TWO airline pilots whose jobs were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic have turned to coffee to pick themselves up. 

Upon news of his retrenchment, Dinesh Nadarajah, 34, hit on the idea of selling cold brew coffee and told fellow pilot Surren Kanna, 36, about it.

“On September 14, 2020, I got a call that I was going to be retrenched.

“So, after dealing with the emotions that came with the news, I called Surren to tell him what happened.

“I didn’t want to dwell on the retrenchment and told him about my idea to sell cold brew coffee,” Dinesh, who was a senior first officer with Singapore Airlines for almost 11 years, told The Malaysian Insight.

Surren at the time was still with AirAsia X but had not flown since March. He took a 60% pay cut, and since November, has been on unpaid leave.

Both have been friends since their days at the flying academy, and both love coffee.

Pooling their savings, they launched “TakeOff coffee” on January 28, marketing their cold brew with aviation themes.

“Instead of going into some unknown business, I chose something I do know and love,” Dinesh said.

Sweet deal

Surren said what makes their coffee different is that it is customised for the individual.

“Customers can tell us how they want their coffee and we will make it exactly as they want,” he said.

This is the result of four months of research, developing and testing brews for the best flavour, Dinesh added.

Their recipe involves organic gula apong or palm sugar from Sarawak for a healthier drink, and beans that they select themselves.

“This sugar has a low glycemic index (GI) and is a healthier sugar from the sap of the Nipah palm.

“So, customers can opt for coffee with no sugar, less sugar, normal or sweeter,” he said.

Their coffee is entirely homemade, brewed and packaged at their homes in Bangsar and Shah Alam.

Dinesh also took up a barista course soon after getting retrenched. He has also had to sell his car and take up the bank loan moratorium to stay financially afloat.

Part of his idea for selling cold brew came from seeing first-class passengers on Singapore airlines ordering Jamaican, Brazilian orGuatemalan coffee during flights.

“We don’t get these kinds of coffees in the normal shops or cafes.

“So, we thought of bringing this first-class experience to Malaysians, giving variation to customers at a decent and affordable price, in a 300ml bottle,” said Dinesh.

Prices for each bottle varies depending on the selection of coffee, ranging from RM11 to RM15.

“This is something that many are not doing. So, we want to tap into that and build the base,” Dinesh said.

The coffees are also named after airliners, in keeping with their aviation-related theme.

“We have ‘380 Black’ – named after the Airbus 380 – ‘330 White’, after the Airbus 330 and ‘777 Almond’ after the Boeing 777,” he said.

Helping others

Both intend to fly again when the pandemic eases and international travel picks up, but also plan to continue their coffee business by partnering with airlines and convenience stores.

“Our bigger plan is to one day work with AirAsia or other airlines since we both come from aviation backgrounds.

“And if we can get our coffee into convenience stores, that would be a huge achievement,” said Dinesh.

They also see their venture as a way to help others affected by the pandemic earn an income, too.

Currently, while Dinesh is in charge of brewing the coffee, both he and Surren take turns doing deliveries.

When business expands, they hope to engage freelance delivery riders to give them a source of income.

“For now we deliver ourselves to avoid charging delivery costs. We can also provide the personal touch to customers.

“We don’t have minimum orders at the moment. Even if a customer orders one bottle, we will deliver it to them,” he said.

Currently, deliveries are made within the Klang Valley but Surren said that they have plans to deliver orders to Seremban, Ipoh and Johor.

Dinesh said that they are also helping a village in Sarawak by sourcing their palm sugar from there.

“We pay the freight fee to get the sugar delivered.

“This pandemic is the time we can help others, just like the popular tagline out there ‘Kita Jaga Kita’,” Dinesh said.

Since their launch in late January, he said they have received orders for more than 400 bottles.

There were also repeat customers within the first week of their launch.

Steps for placing orders are on the “TakeOff Coffee” Facebook and Instagram pages. – February 7, 2021.