Huggs Coffee With A Twist
ANG YI NING sat down with an ex-barista and coffee roaster to discuss the quality of the coffee they offer.
The newly opened Huggs Collective at Tanjong Pagar, just a few minutes walk from Gucco Tower.
PHOTO CREDITS: ANG YI NING
The business opened in 2008, and has over 20 outlets in Singapore. We visited their new outlet at Tanjong Pagar, which opened at the end of 2021.
The outlet has an amphitheatre space designed for gatherings, a pet-friendly outdoor seating area, as well as a members-only lounge that provides complimentary Marshall Headphones for use.
Mr Lee Hao Ming, 33, who is the Managing Director of Huggs Coffee, says the design was to create “an oasis within the concrete jungle of the CBD (Central Business District)”.
The newest outlet also features a gelato bar in collaboration with Denzy Gelato. For those who miss the swing chairs in Marry Brown, you can experience that once again with the swing table set outside of the cafe.
“We are the only coffee chain in Singapore that does the full local to specialty range such as Kopi (black coffee with condensed milk), Teh (Tea) to Flat White, Latte Gula (Coffee with steamed milk and caramelised palm sugar),” Mr Lee says. “We have our own roastery and bakery so the quality of the blends, fresh baked [goods] are controlled by us.”
Along with Mr Pierre Chng, 26, an ex-barista with five years of experience, who currently works as a coffee roaster, we delved deeper into three of Huggs’s most recommended beverages by baristas as the cafe: Espresso, Iced Latte Gula, and Iced Matcha (Green Tea) Latte.
Hot espresso (top), followed by Iced Latte Gula (bottom left) and Iced Matcha Latte (bottom right).
PHOTO CREDITS: ANG YI NING
Our first drink: Hot espresso.
On first impressions, the coffee was very fragrant and tasted surprisingly good for someone like me who prefers less concentrated coffee or coffee with milk. On a scale of 1-10, I gave it a 7.
Mr Cheah Yao Yu, 18, a regular coffee drinker, does not drink black coffee, but commented on the espresso as “different from the ones” that he has tried at other companies due to its stronger fragrance. He also gave the drink a 7 out of 10.
Mr Chng noted the “woody earthy notes” as he opened the lid. “It’s got a kick of acidity. … As for sweetness, it’s really sweet and robust.” He compares the flavour to dark caramel.
Mr Chng says that he would give this a solid 8 out of 10, if he were comparing it to Starbucks, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
Our second drink: Iced Latte Gula.
This was my favourite out of the three. I don’t particularly enjoy gula melaka (palm sugar), but putting it in the latte gave the drink a flavour boost. It did not taste overly sweet either. I gave it an 8 out of 10.
“It’s like [the] perfect Singaporean coffee, very unique,” says Mr Cheah.
He rated the drink a solid 10 out of 10.
“It's significantly, significantly better than most of the iced milk-based coffee that I have,” Mr Chng says.
But he does admit that he doesn’t have a sweet tooth.
“I taste a lot more gula melaka. So I might mistake this for a gula melaka milkshake,” says Mr Chng.
He gave the Iced Latte Gula a 6 out of 10.
Our last drink: Iced Matcha Latte.
It was slightly sweeter than the Latte Gula, and it did not stand out in any way. I gave it a 6 out of 10.
I have tasted a fair amount of matcha latte; but Mr Chng has tasted matcha from millers in Japan, from the most accessible matcha you can get commercially, to even ceremonial grade matcha.
“It barely tastes like matcha,” he says. “I really can't tell if this is matcha powder or matcha flavoured powder.”
“As a matcha beverage, terribly disappointing. Out of 10 for a matcha, it's like a 2,” Mr Chng says.
Mr Cheah, however, disagrees.
He says, “It’s almost like ice cream matcha.” He rated the drink 8 out of 10.
In conclusion, if you take your coffee seriously, Huggs may not be the place for your caffeine fix, but if you are a casual drinker, this place is worth a check-in.