tcc - Funan Centre

The Coffee Concierge while picking up some BitDefender security software for his new Dell Vostro 1310 decided to check out the coffee joints in Funan and found tcc right at the main entrance.

The staff were highly efficient, friendly and attentive. The Coffee Concierge never had to do more than glance up to get attention from them. The Coffee Concierge ordered the usual expresso but unlike the service, it disappointed as it was clearly sour from start to end. No sweetness. It was bitter but not unpleasantly so. Had a thin crema which dissipated rapidly. Decent enough aftertaste which lingers. It did come with two tiny little cookies which were delightful.

The cafe was actually very nicely put together with a lot of attention paid to the decor and keeping it spiffy. The red comfy chairs were a nice touch. Overall, it's a very nice place to sit with a friend or work in. Too bad about the expresso.

Price: S$4.00
Service: 4 beans
Flavour: 1.5 beans

Coffee Club in Holland Village

No, no, no, those are not the Devil's Cupcakes though they sure are tempting with those white chocolate sticks. It's a rum and raisin chocolate truffle cake at the Coffee Club at Holland Village.

The Coffee Concierge decided to go to the birthplace of modern coffee culture in Singapore: the Coffee Club at Holland Village. This was the first modern coffeehouse to set up in the early 1990s. The owners were originally coffee traders so setting up this coffee house was a natural extension of their trade. Since then they've grown into a full blown retail chain with a number of cafes across Singapore.

The Coffee Concierge noted that while there were different beans of coffee on offer under the section labelled coffee with detailed descriptions of the kind of taste of the bean, the expresso section did not offer any such choice of beans. The Coffee Concierge found that a little strange, after all, since they have the beans ready stocked, they might as well just grind them for expresso as for a long black.

The expresso I ordered was a tad thin on the crema which desipated a little faster than it should. The coffee was mild and a little sweet on the first sip but on the second sip was distinctly sour when swirled around the mouth. I'd taken pains not to eat the sweet before tasting the coffee. There was a bitterness but only very slight so overall the Coffee Concierge thinks it could have been better and honestly, what *is* with all this sourness in Singapore coffee? The coffee concierge would have expected a bit better for S$4

The service however was polite and prompt and the barista herself came to serve me the expresso after the waitress came out with the rum and raisin chocolate truffle. The rum and raisin chocolate truffle tasted like a good chocolate mousse. The Coffee Concierge couldn't taste the rum or remember eating a raison but it was still a pleasing rich chocolate flavour.

Price: S$4 for a single expresso (with shortbread cookie on the side)
Flavour: 2.5 beans

J.Co Coffee and Doughnuts

Can you just see that glossy doughnut has my name on it? It didn't have to wait too long to get eaten by the Coffee Concierge. The Coffee Concierge has been a major fan of the J.Co on Batam where he goes every once in a few months to help out at a school on a nearby island called Rempang. But the Coffee Concierge was always in too much of a hurry there to just buy dozens of doughnuts and get on the ferry back to Singapore. Now however that they've opened a branch in Singapore (at Singapore prices of course), there's time to sample their expresso.

The verdict on the coffee: sour and sour. It tasted awfully familiar actually from something I've drunk before possibly at one of the Food and Hotel Asia 2008 booths. Now there was an actual coffee taste but the predominant note was sour from start to end. Not that much of an after taste or smell. Decent crema. In all, this Coffee Concierge says stick to their doughnuts especially the heaven berry one and the chocolate filled ones. There's a queue but it was moving pretty quickly along so don't be daunted by that.

Price: S$3.20 (comes with a glossy doughnut)
Service: 2.5 beans
Flavour: 1 bean

Starbucks - Holland Village

I know, I know, Starsucks and all that. But honestly, despite the worldwide flak for Starbucks, this Coffee Concierge still thinks they did the world a huge service by expanding the way they did across the USA and the rest of the world and particularly in the USA where coffee was pretty much like dishwater liquid a lot of the time, they did manage to help raise the bar quite a bit. However that was many years ago and since then Starbucks as a company needs to dig deep into its roots and re-discover its mission and be the coffeehouse on the corner where the barista knows and remembers your favourite brew.

So with all this baggage around, the Coffee Concierge decided to try the neighbourhood Starbucks at Holland Village. It turned out actually to be a better experience than I expected. The baristas and serving staff in general I suspect have recently undergone some retraining as they were certainly making a point of greeting, meeting eyes, and taking the order in a friendly polite way. And the staff did generally seem happy. The ambience is great there with lots of very nice sofas to lounge on and the staff kept the place pretty neat and tidy despite it being quite full.

The expresso? Strong and bitter with a long, lingering aftertaste. The crema was decently formed but not terribly thick and it stayed for a reasonable few minutes. I did find it quite hard to find words to describe the actual flavour. It was slightly but not very dark roast and had quite a bit of body to it but I'm hard put to actually say there were notes of fruit or anything else...just that it had a very strong coffee flavour. There wasn't a hint of sweetness at all which is a bit of a fault but overall not too bad.

Now this Coffee Concierge happens to like his coffee to have some bitterness but was not too sure if it would appeal to many Singaporeans since the national prediliction seems to be more for sweeter, milkier drinks on the whole. But it's certainly a coffee that would stand being mixed into milk based drinks.

Price: S$3.40
Flavour: 3.5 beans
Service: 4 beans

Barista Express at Clifford Centre

The Coffee Concierge was hanging around Clifford Centre waiting for a meeting and in the meantime popped down to check out the Barista Express cafe on the first floor of Clifford Centre. It's fairly basic cafe with lots of red decor and cheery, quick staff. However while it lives up to being express, the quality of the coffee is to match.

I ordered the standard expresso and it showed up with little crema that dissipated within 20 seconds and hardly any aroma. The taste was markedly sour whether hot or cooled down. It had a slightly burnt taste to it and while it did still have a reasonably strong coffee flavour with a long aftertaste, I can't say that it's one I enjoyed very much. 'nuff said.

Cost: S$2.20
Flavour: 1 bean

Torrefacto Roasts or Good Old Kopi Tiam Coffee

This coffee concierge has been getting very curious about roasts ever since a visit to the Food and Hotel Asia 2008 show in Singapore. This is because a casual conversation with a coffee vendor who shall remain unnamed for this post claimed that coffee beans/instant mixes etc and generally coffee sold in kopi tiams in Malaysia generally were 80% caramel and only 20% coffee beans with the exception of course of his particular brand. At which point the coffee concierge went, "oooohhhhh, now that's why my relatives can drink it late at night and still go to sleep." All this time we're really been drinking coffee *flavoured* drinks rather than coffee. A bit like eating milk chocolate rather than pure cocoa powder.

Now even if some exaggeration for a sales pitch is allowed for and say the number is more like 50-60%, that's still a distinctly lower coffee content. So I decided to go hunting around to see if I could dig up what "recipes" for roasting were actuall used in practice in SE Asia generally.

Guess what the coffee concierge found: the torrefacto roast. This is a method that's been used in parts of the world other than SE Asia from at least the 19th century from Spain. Torrados as they call such roasts can certainly be found in places like South America and Central America to this day. In general the main additive is sugar which carmalises and coats the bean. This can be as much as 50% (unless of course you take the FHA exhibitor's word for it at 80%). So it's not actually uncommon, just that it's not that well known by the consumer although it's sure a well known fact by the roasters and the retail owners.

So think about that the next time you take your usual cuppa at the kopi tiam: that rich mouthfeel is all caramel and that extra sugar you lump in only adds to the considerable quantity of sugar already in your coffee. Diabetics among you beware. No wonder a lot of the local taste buds can no longer adapt to purer blends as they would tend to be more watery by comparison and caffeine sensitive folk like me find taking even one cup sends me bouncing off the walls.

More anon on this subject in future posts as this is clearly a subject that merits further digging among the beans. And if any of my readers have anything to add to this, I'd dearly love to know so comment away dear reader.

Sleek Cafe

Recently the motherboard in my office laptop started failing so I ended up at Sim Lim Square having coffee while waiting for the computer technician to diagnose what was wrong. Naturally the Coffee Concierge looked around for the nearest coffee cafe and ended up in Sleek Cafe which is in the basement of Sim Lim Square near the food court. It's a rather nice spot and relatively uncrowded. With the wooden deck and dark wood furniture and sunlight coming in through the top end of the basement, it's reasonably pleasant to sit in. The coffee turned out better than expected. While the crema didn't exactly last long, the flavour of the expresso was actually sweet at first sip which is a first in all the cafes I've gone to so far in Singapore. (I don't add sugar in general.) The flavours were actually relatively well balanced and sourness only started to seep in when it was distinctly cooler. All in all, a decent enough cup. The cupcake this time definitely took a second place to the expresso as it was clearly made from an instant mix and the dollop of icing on top equally instant with a taste to match.

Sadly however I still haven't got my laptop back so I'll just have to pay this cafe another visit when I go to pick up a hopefully fixed computer.

Price: S$2.80
Rating: 3.5 beans
Service: 3 beans

Latte Art: Etchings in Gold and Brown

This was done by the Boncafe barista at the recently held Food and Hotel Asia 2008 in Singapore. Gorgeous isn't it? I particularly love the gold striations. The barista was actually showing how it was done and allowing audience participation. The Coffee Concierge was a little too shy to try in so public an arena but has resolved to practice quietly at home. Given that one's coffee machine ain't even in place yet, that could take a while.

I Sing the Coffee Machine Elektra

Ain't she a beauty! La Belle Epoque. None but the Italians could design a machine so drop dead gorgeous. Although The Coffee Concierge cannot resist saying that the eagle on the top looks a tad triumphually French. But I will undoubtedly be flamed by Italians and French for saying that.

This is a model of a coffee maker from the Italian company, Elektra, which was on display at the Food and Hotel Asia 2008 in Singapore. One imagines that this was a coffee maker made to sit in the coffee lounges of large, grandiose hotels in Europe when large, grandiose hotels were still the "in" thing and are now replaced by large, grandiose bathrooms and sleek private quarters with diminished public spaces. However this model is actually available in this 21st century believe it or not.

*"I Sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury is the title of one of my favourite science fiction books for those of you wondering why I have such an unusual title. Yes, the Coffee Concierge has a geeky side.

Spinelli Coffee Company: Novena Square

The Coffee Concierge arranged to meet a friend at Novena Square a couple of days ago and decided it was a good time to also sample the Spinelli coffee there. It was certainly a crowded zone with a lot of people around. Despite there being several outlets almost cheek to jowl including an organic cafe, Cedele, Spinelli's was quite full up with a fair amount of turn over of people coming and going.

The outlet had three staff kept on the run by the constant flow of customers: two men and a lady The Coffee Concierge was served by one of the young men. Service was polite enough but certainly didn't beat the attention the coffee concierge was getting at the admittedly quieter T1 location. The clientale was mixed but the coffee concierge did notice one man in his 30s or so in a black polo shirt reading, taking his time, and definitely watching the other customers and world go by. Most of the other customers were definitely more engrossed with their own affairs so it did cross the coffee concierge's mind if that was a Spinelli staff member on his coffee break keeping an eye on what the customers behaviour was like.

Sadly however the more hurried pace of life at Novena Square has certainly taken its toll on the quality of expresso turned out. The Coffee Concierge ordered the usual expresso while his friend ordered a spin. The expresso despite being made with presumably their usual Rancilio machines and with the same original blend, turned out poorer than the T1 barista's effort. Definitely more sour, less flavourful in general and much less aftertaste. The aftertaste did improve upon cooling for quite a while but still could not match the nice slightly bitter and dry aftertaste that I liked so much in T1.

The biscotti though is great. I have to say I actually really like Spinelli biscuits and food in general. Oh and for those looking for price, I think it was about S$3.00 for an expresso.


Overall rating:
Taste: 1 1/2 beans
Service: 2 1/2 beans

Spinelli Coffee Company at Changi Airport

A few days ago, the Coffee Concierge found himself at Changi Airport seeing off a good friend. So naturally, to blunt the pain of parting, the Coffee Concierge found himself standing at the Spinelli Coffee Company stand in Terminal 1. Spinelli shares this space with Mr Bean and Polar in supplying snacks and beverages to the thirsty travellers and their farewelling entourages.

The barista on hand was better than average, and obligingly looking up where John Ting, the newly crowned Singapore Barista Champ 2008, and Chris Yeo, the runner up, worked. (Turns out John Ting works in Spinelli Raffles Quay branch. Chris Yeo's whereabouts were more elusive so if any of my reader's know please do say.)

He also managed to make the Coffee Concierge a halfway decent expresso. I say halfway decent because while it had a strong smoky aroma and absolutely terrific aftertaste that lingered in bittersweet dryness in my mouth long after, it was still slightly sour. The sour quality dimminished as the coffee cooled to a lukewarmth. This sour quality I have found so far has dogged every cuppa I've had yet in Singapore. It'll be news indeed when I find one that isn't sour. It makes one wonder about the quality of the beans imported into Singapore in general.

I've forgotten how much it cost but I think it was about S$3.00 for an expresso which is average for a coffee chain here.

Overall Rating:
Service: 3 1/2 beans
Taste: 3 beans

The Ritz Carlton Poolside

The Coffee Concierge was recently lounging around the poolside at the Ritz-Carlton, Singapore. The Ritz-Carlton in Singapore is a sumptous hotel with grounds and rooms designed with great aesthetic care. Although I do note that it takes two chambermaids not just one, to make the enormous high bed, I have to say, as a guest, the effort is well worth it. The poolside is no exception with a lovely oblong pool which allows laps and lots of neatly laid out and very comfortable deck chairs with ample towels and umbrellas surrounding it with the tropical gardens behind.

However since this post is meant to be mainly about the coffee at the Ritz-Carlton, I shall not go on about the exquisite Japanese restaurant, Shiraishi, or the insanely sinful chocolate fudge cake at the Greenhouse. Instead as you can see in the photo, the expresso was made on the spot by the poolside waiter, a very charming Indian hotel veteran. I was struck by his attentiveness and his effort to keep both me happy not just this time but also on other earlier occasions. He even brought his manager out to plead to let them make up some fruit basket on the spot when me and my family friend said we had no time to order a proper lunch.

Back to the expresso. The crema didn't exactly support the few large grains of brown sugar I slid into the cup. So after a few grains had sunk immediately to the bottom, I started wondering whether the test for a crema was meant to be executed with fine or coarse-grained sugar. The crema was nevertheless a beautiful golden brown with just that one large bubble you can see the coffee through.

The expresso had a reasonable aroma but not one that was particularly striking. It was slightly sour though reasonably mild. It was likely a medium roast. While it was slightly bitter, I generally like my coffee very slightly bitter so didn't have a quarrel with that. Overall there was some complexity and a little balancing of the flavours but not that much. I'd say overall that as a hotel claiming to be six star, I would have expected the coffee, like the attentiveness of the staff, and the outstanding physical surroundings, to be similarly exceptional. However although it was by Singapore standards at least (which I have to say are not high) an acceptable cup, it was not a six star cup. I should add that as this is the Ritz-Carlton, the prices were too match with an expresso going for S$10. (The very nice waiter added in cookies for free).

So the overall rating:

Flavour: 2 1/2 to 3 beans
Service: 5 beans

Latte Art

As promised in my earlier post on Boncafe, here's a shot of the Boncafe barista's latte etching. I think personally their latte art skills are better than their barista skills but their latte art was stunning indeed. More anon.

Winners All

The second Singapore Barista Championship recently concluded on 25th April and the Coffee Concierge was in attendance but only for the finals sadly enough as work called on the day that the heats were held. So I only got to see the final three in action.

For those of you who were not able to go at all, the test requires the contestant to make a total of 12 drinks within 15 minutes. 4 expressos, 4 cappucinos and 4 signature drinks not necessarily in that order. They are given 15 minutes to prepare their stations and 15 minutes to clean up. They are judged by 4 sensory judges and 3 technical judges.

As an observer only, I was unable to sample their coffee so could only watch their showmanship. I rather liked the way both John Ting and Keith Low presented themselves and their drinks to the audience and judges. Both came across as being able to operate well under pressure. Keith in particular had one of his machines that was supposed to help the cream whip into shape fail on him but keep his cool throughout and talked his way through.

In the photo you see the three winners: Chris Yeo, John Ting and Keith Low from right to left. While they compete as individuals rather than as representatives of their companies, for those of you who may wish to want to sample their coffee and see what the top baristas have to offer, John and Chris work for Spinelli's and John is usually to be found in the Raffles Place branch. Keith works at Whitebait & Kale. I'm certainly going to be showing up at their outlets just to see what a difference a good barista can make.

What I thought was a pity was that the championship was held in the middle of a trade show that was held during office hours and generally restricted to trade visitors only. For an event that has the potential to capture the interest of all coffee drinkers in Singapore, the audience was restricted to trade folk since it was held within the Food & Hotel Asia Exhibition. For this event to grow in future, it would be better off if the organisers can eventually shift it into a more publicly accessible location. This does deserve a wider audience.