Nylon Coffee Roasters

White: 7oz (left) and 5oz (right) pictured together with 72 Smalldive Neo Vintage Handbag

 

 

I am painfully aware of the backlog I have but a Sunday trip to Everton Park resulted in the discovery of a coffee joint that I am excited about enough that warrants this post.

Coffee aficionados lament the lack of a coffee scene like those down under especially places like Melbourne. Having lived in Perth for the past 8 years, I got a coffee shock when I came back to Singapore to work. While it was the norm for cafes in Perth to serve decent to good cuppas, I found it rare for cafes in Singapore to serve cuppas of similar quality and standard. So can you imagine my excitement when I find a place in Singapore that serves a good cuppa? But for the fact that I already had coffee prior to going to Nylon Coffee Roasters and would be fidgety if I consume too much caffeine, I would have gladly overdosed on the coffee there.

The Maillard Project i.e. In-House Coffee Roasting

Nylon Coffee Roasters is a name that is known in Singapore for its bean to cup approach i.e. they source, blend, roast and brew their coffees. I'm also very much impressed by their efforts to source for the best beans that they travel to visit coffee farms in faraway places like Brazil and Africa to see the coffee in its natural habitat. Their personal approach to coffee is such that they see and taste the coffee in their natural habitats. They understand the coffee's characteristics as affected by the weather conditions, methods of processing at the farm, and TLC (tender loving care) from the farmers etc. before they are transported to Singapore to be roasted in-house.

Because of the above, they are able to bring out each coffee's full characteristics to create the ultimate blend to achieve its maximum potential. To me, this is what artisanal coffee is all about.

Four Chairs Coffee Beans. Santa Rosa was unavailable.

With all the available blends at sight, I was overwhelmed by the choices that I asked the lovely barista which blend would be suitable if I wanted a latte. Notwithstanding that the Santa Rosa was unavailable that day, she recommended Four Chairs as being a good blend to pull an espresso shot for a latte.

Coffee Machine

She also explained the differences between ordering the 3oz, 5oz and 7oz. They refer to the amount of liquids the varying sized coffee cups can hold. All contain 1 shot of espresso and are topped with steamed milk. For the best balance of milk and coffee, she recommended the 5oz. Nonetheless, taste is subjective and if you prefer more milk in your coffee, go for the 7oz.

I heeded her advice and went for the 5oz while my milk loving friend Su went for the 7oz. When our coffees arrived, Su offered me the opportunity to taste hers to draw the comparison between the 5oz and 7oz.

At that point, I understood why the barista suggested the 5oz.

Coffee works as such. Connoisseurs balk at putting milk into coffee because milk detracts the taste of the coffee. However, unadulterated coffee is an acquired taste and my personal preference is coffee with milk. It is not necessarily a bad thing to put milk in coffee because it helps create a creamier and smoother mouth feel. The disadvantage is that there is the potential for the milk to overwhelm the coffee and blanket over the nuances of the coffee.

The 5oz had the perfect balance such that the berry notes from the coffee were fluttering ever so lightly on my palate while the milk provided the smooth and creamy mouth feel that I had a mental image of berry fairies dancing lightly on the surface of gentle waves of milk. The two components had complemented each other perfectly. There was a lingering smoothness at the end of each sip that I thoroughly enjoyed as well.

That is not to say that the 7oz was bad. With the 7oz, it was significantly milkier and the smooth mouth feel remained the same. However, it lacked the coffee notes that were peeking out in the 5oz. I felt that the coffee and milk components had fused into one that the coffee notes were masked and indistinguishable and felt more like milk coffee.

For those who balk at adding milk to your coffee, be rest assured that Nylon Coffee Roasters also have their recommended blends for your filtered cup.

Cupping room

If you are still not convinced as to their dedication to their craft and coffee, this cupping room should change your mind. From what I know, there are only a few places in Singapore that conduct coffee cupping. (Coffee cupping is the equivalent of coffee tasting where the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee are determined. Imagine wine tasting but with coffee instead.)

Standing coffee bar with products on display on shelves

Since coffee is all they offer and it is not recommended for one to consume copious amounts of coffee consecutively, the standing coffee bar is a clever concept to ensure that customers do not overstay given that the premises are small. The place fills up quickly and can get noisy so do get your coffee and leave quickly so that others can get their coffee fix too.

Nylon Coffee Roasters
Address: 4 Everton Park, Singapore 080004
Tel: 6220 2330

Opening Hours:
Weekdays: 8.30am to 5.30pm
Weekends: 9am to 6pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Nearest MRT Station: Outram Park