Milestone & Achievements

Meet the Hi-Team

Phil Ho - Founder

Meet Phil Ho, Founder of Highlander Coffee. 

His journey to founding Highlander Coffee began with a spark of curiosity in 2002, when the self-proclaimed coffee addict (favoring local kopi with sweetened milk) accidentally stumbled upon the unique and complex flavor profiles of an Indonesian arabica coffee while on a business trip.


His passion for coffee only grew from there, and in 2003 he and his younger brother, co-founder Cedric, took a two-week trip to Italy to learn more about the espresso machines they wanted to import.

They took the plunge and the following year, launched the first hands-on professional baristas workshop in Singapore when Highlander Coffee Pte Ltd was incorporated. The next three years were a struggle for both Phil and Cedric, but their commitment to working towards the shared goal of "simply making, enjoying and serving good consistent coffee" paid off.

As the leader of the team, Phil has leveraged his education and interest in Business to bring strategic insight and creativity to Highlander Coffee. In his free time, Phil loves to read up on emerging technologies and innovative solutions that can potentially solve business problems. 

Cedric Ho - Co-Founder

Meet Cedric Ho, co-founder of Highlander Coffee

Younger brother of Phil Ho, the founder. He heads the operations for production, warehousing, fulfilment, technical servicing and support. 


He is also a master roaster and highly competent in other fronts as a coffee trainer and hands-on technical support.


Cedric attended a week-long professional barista class in Australia and a 3-day workshop in Milan with the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac). Cedric is an enthusiast for cars, soccer and watches, and after office hours he is a foodie and cherishes time with his family. 

Key Roles

 Fya - HR, Finance

Meet Lutfiah, Employee No. 1 of Highlander Coffee in 2008! Fya, as she likes to be called, is a highly organised, logical, astute and street-smart team player with an education in accounting.


As department head, she manages bookkeeping, statutory compliance, finance, HR, payroll and general administration.


In her free time and weekends, she enjoys taking care of home matters and spending quality time with her family. We are proud to have her as part of our team!

 Kwok Li - Chief Barista, Trainer

Meet Kwok Li, an exemplary barista and chief trainer for Highlander Coffee. Kwok Li has a diploma in Business Studies and joined Highlander Coffee in 2008 after national service as Employee No. 


Passionate about coffee, Kwok Li quickly progressed from junior barista to highly knowledgeable and skillful in coffee making and was promoted to take charge of the entire espresso bar operations.


He is the resident course instructor for their highly popular Skills future professional barista workshop and a qualified Arabica Q-grader since 2019. Kwok Li also attended a 3 day workshop in Milan for the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac).


In his free time, Kwok Li enjoys street photography and Chinese comics. He is an inspiring example of how hard work and dedication can bring you success. Come learn from this professional and join our Skills Future Professional Barista Workshop today!

Glen H. - Branding, Digital Marketer

Meet Glen Ho, a Creative Branding and Digital Marketing Designer. After completing National Service, he joined Highlander with a Diploma from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Glen has 3 years of experience in Graphic Design and Marketing Collaterals, honed through both his design schooling and time in the military. He is highly competent in creating visually pleasing and on-brand materials.

In his spare time, you can find Glen gaming, a watch enthusiast, sipping on coffee, a cat lover, indulging in art, sketching, and illustration.

Supporting Staff

 Lucy - Espresso Bar, In-Charge

Lucy as our beloved in-charge, overseeing the serving of delicious sandwiches.


She is the epitome of kind, motherly, cheerful, and caring service.


Her contagious positivity is a favorite among customers. In her free time, Lucy is devoted to making nutritious meals for her family, ensuring their well-being. Come in and experience Lucy's friendly hospitality for yourself.

Yen - Resident Barista

Meet Yen, our resident and dedicated barista at Highlander Espresso Bar since 2014. Yen is an ardent espresso lover - he worked in Italy, fell in love with their espresso culture, and followed his passion to join us! 


He's always here to serve you a delicious cup of espresso, rain, or shine!


When he's not making drinks, he works out at the gym and loves to try out new eateries. We're lucky to have him as a valuable part of our team - stop by and say hi to Yen Wei today!

Zeeya - Administrative Assistant

Zeeya is our dedicated and committed Administrative Assistant and has been with us since 2010.

She always serves with a smile to all customer segments, and is devoted to providing excellent customer service.

In her free time, she loves spending time with her family and staying active with dance fitness classes. She is sure to make your experience with us a pleasant one with her friendly and welcoming attitude.

Technicians

Azlan - Senior Technician

Azlan joined Highlander Coffee in 2014 as a junior technician, quickly distinguishing himself with his street smarts and remarkable capacity to learn and deliver results. He has become a reliable source of support for our customers, always willing to go the extra mile to meet their needs.

His dedication has been recognized with a promotion to senior technician, taking on the mantle of providing technical support and fulfilment.

Outside of Highlander Coffee, Azlan enjoys cycling, playing computer games, and spending time with his wife and children. We are proud to have him as a part of our team.

Jefri - Technician

Introducing our youngest technician in the team, Jef. He may be quiet and introverted but his attention to detail and neatness are unmatched. Understandably socially shy, Jef takes extra effort in making himself presentable to his customers.


In his spare time, Jef loves to take rides on his motorcycle, read Japanese comics, and play computer games. 


Check out Jef as part of the Logistic Support team and see what he can do!

Akif - Coffee Roaster

Meet Akif, our resident coffee roaster at Highlander Coffee since 2018! 


He was previously trained in graphic design and had the aspiration to become a police officer. Despite his soft-spoken nature, Akif is meticulous and an important pillar to our production and logistic team.


His interests include cycling and a volunteer for an NGO for the needy. We are blessed to have him as part of our team. 

What Makes Us Different?

For more than a DECADE, our VALUES have kept us focused to achieve steady and consistent GROWTH.

SIMPLY put, we want our customers to continue recognizing us as ENDURING, DEPENDABLE and CREDIBLE.

Gourmet Coffee Roastery

ROASTING coffee since 2006, we are committed to the proper use of science but ultimately the best intuition to roast GOOD CONSISTENT COFFEE.

End of 2012, we reached yet another milestone by operating our own coffee roasting premises. Since then, on an almost daily basis, we roast a selection of gourmet coffees from all over the world to supply for wholesale and retail.

Coffee Academy

As a PIONEER in coffee education since 2004, our aim is to educate, entertain and empower coffee lovers to experience good consistent coffee.


Our workshops are passionately delivered with an emphasis on SIMPLICITY.


We ARE most probably the LARGEST coffee academy in the WORLD; not only for the number of people we have taught, but also class frequencies and most importantly sensible fees!

Valued Our Customers

Our FOCUS is not in describing fancy sounding coffees but cutting through it's perceived complexities.

We believe HOW GOOD IT MEANS to OUR CUSTOMERS is more IMPORTANT.

Commercial Espresso Machine

Good coffee should not be mind boggling with big jargons, latest expensive equipments, complicated techniques and hype.

On the contrary, SIMPLICITY & CONSISTENCY can result in greater ENJOYMENT of your coffee!


LESS is actually MORE!

Technical Services & Repair

Through the years we have built up a robust TECHNICAL CAPABILITY to support the distribution of espresso machines serving homes, offices and commercial establishments.

Customers enjoy PEACE-OF-MIND through our sound troubleshooting knowhow on services, repair and spare parts support.

Espresso Bar

Before Lucy's Sandwiches, our ESPRESSO BAR has been a place where anyone can try our coffees and food offerings, with regular customers enjoying them on-site, to-go, or through delivery.

Coffee Event Services

At EVENTS, our coffee station serve as an extension for our ESPRESSO BAR in serving espresso coffees to delegates, visitors and customers.

Work as Team

What the rest of the world has to offer we feel…is that it has something for everyone…mostly LIFESTYLE. What Highlander Coffee has we think…is OUR PEOPLE!” Our success depends on how well we build a PEOPLE organization aligned with our core values of integrity, innovation, teamwork, substance and simplicity.

Our mantra still persists:

“MAKE COFFEE SIMPLE, GOOD AND CONSISTENT”
to reach beyond the shores of Singapore.
This is our MISSION.