03/09/2024
Our Story
How It All Started
In the 1930s, my grandfather Koh Eng Chuan 许应泉, migrated from Teochew China to Singapore in search of a better life for his family, as China then was in political turmoil and had limited resources necessary to maintain a massive growing population. Landing in Singapore, my grandfather gained a foothold at Garden Street with a provision shop Chop Khoon Heng 坤兴号, selling tea, sundry goods and dried foodstuff. (Garden Street no longer exists, and used to be located at the junction of Beach Road, Tan Quee Lan Street and Rochor Road.)
The business grew, but was suspended by the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945.
After the Japanese surrender in 1945, my grandfather set up another company Tai Seng 大成 , which focused on the roasting of coffee beans and the sale of coffee powder. Thereafter in the 1950s, he sold his shares in the coffee company and focused on the grocery and entrepot trading with Indonesia.
In continuing with my grandfather's legacy, WIDE AWAKE was incorporated as a modern online business to promote carefully curated Chinese Specialty Tea, Nanyang coffee and the various specialty coffees to both connoisseurs and enthusiasts.
