BeanScene Magazine

Until a few years ago, coffee drinkers in Singapore had relatively limited options. Apart from the commercial coffee chains that have spread throughout the city-state, most of the locals drink the traditional Kopi Tiam, a low-grade Robusta coffee served with margarine, sugar and oil. 

But, as an increasing number of Singaporeans choose to study overseas – and the country attracts a growing number of expatriates – specialty coffee is starting to flow in as a select group of café owners and roasters cater for the evolving tastes.

Leon Foo, from Papa Palheta Specialty Coffee, explains that while most of the population over 30 still prefer Kopi Tiam, of those under 30 he guesses that around 20 per cent are now drinking gourmet coffee. He expects that number to increase as people become more discerning and are learning to appreciate espresso coffee more and more.

“My parents, people who are older, grew up on Kopi Tiam,” Leon says. “People younger than me grew up on coffee chains and travelled and studied overseas. They’re more exposed to gourmet coffee. Now they’re coming back and in the last two to three years we’re seeing a lot of new coffee joints popping up.”

The price point may make an initial difference between how widespread espresso becomes. The local coffee currently costs around 1.20 Singapore dollars while black coffees and lattes can come in anywhere from 3.80 to 5 Singapore dollars. But, Leon doesn’t see this as a deterrent.

“You will see that a lot of the cafés are mostly packed on the weekends,” he says. “It’s not quite like Australia, but some of these cafés are serving from 200 to 400 cups a day.”

He says he knows of three businesses in the city like his that roast their own coffee and these companies are reaping the benefits of a limited supply. Leon has been getting a lot of inquiries from people looking for locally roasted beans. Nevertheless, he warns that there is still a limited market.

“It seems that every other person wants to open a café,” he says.” But, rent in Singapore is very tight. People have great concepts, but it is very expensive. And, even the busiest place in the central business district probably won’t sell more than 400 cups a day, compared to an Australian business that can do 600 cups.”

At this early point in time, however, those catching on early to the specialty scene and doing it right are experiencing growth. Oriole Coffee opened in 2008 and started roasting their own beans for a love of good coffee. Three years later, they’ve opened a second outlet to cater for demand. While they are currently roasting only 20 kilograms a week, it is nevertheless an impressive start in a market that’s just opening up.

“We just believe that for a good cup of coffee, we need to serve fresh beans,” says Elly Tang, Oriole’s Events and Marketing Manager. “We are also seeing people who want to buy roasted beans to have at home… this is definitely a new market to tap into.”

The company has been conducting barista classes, cupping sessions and teaching people about tasting notes, not just for their staff, but for the community at large to cater for this increasing interest in specialty coffee. This March, the company plans to offer brewing sessions. 

“A lot more people are interesting in being hands-on and making their own coffee. People are more into grinding and doing their own extraction,” says Elly, adding that Oriole has recently uploaded some video clips on their website that teach the basics.

Marcus Leong from Loysel’s Toy is another of the latest businesses to catch on to the emerging trend. His own coffee obsession began when he was studying in Melbourne. He made friends with his local coffee shop workers and eventually found himself behind the machine. Soon enough he was spending more time at work than at school and enjoying it more. On returning to Singapore the newfound passion became a career.

The company started as a specialty roaster, with Marcus wanting to provide fresh specialty beans into the Singapore market. He would invite people in for sampling and soon enough he found they were coming in almost daily just to drink the coffee. This led to his first café opening in January.
“We’re not really doing any advertising, but there’s a lot of word of mouth between friends who are coming by,” he says.

Harry Grover’s 40 Hands café is also quite new onto the Singapore scene, having opened just last October. The café’s success should be good news for Marcus, as they’re already busier than they expected. Having opened up in a relatively quiet suburb, the initial strategy was to start off small to integrate the brand and ensure they kept up the quality. They are now chasing to keep up that quality, as the café has become a popular destination for enthusiasts.

“It’s really starting to snowball,” says Harry. “We like to think we’ve helped to raise the grade. People in the industry are not just selling coffee, but advocating and educating people on specialty coffee, single origin and different brewing methods.”

While there are the inevitable whispers about this specialty coffee business being just a passing fad, Harry says that having witnessed Australia’s coffee history in the past decade and how integrated specialty coffee has become on that landscape, he only sees the awareness increasing.

His main fear, however, is that too many people may see specialty coffee as a fast way to “make a buck,” which may compromise the overall quality. In this sense, he says, working together with his industry peers on increasing the consumer knowledge will be key to ensuring that quality is a prerequisite to success.

“It’s important to keep these cafés accountable, especially those that aren’t roasting their own,” he says. “In the next four to five years, I really think there’s going to be more knowledge on that specialty scene and what it takes to make a specialty coffee, because it’s not as easy as it looks.”

The Singapore Coffee Association (SCA) has been witness to the changes, having overseen the vibrant traditional Kopi Tiam drinking culture over decades and now the introduction of specialty coffee. Established in the 1950s by a group of pioneering coffee traders, the group now represents all sectors of the industry. 

For the fifth year running, the SCA has organised the Singapore National Barista Championship, held in conjunction with the Tea & Coffee World Cup Asia at the Suntec City Convention Centre from 21 to 23 March.

Singapore Specialty Cafés/Suppliers

Papa Palheta
140 Bukit Timah Road
www.papapalheta.com

Loysel’s Toy
66 Kampong Bugis, Ture, #01-01
www.loyselstoy.com

Oriole Coffee
Flagship store
96 Somerset road, Pan Pacific Services suites, #01-01
Republic Plaza
9 Raffles Place #01-23/23A, Republic Plaza
www.oriole.com

CuppaChoice Café
3 Temple Street
www.cuppachoice.com

40 Hands Coffee
78 Yong Siak Street #01-12 Tiong Bahru
www.40HandsCoffee.com

Highlander Coffee
49 Kampong Bahru Road
www.highlandercoffee.com

The Plain
50 Craig road, Tanjong Pagar
www.theplain.com.sg