The Best Specialty Coffee Roasters in Singapore

Introduction

Specialty coffee is artisanal coffee known for its high-quality beans and flavours. More care and craftsmanship go into the farming and roasting process. Most, if not all, coffee from coffee roasteries are specialty coffees.

Unlike the usual instant coffee packets from supermarket shelves, specialty coffee sells in small batches. 

Specialty coffee is becoming more popular in Singapore for its unique, diverse flavours. 

International coffee businesses (such as Takagi Specialty Coffee Roastery from Japan, which opened its first Singapore branch at Tanjong Pagar in 2023) and small-scale local coffee roasteries have set up business operations to meet local demand. Some business models include home-brewing subscriptions, plant-based coffee, and specialty coffee capsules.

Analyst insights from Statista state that a notable trend in Singapore’s 2024-2025 coffee market is the growing demand for specialty coffee. Consumers want premium and unique coffee experiences, with access to various exotic flavours. 

Industry practitioners have noted that Singapore is a mature coffee market, with coffee drinkers willing to pay more for quality specialty coffee and ambience. Consumers are also spoilt for choice with a wide range of options in a competitive coffee industry.

Interested in trying specialty coffee but unsure where to begin? Take your pick from two options: enjoying home-brewed specialty coffee or visiting a specialty coffee roaster cafe.

How to Experience Specialty Coffee: Home-Brewed or Specialty Coffee Roasters?

Home-brewed specialty coffee offers better personalisation. You can customise the type of coffee, the grind size, the brew, water temperature, concentration, and what additional ingredients to add – whether you like more milk, sugar, creamer, or nothing.

Home-brewed specialty coffee gives coffee lovers a hands-on approach to coffee brewing instead of getting it straight from a barista or coffee machine.

Tips for Home Brewing

So you’ve decided you want to try brewing specialty coffee at home. Here are some tips to get started.

• Type of Grinder

The first step in preparing specialty coffee at home is grinding. Specialty coffee usually comes in a pack of whole, roasted beans. Grinding the beans into powder allows you to extract more flavour during brewing.

We recommend choosing a manual burr grinder. Manual burr grinders give you maximum control over your coffee grind. Burrs have serrated edges or ‘teeth’ that can move closer together, depending on your desired grind size. Manual adjustments are more precise than pre-set electric grinders. 

Plus, they’re easier to handle and operate, especially if you’re a beginner.

• Type of Brewing Equipment

After grinding your coffee beans and obtaining a pile of ground coffee, you can prepare your brewing equipment.

Choose between manual coffee brewing equipment or a standard coffee machine. 

However, we recommend using manual coffee brewing equipment for the best experience and customisation. After all, the hands-on experience is precisely why you chose the home brewing method, so you might as well enjoy it.

Coffee machines have pre-set brew types and are great for quick, easy coffee fixes, like a morning pick-me-up before rushing to work.

If you have more time to spend on brewing coffee, consider using the drip filter technique. This technique lets the coffee ‘bloom’ before serving. Coffee grounds blossom into coffee with a rich, appealing flavour after steeping in hot water.

The pour-over or drip coffee brewing technique is a beginner-friendly, cost-efficient and fast way to enjoy specialty coffee at home. 

1. Boil some water. Add it to a coffee teapot.
2. Fold and place a conical filter into your coffee dripper.
3. Pour the freshly boiled water over the filter. Use a circular motion to warm the filter paper.
4. Add coffee grounds to the filter cone.
5. Pour water slowly over the coffee. Start at the centre. Move out in a slow and steady circle towards the periphery of the pile of coffee grounds.

Tip: Use freshly boiled water for quick, instant specialty coffee without the manual drip filter technique. Add coffee grounds to a cup and pour freshly boiled water over them.

• Type of Coffee

Use specialty, high-quality coffee beans for the best results. These usually come packaged as whole, roasted beans. Local specialty coffee retailers like Kofrika Coffee offer 100% Arabica single origin beans. The coffee is grown in Ethiopia, roasted in Singapore, and blooms to produce a bold, fruity flavour when brewed. Enjoy the taste of Africa from the comfort of your home.

Visiting a Specialty Coffee Roaster

A specialty coffee roaster offers a different experience. You get to enjoy the unique ambience of each roastery cafe and sample a wide range of flavours brewed by coffee craftsmen.

What are Specialty Coffee Roasters?

Specialty coffee roasters source green coffee beans from sustainable and ethical sources. They roast them carefully to produce a unique flavour and may distribute them to food businesses for sale. Some roasters also operate their own shops and cafes to sell coffee directly to consumers.

Specialty coffee roasters in Singapore typically operate with cafe setups. Here, customers like you can buy coffee or enjoy fresh, in-house roasted and brewed coffee.

What Can I Expect When Visiting A Specialty Coffee Roaster?

• Immersive Experience

Coffee roasters offer a more immersive and educational experience. Roasters may conduct workshops or tasting sessions that teach you how to taste and appreciate coffee using different senses. This immerses you in the authentic coffee-drinking experience.

• Wider Coffee Variety

Expect a wider range of unique coffee offerings, especially if you visit different roasteries. Coffee roasters are craftsmen who conduct the entire sourcing and roasting process. 

They taste, grade, and customise roasting processes that bring out the beans’ best flavours. They may roast their coffee to produce novel and interesting notes. 

If you’re an adventurous coffee enthusiast, you’ll love trying all the various coffee flavours they offer.

• Higher Brew Quality

Look forward to higher brew quality, flavour, and presentation from great coffee served at a coffee roastery. It may be better than the coffee you brew at home.

• Complementary Side Dishes

To add to the cafe ambience, most coffee roasteries serve side dishes with their coffee. Expect classic favourites like kaya toast, waffles, pastries, and eggs benedict.

5 Popular Specialty Coffee Roasters in Singapore

1. Cowpresso Coffee Roasters Singapore

Cowpresso Coffee Roasters sells specialty coffee beans and grounds from various regions like Ethiopia, Uganda, Colombia, Brazil, and Jamaica. You can also find coffee brewing equipment, capsule sets, gift sets, and coffee machines. Visit their website.

2. Homeground Coffee Roasters Singapore

Homeground Coffee Roasters sells subscription-based espresso, filter, and drip bag specialty coffee products. These include coffee from Costa Rica, Colombia, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. If you’re looking for home brewing equipment, check out their online store for coffee filters, drippers, hand grinders, cups, and brewing kettles.

They also host coffee experiences for different coffee types. Sign up at their website.

3. Nylon Coffee Roasters Singapore

Nylon Coffee Roasters offers subscriptions for specialty coffee from Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. You can also find coffee equipment like drippers, hand grinders, filter paper, and mugs. Visit their website.

4. Common Man Coffee Roasters Cafe Singapore

Common Man Coffee Roasters sells specialty coffee from Burundi, Brazil, and Columbia. You can also buy cup and saucer sets, French press equipment, coffee mugs, kettles, drippers, filter papers, tampers, spoons, and coffee merchandise. 

Their in-house coffee academy also provides holistic training programmes for wholesale partners and the public. Learn more about their courses here.

5. Five Oars Coffee Roasters Singapore

Five Oars Coffee Roasters sells specialty coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Enjoy their coffee with brioche, sourdough, and classic cafe dishes like French toast and waffles. Visit their website.

Conclusion: A New Coffee Culture?

Singapore’s coffee culture has come a long way since its early kopitiam (coffee shop) days. However, that doesn’t mean that the local kopitiam culture has been completely erased. Locals love sipping specialty coffee in cafes and drinking a cup of kopi in coffee shops. 

Singapore’s coffee culture is still, at its core, about enjoying and savouring the rich flavours of our favourite brews.

Expand your coffee palate with specialty coffee. Try new flavours at home or visit roasteries to experience Singapore’s thriving specialty coffee scene.