The famous Blue Bottle Coffee is slated to open in Singapore in early 2025. This upscale American coffee roaster chain began in Oakland, California back in 2002. At its heart is a vow made by its founder to “only sell coffee less than 48 hours out of the roaster to [his] guests, so they may enjoy coffee at peak flavour.”

There is a dizzying array of coffees out there and if you are weary of the commercial coffee enterprise and stale, overly roasted beans, Blue Bottle Coffee is committed to serving cuppas with the absolute best flavour. In fact, they taste each coffee to determine the precise days on which it will achieve peak flavour.

After debuting in Singapore in August 2024 with a retail store and an exhibition at LUMINE SINGAPORE’s global flagship in Raffles City, this new opening marks the first full Blue Bottle experience in the city.

Their menu is simple with a small selection of coffees such as Espresso, Macchiato, Cappucino, Caffé Latte, Caffeé Mocha, as well as Single Origin choices, Brewed Coffees, and Cold Brewed Iced Coffees.

If you cannot be sure of what to settle on, Blue Bottle Coffee has a “find your coffee match” to help.

Blue Bottle Coffee evaluates deliciousness with blind taste tests at different days after their coffees are out of the roaster. Each time they change a component of one of Blue Bottle Coffee blends, they start over. Every time a new single origin is introduced, they go through the process anew.

With outlets across America and parts of Japan as well as in Seoul, we await for the day of Blue Bottle Coffee’s opening here in Singapore with much anticipation.

Blue Bottle Coffee Singapore
252 N Bridge Rd, #01-01 Raffles City
Singapore 179103

Coffee cube latte is a unique twist on your usual iced coffee, and can be made as a morning or early afternoon pick-me-up. We actually prefer this to regular iced coffee, because the coffee does not get watered down as we continue drinking. When the coffee cubes melt, the taste only becomes richer.

If you’re like us and you find it hard to survive without a cuppa in the morning, this recipe’s for you. Especially when we live in such a humid environment, a cold cup of coffee is just what we need to start the day well.

This fuss-free coffee cube latte recipe just needs 10 minutes of your time and 3 ingredients that you can easily find at home.

HOW TO MAKE COFFEE CUBE LATTE – STEP 1

Step 1: Gather your ingredients, instant black coffee powder, an ice tray, and a cup of milk. Pour hot water into the instant black coffee powder and mix well.

HOW TO MAKE COFFEE CUBE LATTE – STEP 2

Step 2: Pour the mix into the ice tray and put it in your fridge. Leave it there overnight.

HOW TO MAKE COFFEE CUBE LATTE – STEP 3

Step 3: Put the coffee ice cubes in a cup. Add milk, and serve!

Pro-Tips:
Add sweetener/condensed milk if you want the coffee to taste sweeter.

Olla Specialty Coffee is a mobile coffee company that has been offering their services to events as well as operating coffee bars for companies, but they have finally found a home at Sunset Way now! Occupying a small shop space under a HDB block, this hole-in-the-wall café is the newest addition to the trove of eateries and bakeries in the neighbourhood.

Although this cosy café focuses mainly on coffee, a selection of teas, chocolate, matcha and chai is offered as well. What’s more, the drinks here are priced between S$3 and S$5.50 – super wallet-friendly prices! You can also pair your drinks with some buttermilk waffles and pastries too.

With its minimalist interior and chill vibes, Olla Specialty Coffee is a great place to grab your mid-day cuppa.

Olla Specialty Coffee uses single-origin coffee beans roasted by Nylon Coffee Roasters which are on a rotational basis according to the season. Currently offered are Guatemalan beans that feature tasting notes of berries, raisins and chocolate. Our 5 Oz White (S$4) was smooth and palatable with a nice mouthfeel – a truly satisfying cuppa.

Unlike other establishments, fresh chai is used for their Masala Chai Latte (Soy) (S$5.50). Upon hearing that, we knew we had to give it a try.

//

The difference between fresh chai and powdered chai was apparent in our aromatic cup of tea – we could taste the subtle sweetness from the honey that the leaves were preserved in as well as the strong kick of spice.

One of the better chai lattes you can get in Singapore, what you get here is full-on chai that is smooth and enjoyable.

We also got their signature Ondeh Ondeh Waffles (S$13.50) to accompany our drinks. The buttermilk waffle was airy and fluffy on the inside, and delightfully crisp on the outside. We loved that it also stayed that way till the end – signs of a well-executed waffle!

Perched on top of the waffle was a generous scoop of gula melaka gelato that was not too overwhelming and had the perfect consistency. The desiccated coconut provided a good crunch with every bite too. It’s served with a side serving of gula melaka sauce as well if you want to amp up the sugar.

Unfortunately, they ran out of the pandan sauce that was supposed to balance out the sweetness of the gula melaka components, so our waffle was to the sweeter side. But, we must say we thoroughly enjoyed their version of the Ondeh Ondeh dessert.

Describing themselves as just an ordinary place with extraordinary coffee and waffles, we can totally attest to that!

109 Clementi Street 11 #01-03
Singapore 120109
Tue to Sun: 8am – 6pm
(Closed on Monday)
Nearest Station: Clementi

A new addition to the trove of cafés and restaurants nearby the Botanic Gardens is Elixir Boutique Roasters. This bean-to-bar café doesn’t reveal its exact location in Serene Centre and encourages you to hunt them down instead. But lucky for you, we’ve hunted it down for you!

Located at the street level of Serene Centre, the café is so nondescript—dimly lit and no signboard—you’ll probably miss it if you’re weren’t looking for it. Elixir Boutique Roasters takes over the premise of Sugarhaus and shares the same space as Fat Belly which operates at night. Still in their opening phase, coffees here are currently pay as you wish.

The Single Origin Guatemalan White (3oz) was an enjoyable cuppa to start off our day. Well-bodied a gentle acidity, it had a pleasant mouthfeel with some fruity notes.

We also got a Blend White (3oz) which really awakened our senses the moment we had a taste of it. Definitely for the real coffee addicts, this kick of caffeine featured a rich blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian coffee beans. With a mild chocolate flavour, this bold cuppa left a dry and bitter aftertaste.

While coffee options are aplenty around Botanic Gardens, Elixir Boutique Roasters is one place worth adding to your list!

Elixir Boutique Roasters
10 Jalan Serene
Serene Centre #01-03A
Singapore 258748
Thu to Tue: 8.30am – 4pm
(Closed on Wednesday)
Nearest Station: Botanic Gardens