Best Coffee Cafes in Singapore
The coffee culture in Singapore is growing fast with several cafes popping up every other day. With so many coffee cafes available, let’s clarify the fact that some only have a great atmosphere and tasty food but do not produce great coffee. The list below will serve as a guide for selecting not just the best of Singapore’s cafes but the best of those that produce excellent coffee.
Nylon Coffee Roasters
Noted as one of Singapore’s most recommended coffee cafes, Nylon is popular for its passion to brew the most balanced coffees. Their Long Black coffee is sold at $3, and one can easily purchase packed beans while at it. You could also taste their Four Chairs blend which is a combination of El Salvador and Nicaragua beans.
Symmetry
During the day, Symmetry is a wonderful spot to be for the best of coffees. They source their house blend from Papua New Guinea, Brazil and Guatemala to produce a nutty, apricot and chocolate flavor. If you’re in luck, you just might be served a free gingerbread man.
Ronin
Ronin café is renowned for its Genovese blend which mixes beans from 13 different places, predominantly from South Africa and Brazil. The result is an incredible nutty, smooth cappuccino taste best combined with milk.
Just Want Coffee
Since 2009, this café has been producing amazing coffee with a lot of dedication. Right from the sourcing of the beans, to its brewing techniques and art, you can find enjoyable flavors worth trying. They serve a variety ranging from the Ice Drip, to handcrafted coffees and Espresso-based coffees. You could also add a slice of their tasty tofu cheesecake, duck burger or lasagna as you enjoy their coffee.
Papa Palheta/Chye Seng Huat Hardware Coffee Bar
Described as Singapore’s most famous Indie Café, you can expect only high quality, tasty and affordable coffee here. You’re at liberty to select any flavor of your choice since they have so many and are willing to brew it specifically according to each customer’s preference.
Dutch Colony Coffee Co.
Dutch Colony supplies roasted beans and prepares great coffee. They are particularly loved for their Dutch blend ristretto as well as their cold brewed coffees. For coffee enthusiasts who would like to receive barista training, training in latte art or degustation tasting, this is the right place to be.
Common Man Coffee Roasters/Forty Hands
Through their partnership with Five Senses Coffee, this café imports their beans directly from growers in other parts of the world before they roast and supply to other Singaporean cafes. Their house blends include the 22 Martin which has a dark chocolaty taste and the CMCR Espresso which has a sweet silky taste that is perfect when combined with milk.
Toby’s Estate
Toby’s Estate is widely known for using a mixture of Brazil, Uganda, Ethiopia, Panama and Costa Rica beans known as the Rodyk Blend. You can also taste their Gibraltar Latte and Café Mocha, which is produced from melted Ghana Red chocolate and ristretto.
Yahava Koffeeeworks
This world-renowned Australian chain has a franchise in the Island nation of Singapore and is noted for sourcing the best Arabica coffees and supplying roasted beans as well. Before you select the coffee bean you’d like to have, you get the chance to taste about 3 single origin coffees first. The atmosphere here is very interactive; a must-visit for anyone looking to learn more about coffee culture.
Yellow Cup Coffee
Yellow Cup Coffee is experienced at serving single origin coffees. Notable among their array include the Sumatra longberry and their Nicaragua Latte. They are also known for flavored coffees such as the Hawaiian coffee and the Nutella latte.
Highlander Coffee
You can get a Latte at this place for just $3.90. Highlander Coffee actually roasts, supplies beans and sells a number of coffee making tools from their own Singaporean factory. Their signature blend is made using Quattro, a blend of Sumatra, Brazilian, Columbian and Ethiopian beans.
Dapper Coffee
Located on Amoy Street this café presents unique coffees you can’t afford to miss. We highly recommend that you try their Earl Grey Yuan-Yang, their Gold Brew and Secret Menu. They also serve delicious cakes such as the Salted Egg Black Sesame or Gula-Melaka Walnut Oat, to balance your sweet drink.
Sarnies/ The Lokal
Gaining inspiration from Sydney-based coffee shops, this venue brews double ristrettos which are usually sourced from Australia. You can either try their Latte or their Orange Mocha which is made through soaking the peels of oranges into the coffee.
Geisha Specialty Coffee
This café has a lot to offer coffee lovers in Singapore due to their unique brews. Interestingly though, they are more focused on supplying and showcasing the variety of coffee beans they have rather than being a normal café. Their famous Esmeralda Special is thought of as one of the most expensive yet sought after coffees, privately sold through international auctions. They are also noted for selling their $15 Esmeralda Geisha Coffee. Expect a smooth, intense coffee filled with a fruity flavor here.
Artistry
Though this venue is an art gallery, it is renowned for its café which serves amazing coffee. Sourced from Liberty Coffee as well, this shop’s house blend consists of Jamaican and Brazilian coffee beans.
Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters
Formerly named OZ specialty café, this shop was rebranded following a partnership with Thailand under the new name, Pacamara. Their utmost priority is to simply serve coffee without the usual distractions. You can get a 5oz latte for $5 or order for their Ethiopia y Kochere. You also get the chance to see your brewers making the coffee and even communicate with the baristas as well.
Drury Lane
At this coffee shop, you can purchase an espresso for just $3.50 and leave more satisfied than you came. This espresso consists of a blend known as Nuts + Bolts, which originates from Tanzania Karatu and Brazil Cerrado. Drury Lane can be found on the Tanjong Pagar Road in Singapore.
Jewel Café and Bar
Jewel Café is recognized in Singapore as one of its best specialty coffee makers because they roast their own beans and often organize cupping sessions for its customers to taste single origin coffee beans. They usually source their beans from countries such as Brazil, Ethiopia, Sumatra, and El Salvador, but also make use of blends such as the Alpha Red Blend. They are also renowned for regularly switching their taste profiles by changing the kind of beans in their roasting machine at least twice every week.
Collective Brewers
As their name suggests, this café is located on Changi road sources and brews solely from local coffee roasters. Their most prominent espresso blend gives off a grapefruit taste, coupled with caramel, brown sugar and a milky flavor.
Strangers’ Reunion/ Strangers’ at Work
This coffee shop is mostly filled with crowds looking to get a soothing cup to start or continue their day. A variety of filter brews are served here, including the Wave dripper, Syphon and Aeropress. Another popular product sold here is the Magic Coffee which costs about $5.50 and is known to have the best ratio of milk to coffee.
Atlas Coffeehouse
Atlas Coffeehouse seeks to make its clients have a certain level of trust for coffee because of its ability to make a person’s day feel better. This is projected in the way they go about business with expert brewers and roasters sourcing their beans from Liberty Coffee Roasters. Their Brazilian and Guatemalan blend features a heavy, nutty and chocolaty drink that is tasty when paired with milk.
Jimmy monkey Café & Bar
This Café was established by a native Melbournian with the sole aim of recreating the Melbourne coffee experience in Singapore. While they sometimes source their green beans from different parts of the world, most of their coffee beans are sourced from the Rainforest Alliance farms and roasted on-site. One interesting characteristic of this coffee shop is their unpredictability in the sense that a variety of options are served, blends are changed after each month and you can’t pick out a consistent flavor for this café. Nevertheless, their coffees are enjoyable and always customized to suitably blend with milk.
Tolido’s Espresso Nook
One of Singapore’s renowned coffee cafés is known as Tolido’s Espresso Nook. They are experts at creating complicated coffee arts which proves their excellence at controlling the temperature of milk and coffee. Their beans are roasted by Yahava Koffeeworks to produce the Arabica house blend which is a combination of Papua New Guinea, Colombian and Ethiopian beans. Be sure to enjoy a balanced coffee with caramel and floral flavors you can’t forget.
The Providore
The Providore is famous for locally roasting its coffee beans at Toby’s Estate with blend origins including Uganda Bugisu, Sumatra, India Monsoon Malaba and Costa Rica. Their signature blend is enjoyed by coffee fanatics for its nutty, chocolaty, spicy and medium-full bodied taste with a pinch of saltiness. This shop is also noted for serving single origin pour over filter coffees with the Aeropress or V60 tableside.
Maison Ikkoku
The baristas at Maison Ikkoku Café (House of the Moment) are heavily influenced by Japanese and French styles, primarily because they received training from Hiroshi Sawadi of the famous Tokyo-based Streamer Coffee Company. Their signature blend Nineteen42 is made up of 3 coffees; Natural Brazil Fazenda Rainha, Washed Indian Bibi Plantation AA Typica Stains and Natural Brazil Fazenda Dutra Jatoba.
Flock Café
For about $5.50 one can enjoy a cup of Latte at Flock Café. This café sources its blend from the popular Liberty Coffee with beans originating from Ethiopia Sidamo, Guatemala Finca Santa Ana La Huerta, and Brazil Fazenda Lagoa Mondo Novo. Expect to enjoy a less acidic, light bodied coffee with a nutty feel laced with cocoa and caramel.
Necessary Provisions
With beans sourced from coffee estates across the world, Necessary Provisions focuses on roasting and producing excellent coffee flavors. The house blend, Thumper features a combination of coffee beans from Kenya and Brazil which mostly has a chocolaty, acidic and heavy bodied taste.
7kickstart
Located in the Singapore Art Museum, this venue is 100% owned by Singaporean, Swee Sim. Their most notable house blend roasts beans from Brazil and Indonesia to produce a heavy, strong and nutty taste. Coffee lovers in the country also tend to enjoy their ice drip coffees.
63 Espresso
63 Espresso is part of the 63 Celsius restaurant, and has been serving Marina Bay workers with quality coffee. Their imported Allpress espresso is roasted in Sydney and shipped to Singapore each week to maintain its freshness. Workers who patronize 63 Espresso particularly love their house blend known as Carmelo, which is a blend of Colombia, Sumatra, Brazil and Guatemalan beans.
Percolate
This coffee shop is unique because they do not roast coffee beans on their own but sporadically bring in coffee roasters from Papa Palheta and from Nylon. The three bean blend known as Terra Firma is appreciated for its rich taste, while the four chairs guest blend is loved for its sweet, blackberry aftertaste.
Oriole Coffee + Bar
Oriole Coffee and Bar has since 2008 served Singaporean coffee lovers with only the best of experiences coupled with a dedicated team of baristas and roasters. They have gained quite the reputation for their line-up of filter coffees and espressos including Raven and the Yellowbird blends.
In Conclusion…
New coffee cafes keep emerging in Singapore and since people have varying coffee preferences, this article has attempted to showcase the flavors mostly available at the above-listed coffee hotspots. At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide which kind of flavor you would love to enjoy next and at which Singaporean café.
