Nestled amidst huge coffee chains such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean, Local Coffee People has three outlets in the CBD. The takeaway stand sets itself apart with affordable prices starting from $1 and going up to $2.50.
The local brand brews coffee and tea using the traditional process, just like how they do it in kopitiams and hawker centres, using the coffee sock. This method produces very “gao” (strong) coffee which wakes every cell in you.
What differentiates Local Coffee People from your neighbourhood kopitiam would be that it offers coffee and tea with an extra touch of modern taste. The store uses arabica coffee beans, a toned down version of robusta beans used in kopitiams, to ensure that the coffee would blend well with local and interesting flavours, like Almond, Gula Melaka Coffee, just to name a few.
The founder of Local Coffee People and previously a partner of Old Tea Hut, Mark, created the signatures such as the the above mentioned all from scratch!
Gula Melaka, also known as palm sugar, commonly found in nyonya dishes has a very distinct and rich buttery taste. With a unique flavour on its own, how would it taste like with your everyday coffee and tea? You may question. We head down to have a try at some of their unthinkable coffee and tea creations.
The Gula Melaka Tea ($1.60/ $2.10) is available hot and cold. The taste of Gula Melaka hit me right away when I took the first sip, yet it doesn’t overpower the tea. I enjoyed how the Gula Melaka blended well with the tea without being too sweet, resulting in a creamier texture.
Unlike the Gula Melaka Tea, the strong taste of the nyonya ingredient creeped in only after a few sips for the Gula Melaka Coffee (Hot $1.60/ Cold $2.10). This was largely due to the extremely heavy taste of the strong coffee. However, the lingering aroma of Gula Melaka could be savoured as an after taste.
The Gula Melaka Coffee is the perfect drink for a twist to your daily coffee runs.
Frequently found on the menu of Bubble Tea shops, Honey Milk Tea (Hot $1.40/ Cold $1.90) is offered at approximately a dollar lesser at Local Coffee People. Honey acts as a natural sweetener, which infused well within the milk tea.
This is definitely a great alternative to the Honey Milk Tea from your conventional bubble tea shops, cheaper and better!
Salted Lemon (Cold $2.10) was one of the inventions inspired while Mark, was on a holiday in Hong Kong. A bottled drink found in Hong Kong left a strong impression on him and he was determined to replicate it.
Sweet, salty and sour, all packed together in a cup, just enough to trigger your taste buds. The Salted Lemon is a refreshing beverage, perfect for the sultry, hot weather in Singapore.
Being known as a modern Kopitiam, a beverage that can’t be missed would be the Honey Sour Plum (Hot $1.60/ Cold $2.10). The iconic sweet and salty drink that almost every Singaporean has drank since young is one of the signatures of Local Coffee People.
Unlike the very harsh taste you get from Sour Plum drinks in kopitiams, Local Coffee People has a milder version yet still satisfying and thirst quenching.
With a mixture of modern and traditional drinks, Local Coffee People has an extensive menu that would be a good refreshment for you at anytime of the day. Be it a coffee fix or a drink to cool you down, you name it, they have it.
Expected Damage: $1 – $2.50
