Drip & Drool

There has been quite a number of cafes that had sprouted all across the island recently but perhaps none of them have opened to such a silent affair as that of Drip & Drool. Only got to learn about the opening of Drip & Drool whilst scrolling through the phone rather recently and they seemed to be quite a new addition to Coliwoo Lavender Collection, being located at the ground level of the shophouse situated at 245 Lavender Street. These folks had been operating for a while as an online-based business and their Lavender Street premises serves as their very first brick and mortar space. Given the dark tinted windows of the shophouse, it is rather easy to miss out the existence of Drip & Drool whilst walking past the space — do look out for signages around that states “Slow Brews” around the grounds outside of the shophouse. As one enters the space, there is something about the interior that one would find in chic, yet slow and idyllic that exudes some sort of calmness whilst being sufficiently modern and not overly minimalistic — the use of metallic furniture and fittings amongst wooden furniture adds a bit of an industrial look; adequately raw but not too rugged. Most of its dine-in seating comprises of stools or bench seats; most tables also accommodating to patrons visiting in pairs with some being able to fit in groups of up to four (4) pax. Being an establishment that focuses more on their beverages offerings, the menu is central around its Cold Drip / Cold Brew coffee offerings whilst also serving up cold / hot tea and non-caffeinated beverages. There are also a small variety of light bites — mostly comprising of scones and cookies that are baked in-house.

Being pretty impressed with how these folks do serve up bakes that they painstakingly bake in-house, we found ourselves opting for two of their scones during our visit made to Drip & Drool — these would be the Cranberry Lemon Zest Scone and the Bacon & Cheese Scone; the former being a sweet scone offering while the latter would be the savoury scone. Between the two, we did find that the Cranberry Lemon Zest Scone was the one that we preferred a little more — this was being described on the menu to come with cranberries and lemon zest folded into the scone. The scone does come crusty on the exterior but also with a moist and crumbly interior; the dried cranberries does add a bit of a sweetness to the scone, but the addition of lemon zest adds a nice zing that somehow just gives it a bit of a refreshing contrast. Meanwhile, the Bacon & Cheese Scone is described to be one where smoky bacon meets parmesan cheese; the melted cheese adding a bit of savoury crust to the scone which comes with the same consistency as the Cranberry Lemon Zest Scone, all that while the bacon adds on that savoury and saltish note that one would typically expect out of cured meat.

Noting how Drip & Drool focuses on their cold drip coffee offerings, we did find ourselves opting for the Finca Villa Betulia, Pink Bourbon — this is a single-origin cold drip coffee featuring beans sourced from Columbia, with the menu describing it to come with tasting notes such as red grape, longan, poached strawberry and winey. This is one cold drip coffee offering in which we found that the flavours of the cuppa is especially bold; there is definitely a fruity note that comes as one first takes the first small sips into the coffee — there is definitely quite a bit of depth in the flavours yet and some complexity within the fruity notes of the cuppa as well. All of it rounds off nicely with a finish that carried the notes of red wine. Apart from their cold drip coffee, we also managed to give their Cold Brew Tea selection a go as well. We went for the Honey Scented Black Tea with Cream Foam. The black tea does come very aromatic here with very evident hints of the notes of tea leaves, while the cream foam actually adds on a milky sweetness that melds with the black tea beneath as time slowly passes.

We like how Drip & Drool has created a little bit of a sanctuary for its space when it feels quiet, idyllic and free from distractions — something that is very in tune with their emphasis of serving up slow brews. There is this sense of calmness that goes round the space that has been tastefully designed for the patrons to soak in and immerse themselves into the entire experience, while these folks also do seem knowledgeable and passionate about the various processes of coffee brewing and the offerings they have to serve up; always willing to explain the details to the patrons to educate and allow the patrons to better appreciate their craft as well. These folks also seem to put in quite a fair bit of effort to curate the entire experience; offering a small variety of in-house bakes rather than that of sourcing from external suppliers so that the entire experience feels cohesive. A small nook that strives to provide a sanctuary for its patrons to slow down from their hectic lives through the art of coffee and tea, Drip & Drool is definitely a spot worthwhile for tea and coffee aficionados to enjoy a slow cuppa in a quiet space while getting to learn more about cold drip coffee on a weekend waiting for time to pass …