Photo Essay: Click & Brew in George Town, Penang – Combining Keyboard & Coffee

Click & Brew was one of the first custom keyboard retail stores to be opened in Malaysia. It started operating in the middle of 2022 last year, and at a glance, it looks like your typical cafe. But the moment you walk through the door, you know you’re in a special space.

As its name suggests, Click & Brew combines two things the owners (husband and wife Joey and Erica) are passionate about: keyboard and coffee. While I was around George Town, Penang earlier this month, I managed to drop by the cafe, and it was certainly worth the trip.

If you’re planning to visit the cafe, here’s what to expect at Click & Brew!

Right off the bat, you’ll see a plethora of keyboards neatly lined up at Click & Brew. It’s a nice juxtaposition of sorts: custom keyboards are on the right, while the left side of the retail space looks more like a cafe – a very nice one, at that.

Whether you want a cup of coffee or a slice of cake, Click & Brew got you covered. While you’re waiting for your order to be prepared, you can browse through the cafe’s respectable collection of keyboards. If you’re up for it, you can even start building your very own keyboard right then and there.

Naturally, space is provided to start building your keyboard. Just choose the parts that you want, and you can start assembling. If you did order a coffee though, I’d be careful about putting it too close to the keyboard while I’m building it – you wouldn’t want to literally mix the two elements together.

Keyboard building workshops are also provided for folks who are not quite ready to jump straight into the custom keyboard hobby. At the moment, a workshop for beginners is offered every Saturday from 10:30AM to 12:30PM. A minimum of two attendees are required, and it costs RM55 per person.

If you do decide to build a keyboard, you can test it out once it’s completed at the provided workstation. It is quite a sleek-looking setup with an open-air build, and Monkeytype – my go-to typing test website – is conveniently opened up already for you to type away.

As for the cafe itself, Click & Brew offers a nice and cosy ambiance. While it’s not a particularly big cafe, it does feel comfortable and welcoming. Of course, Joey and Erica are very friendly and easy to talk too as well, especially when we were talking about the various keyboards on display.

It’s worth noting that Click & Brew will be moving to a larger retail space sometime this year, so I’m glad I managed to visit the current cafe before the move. Don’t worry, the new space will still be located in George Town, Penang. It won’t be shifting to the Klang Valley area; not yet, maybe?

Nonetheless, do give Click & Brew a visit if you happen to be in Penang. It’s a pleasant – and dare I say “Instagrammable” – cafe for both keyboard and coffee enthusiasts. It’s definitely a unique cafe concept that will surely introduce more people to the custom keyboard hobby.

Click & Brew is open from 12:30PM to 8PM, though it closes at 6PM on weekends. It is also closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so keep that in mind if you’re planning to drop by the cafe.