Coffee in Singapore! Ah….heaven!
Coffee vendors are everywhere in Singapore. I have found them in shopping malls, hawker centers (more on that another time!), on street corners, etc! Most everyone I have met drinks coffee. They drink it morning, afternoon, and even in the evening! Makes me feel right at home! It is very easy to find hot and fresh local coffee everywhere, at any time of the day! Actually there is a place within walking distance from the church…and I do visit it often and others quite often!
When we first arrived, we visited a Starbucks down the street from the church. But the prices were so extremely high (a Venti for 8.00!) that we were disappointed. We thought we were going to have to fast coffee while in Singapore!
But you can imagine our excitement when we discovered that the local coffee sells for 80 cents to 1.20 (Sing). With the exchange that means it only costs between 50 cents to 70 cents (US). The taste is much stronger than a coffee found in a Stripes convenience store in Oklahoma or anywhere else, for that matter. In flavor, I think that in many cases the local coffee is better than a Starbucks, especially in the price. (As a Starbucks fan, it was almost hard to write that, but it is true!) I find that the taste of the local coffee is pretty uniform between the vendor stalls, so once I find a new place I know that I can always return for a hot, fresh cup of coffee that tastes great!
One thing that I find fascinating is the use of plastic holders. When you purchase food or coffee, they always want to know if you want to eat or drink it at a table nearby (“Here, please!”) or if you wish to take it to go (“Take away!”). When you get it to go, they will place the cup into a plastic holder. Quite convenient if you are carrying food or anything else! And, if you don’t like coffee in a cup they will place it in a plastic bag! Quite normal to see people walking around with plastic bags of coffee!
Coffee is also pronounced “Koppe!” I quickly learned to say, “One Koppe, take away please!” Anything more can create confusion sometimes. The coffee owners move quick and are dealing with about 20 other customers at the same time, no joke!
Four words best describe my thoughts: Ah…Singapore…coffee heaven!
Actually “kopi” is Hokkien (one of the major Chinese dialect groups in Singapore) for coffee, so that’s why it’s also commonly called that. In fact, you might have noticed a chain of food courts called “Kopitiam”, which is literally “coffeeshop” in Hokkien.
love your web site. It’s so good to see you and Joanna being used of God in such a might way.