Q&A: Henry Yeo, Singapore Importer

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By Sherri Johns

Singapore has taken a lead role at a time when all of Asia seems to have suddenly discovered specialty coffee. Advancements by quality importers, roasters, and baristas all contribute to a surge of interest that dates to 1996 when Starbucks opened its flagship store at Liat Towers in the upscale Orchard Road shopping area. Another 123 locations have opened since, with 25 operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A few specialty coffee roasters and cafes existed before that time, but a rapidly growing middle class and enthusiastic Millennials has driven market expansion since the Starbucks onslaught.

The quest for great coffee has pushed importers to expand the coffee trade well beyond Asia. Henry Yeo, founder of Young In Traders, helped sustain the trend toward premiumization. Young In Traders was established in 2001 in Singapore to trade globally in coffee beans, including decaffeinated and organic. Yeo worked 15 years as a senior trader with one of Asia’s biggest coffee trading firms prior to starting his own trading desk. Volume has since grown to 30,000 metric tons annually at Young In Traders and Yeo has a substantial interest in a Hong Kong affiliate.

STiR: Sourcing specialty grade coffee direct from the farm is common these days. What do you look for on a farm visit?

Yeo: At Young In Traders, we have sourced specialty grade coffee for more than 15 years beginning when specialty grade coffee entered the market in the early 1990s.  We do source specialty grade coffee directly from the farm of origin as well as trustworthy and reliable agency that we have worked with for many years with a strong business relationship. 

STiR: How important is it for you to visit the farms you buy from?

Yeo: We conduct farm visits on a sub-regular basis and most certainly during the harvest period of the main crop where cupping trails are pertinent. Plantation visits also reveal farm maintenance, pruning exercises, fermentation processes, and strategy for next growth cycle crops.  Such visits are crucial for us to maintain a long-term relationship and it helps us to understand a clarity on their infrastructure, accountability, and maintenance of industry standards consistent with ICO [International Coffee Organization] and SCA [Specialty Coffee Association].

STiR: What turns you away?

Yeo: What turns us away from the farms is when the farm has become well known or popular and the facility officers start to manipulate the price owing to the fluctuation in the market condition. This is what we term as an unhealthy relationship that has turned rancid.

STiR: What is your definition of transparency and what does it mean to your business?

Yeo: Transparency is clearly a basic and classic norm in our industry in Singapore and it is clearly outlined in the taste profile as well as cup tenacity. In this sense, we as green coffee importers/exporters are masters in our cupping procedures to maintain absolute transparency.  We are experts in defect identification and defect elimination in our process.

STiR: The term “sustainability” is used in many contexts. What does sustainability mean to you?

Yeo: As an importer/exporter, sustainability to us is basically consistency and quality.  This is the buzzword even in the environmental arena.  It is our demand and our stand. 

STiR: Please describe the importance of coffee education to the success of your operation. What is the effect of a good education program on your employees and customers?

Yeo: Close to this phenomenon is the importance of coffee knowledge and education not only to those who embark on the “café” journey but to the consumer as well. Hence, attendance at coffee seminars and local and international fairs help to keep the knowledge flowing where ventures into uncharted areas emerge. Coffee knowledge is however extremely complex and hence our customers who visit us will depart with supreme practical knowledge.  Our employees too, are highly educated on coffee from crop to cup, its intricacies and in the various forms of roasting, cupping and brewing. 

STiR: Do customers care enough to pay a premium for third-party certification or coffee where the proceeds support a “cause”? Is this a vocal minority, a single demographic, or most consumers?

Yeo: Customers in Singapore are varied demographically and stand on two ends of the balance beam. On one hand are those sophisticated and strategically inclined willing to pay a premium for good quality coffee and not bat an eyelid.  The other extreme are enjoyers who simply enjoy a good cuppa but may not go for premium [in price and quality]. The climate may change towards premium at a lower price. Customers who ascribe to third-party certification or that which supports a cause are few and perhaps only a vocal minority not even with the millennials. Most consumers go for their cuppa not for the certification but for the enjoyment. Hence such phenomena holds no ground for them.  However, one certification that has been consistent with us as an importer/exporter is the organic coffee certification for which we command the major share of the market in this part of the world.

STiR: Singapore, what are your biggest challenges in importing? Who is your main market currently?

Yeo: Our biggest challenge importing raw coffee to Singapore is proper warehousing. It is difficult to maintain ideal storage conditions necessary for quality due to our humid environment. At Young-In, our storage warehouse is at the “basement” level (i.e., underground) where the storage temperature is controlled, thereby maintaining the desired bean quality. Our main market is Asia where the coffee culture is taking root very rapidly.