easy. It’s hard to expect a day off. But once in a while when I absolutely need it, I do take time off,” he admits, with a shrug.
Looking up, I realise that we’re the only patrons left in the cafe. The lunch hour bustle seems to have abated. There’s a sense of pleasing calm as I lean back in my cosy armchair and sip on my still warm cappuccino. “Nothing beats being able to make a good cup of coffee. And when you start getting better at it, you enjoy it more. But the best feeling of all is seeing someone enjoying the coffee you make and them being able to experience hygge with it,” concludes Sehested, contentedly.
It may not be Danish, but hygge isn’t about being entirely Danish. It’s a description of the feeling one gets when one finds comfort in the familiar.
Peter Sehested