Glass Roasters (Tiong Bahru)

Hidden among the old HDB flats in Tiong Bahru is this new coffee place @glassroasters, which serves up quality coffee!

We had the Iced Latte ($7) and the Iced Taro Latte ($8.50). The Iced Latte was of a dark roast and the robust aromatic flavours of the coffee really won me over! As I chose the Ethiopian beans, there was a chocolate note finish which was delightful. So glad that the coffee was strong and did not taste diluted all the way till the end!

The Iced Taro Latte was surprisingly good, as the taro taste did not overpower the coffee. Instead, it complemented the coffee really well and gave a rich aromatic aftertaste. Definitely great for taro lovers!

The cafe space is small so be prepared! Definitely a coffee place I will be back again!

Glass Roasters had most certainly come quite a long way ever since its inception — with their very first outlet which was located at Faber Drive, Glass Roasters had went way beyond being a brand that could only be found in the locations of Cloud (not to be confused with the similarly-named cafe at Duxton Hill; Cloud Faber and the now-defunct Cloud Mohamed Sultan typically also houses other F&B concepts like gelatolabo under the same roof). While Glass Roasters had since closed their Mohammed Sultan outlet in lieu of Cloud Mohamed Sultan’s closure, the folks at Glass Roasters have still managed to expand their operations over the years — they have since opened a new space that is co-tenanted with gelatolabo at Everton Park in recent times, though their newest outlet is a standalone shop space that is located at 60 Seng Poh Lane within the neighbourhood of the pre-war SIT flats at Tiong Bahru. Their location at Seng Poh Lane is a rather hidden one; hidden in the stretch of single-storey shop spaces that is across the road from Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre, the easiest way to get there by foot would be to cut into Seng Poh Lane in between Blk 71 and Blk 58 along Seng Poh Road — one would be able to find the vacated premises of the now-defunct The Makers Market (also a concept by the same folks by the now-defunct Tian Kee & Co. formerly from Dakota Crescent) and Glass Roasters can be found hidden in the second row of shops behind. Glass Roasters maintains its contemporary, Scandinavian-inspired decor theme here; the space decked in rustic wooden furnishings and fittings while the walls either take on a tiled or raw finish. As with all Glass Roasters concepts, the focus here would be on their espresso-based specialty coffee, though there are also non-coffee creations like the Macadamia / Taro Latte and Specialty drinks such as the Yuan Yang Earl Grey to go for. The Seng Poh Lane outlet also has a range of cakes, Madelines, tarts, danishes and bread for those who wish to have a light bite to go along with their cuppa.

Visiting Glass Roasters at Seng Poh Lane on a weekend afternoon, we were actually pretty stoked knowing that they have quite a good variety of bakes that are being stocked up — just about right for us considering how we dropped by after an early lunch, and was craving for something sweet to pair up with our cuppa. The Apple Turnover was the item which caught our attention on first sight — the pastry being shaped just like a handpie though comes with puff pastry and caramalised apple filled within. The pastry gets heated up upon order, so do allow for some time when for the pastry to be served to the table after placing the order at the counter. Turns out, the Apple Turnover was a really delightful pastry to have on its own; the puff pastry is light and flaky — nothing too greasy or buttery and shatters pretty neatly, holding up to each bite relatively well. Inside, the caramalised apple jam was aptly sweet; to pastry also feels aptly filled up with small bits of apple to chew on — very balanced and very comforting to have. Since we were visiting the outlet Seng Poh Lane for the very first time, we went with the usual White. For those whom are aware, Glass Roasters do serve up cuppas that are pulled using beans that they roast themselves — the White is well-pulled, being smooth and aptly creamy. Going for an extra espresso shot for the White, the White came with quite a profound, roasty body and came with a distinct floral and fruity flavour profile — one with a very prominent tasting note of peach that was a little wine-y; very interesting a cuppa indeed. Glass Roasters had always been known to be an establishment for its rather communal and living room-style setting and the Seng Poh Lane outlet is nothing short of them — this is even made more unique considering how they take up a rather peculiar shop unit in the ‘hood. Definitely a spot that residents would grow a liking for, and a spot that avid cafe-hoppers would be eager to check out!