Artisan cuppa

I first came here a while back because I was told the coffee here was good. At that time, I ordered a flat white and there was nothing outstanding about the coffee. Today, I decided to order their hand brew. They had a choice of three — American, Asian and African. I decided to try the Asian. My guess was that it was Sumatran Mandheling and I was correct.

We settled down at a table outdoors and waited for our food. The food came first and I took the usual pictures to upload subsequently. Then it came.

I’ve never really considered myself a coffee drinker. I only drink one a day and I did not think that was sufficient to qualify me as a coffee drinker. I also never thought I would be able to tell what a good cup of coffee looked like when I saw one, probably because I’ve not really seen a good cup of coffee in natural light; cafes tend to be artificially lit indoors. Today, I saw it — coffee that had been lovingly crafted from beans to brew to a perfect cuppa if ever there was one — and boy, did it look good! One sip and I was sold.

I’ve had coffee in many places in Singapore, including cafes that claim to serve the best coffee. While those claims may be true when the cafe first opened, they may not be as true say one year down the track. Busyness, a lack of staff, untrained staff, all can result in a cuppa that is not lovingly brewed. This is a predicament in many cafes and restaurants in Singapore and I am sure, elsewhere too. Consistency in the quality of food and drinks is a constant challenge. Hence, for a cafe to be able to maintain that consistency, it must have all the right ingredients, ranging from the produce to the right people and the right number of people. A shortfall or lack in any one of these ingredients will show up in the final product. And customers can tell. They may not say it or they may excuse it, but they know. This place has been in business for a few years and its current location is actually a blessing in disguise. It has a steady stream of customers and it is not overwhelmingly busy which means that it can control the quality of the food and especially the coffee a lot better than say, a cafe in a much busier part of town with high rental costs. I’m definitely making this out-of-the-way place my coffee haunt from now.

Loysel’s Toy, 66 Kampong Bugis, #01-02, Singapore 338987. Tel: 6292 2306.