- Nylon was my regular roasted bean source, simply because they roast to order. Nobody else guaranteed it. I was buying from Yahava mentioned above until they shipped me beans 15 days stale. They have great single origins that rotate every few weeks, the roaster is really well known in the community, etc. Why did I stop? The prices inched up by something like 50% since my first order, following the rest of the market. I had a look right now and you're looking at $20-23 per 250g. And looking for alternatives, I discovered (through a recommendation)...
- Tiong Hoe: the owner is apparently the grandaddy of Singaporean roasters. They have the cheapest price I've found for fresh roasted beans, by including cheaper origins - starting at $12 per 250g; they also have rarer stuff for ten times that. They roast several times a week, if not daily - but check with them before ordering online to make sure you get the fresh stuff, I've seen 14 days old bags on their shelf and received a 7 day old order (which they argued, to be fair, was better after this much resting - and again I know I am in the minority in preferring 1-4 days old). This is the only reliable source of monsooned malabar I've found in Singapore, and theirs is a real winner and always part of my orders. The cafe itself, at the bottom of a large housing estate, is also worth visiting. The attention to detail is almost perfect; I would just prefer if they warmed the beaker before doing the pourover as it ends up a few degrees cooler than ideal. Tiong Hoe is my current mail order option and has been for a few months.
- Geisha: I hesitate to recommend this tiny shop in Rochor mostly because it is so unreliably open, but it is crazy in a kind of awesome way. I've had the owner tell me he was closed at least 3 times. But he is absolutely a passionate expert, with encyclopaedic knowledge of his art. He doesn't speak much English, only mandarin, and if his wife is not there hello sign language (Google Translate can also help). I brought them 2kg of green beans and the owner literally took a week to experiment with them until he was sure the roast was perfect for them, at which point he did the whole thing and bagged it for me for $50, whilst explaining exactly how the farm had failed to wash the beans properly and making me taste it side by side with his own single origin from the same island (he was right). The cafe is named after the Panama varietal we know and love, and you can have a pourover of it for $17. Espresso shots are the cheapest of all the good cafes at a mere $2, and naturally excellent. The pourover is the most careful I've witnessed, with beaker warmed, filter warmed, and careful pouring guaranteeing a very reliable cup. Beans for normal single origins are around $17-25 per 250g which is the market rate. There is no menu, you ask him what he has and hopefully he has roasted something you like recently - my last purchase was Kenyan AA. Geisha replaces Tiong Hoe when I'm in a rush. I cannot rely on Geisha for regular supplies, my mandarin is inexistent and I just have no idea what he intends to roast, when, or whether it will be open when I walk over. But if you're serious about coffee you have to visit.
- 7Kickstart: this one is only for the amateurs of very strong roasts. I have stopped going because the roasts are too close to the second crack for my taste, on all varietals, even the "mild" roasted ones. The roaster also likes to pick "stinky" varietals which makes me think he or she is local ("kopi" is defined by overroasted pungent beans). However, google some photos of this place and you will get the idea. Aside from offering the usual assortment of espresso and pourover drinks and roasted and green beans, they have a nitro pour ($7) and cold drip. The food is strange. Not bad necessarily, just a chef with a palate that is quite different from the usual brunch cafe-roaster arrangement. Think orange mayo on your burger. Big portions. Actually, typing this up makes me want to go back.
Then there are the 4/5s. Common Man is the Lavazza of fresh roasted coffee, served by a ton of places that aren't called Common Man (but the reputation is deserved). I don't buy beans there because the roast schedule is too infrequent, although I have in the past when I got lucky. Great place for brunch. Oriole has been mentioned over and over, personally I avoid it due to stratospheric pricing and a packed and unfriendly atmosphere; service is friendly but always slow due to the crowd, and I just don't get the hype. Every time I've talked to a recruiter in CBD it was at Jewel, and it's not bad, about equivalent to a decent local cafe in Sydney but not reaching the heights of Mecca or Gumption. Chye Seng Huat is very hip (and a LBGT+ cruise spot at night, I think), but both their beer and coffee leaves a bit to be desired; I feel it's more of a place to be seen than to drink, although you will get your piccolo latte and highly hopped ultra bitter IPA. Stranger's Reunion I have been only once but the piccolo latter was good. Montana Brew Bar used to be my neighbourhood cafe of choice before I discovered Geisha; I think they have suffered from expanding the space and the menu, and the interesting options like the Gibraltar ($4) have disappeared for more mainstream assortments of cappuccino and so on (but they will make it for you on request). Tiong Bahru Bakery (City Hall, Tiong Bahru - both places are fine, the latter more knowledgeable) pours a surprisingly decent shot I think from Common Man, and of course the pastries and bread are why you are here (try the Kouign Amman). The Coffee Academics look superficially great but again I felt a lack of passion, perhaps due to the ultra premium locations and large crowds. Maison Ikkoku is another roaster-cocktail bar with very high reputation, somewhat deserved, for both; I was satisfied with my beans but it's such a pain to walk around that part of town in the heat that I've only bought there once. Nearby A.R.C. (Academy Roastery Cafe) trains baristas and cares, although again nothing roasted on the day so I've only had coffee there, not bought beans.
