Came here for their matcha lattes, but ended up falling in love with their filter coffee.
If you’re wondering if you should try this new cafe at Duo Galleria, you should. Calligraph Coffee serves high quality ceremonial matcha from Kagoshima. But what you might not know about them is that their coffee is just as good, if not even better.
What to order at Calligraph Coffee?
If you’re wondering what drinks you should order, the answer is both the matcha and the coffee.
Ceremonial matcha from Kagoshima
Calligraph Coffee serves three types of matcha powder: two ceremonial grade and one barista grade.
Their finest offering, Zen, has an intense umami flavour. You can literally smell it asks the barista whisks it in water.
We highly recommend getting it as an usucha so you can fully taste all the undertones of the high quality matcha powder. The best way I can describe umami, is the sort of full and rich aftertaste you get after tasting soy sauce. It’s not quite savoury, but rather, the same bitterness that soy sauce has.
Personally, I love matcha that tastes like this as there’s a lot more complexity in flavours. This is why I opt for just water, with no milk and no sweetener, to fully savour the entire profile.
The Zen Usucha costs $8.2, which is a very reasonable price for the quality you’re getting.
But if you prefer your matcha with milk, I would recommend getting the Miyabi instead. Not only is it more affordable, I personally feel that it’s nutty undertones would complement milk better. The Miyabi Matcha Latte is $8.2 while the Zen Matcha Latte is $9.2.
Should you just stick with the cheaper matcha?
Calligraph Coffee also offers a premium matcha blend, also known as barista-grade matcha, which is of lower quality compared to the Zen and Miyabi.
We haven’t tried so we can’t confirm. However, a lot of cafes in Singapore also use barista-grade matcha, so it should be fine.
While we didn’t get to taste the Wa blend in a drink, based on just looks alone, the quality isn’t too far off.
Surprisingly good filter coffee
Even though Calligraph Coffee seems to be more matcha-centric on their social media, they serve one hell of a good coffee.
Not only do they have interesting coffee beans, the barista, Nicholas, also did a fine job in extracting all those flavours.
I ordered the Yunnan Badoo Iced Filter Coffee ($8.9), which was so juicy and crisp, with a sweet aftertaste.
Single origin coffee from Yunnan, China is already considerably uncommon. But wait till you find out they have single origin beans from India on hopper for espresso-based coffee. The Mooleh Manay Natural promises notes of grapefruit, cherry, and dark chocolate.
Coffee is priced at $5 for a Black, $6 for a White and $7.2 for a Mocha.
You can also get interesting coffee drinks like Iced Coconut Americano ($7.9) and Matcha Espresso Latte ($6.9).
Any snacks?
If you’re planning to come here for breakfast or afternoon tea, Calligraph Coffee serves a small selection of tarts, oats and muffins.
Location: 7 Fraser St, Duo Galleria, #01-57, Singapore 189356
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 7:30am-5:30pm
Sat-Sun: 9am-6pm
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