Tinto: Taylorian’s New Matcha and Coffee Bar

“I want to create a matcha fever … people come all the way to Taylor’s just to get it.”

Aiman Syakir, a student of Taylor’s Bachelor of Finance and Economics, co-founded Tinto which opened at Syopz Mall on 1 June.

'Tinto' is commonly referred to as coffee in Columbia, and he hopes to hear the word of mouth spread, ‘You know they have the coolest matcha at Taylor’s, right?’.

The 24-year-old said that he wants to create a very close engagement between Tinto and their customers, making Tinto a home name.

“We can cater to our customers’ needs, such as customised matcha order,” he explained their unique selling point.

Tinto is an official partner of Jika Specialty, Aiman’s pop-up coffee business, where he met an investor who was interested in opening a cafe.

“It took five to six months,” said Aiman

Previously, he was working as a part-time barista at cafes that just opened to understand how they sustain themselves.

“I was doing that for three years straight because I was bored when it’s only studying … Once I had enough confidence, I started my own business.”

According to a Market Analysis Report, the global market for matcha is estimated to be valued at USD 2.26 billion by 2025, where it hasn’t always been a trend.

“I like to see what these people want;, we don’t have matcha here,” he observed about Taylor’s.

He decided to try it with Tinto and it worked; matcha is their highest sales.

The part-time entrepreneur created job opportunities for students.

Ariessa Zaharin, a part-time crew member at Tinto said, “When it’s rush hour, it can get pretty hectic and the panic is always there.”

The mass communication student said she learned to make the beverages with more confidence and talk to customers in a friendly manner.

“It was quite scary as I never had proper training,” added Ariessa.

Dirty Matcha - matcha with a shot of espresso - is her favorite as it keeps her awake.

Yap Yong Liang, a matcha enthusiast, said he did not have a good experience with Tinto’s Matcha Latte because the powder was not fully dissolved. Yet, it was affordable because “they use Niko Neko Matcha, and it’s cheaper than outside.”

Niko Neko Matcha has been powering the Malaysian matcha market for over 5 years.

He has also tried their Thai Prawn Pie, but could not taste any Thai flavours.

“When I got the pie, it was cold,” he added.

He commented on Aiman’s vision saying, “There’s a lot of stores selling Matcha Latte and they taste good. If Tinto’s one of them, it would be my go-to choice.”

Aiman added, “We have a very small space; customers were queuing and we do not have enough tables or chairs.”

Aiman is solely in charge of the business operations such as coming up with the menu

Tinto was approached for collaborations, but Aiman has to put them on hold till after he graduates.

“I’m going to be a final year student, running this business; I only have two hands.”

“For example, for marketing, I don’t have a strong solid team that can help,” he continued.

Currently, they only have an Instagram account and their engagement is “very bad”. Aiman hopes to launch a website for Tinto to appear in searches for better reach.

Soon, Tinto will be hosting some workshops as Aiman does not like to keep it to himself.

“If I can make matcha, you can too.”