Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar (UIC Building)

Looking for another coffee spot in the CBD? Head to Kohi Roastery & Coffee Bar in the UIC Building to get your caffeine fix! There, their specialty beverages await.

A blissful fusion of iced black, fresh milk and a hint of mint. Just what I need to beat the heat on a scorching afternoon.

Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar should not be a name that is unfamiliar for those whom are actively keeping track of the local cafe scene in recent times. Being a brand that had originated from Bangkok, Thailand, Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar had made its entrance into the Singapore cafe scene when they had first set-up a hole-in-the-wall takeaway kiosk within Crane Joo Chiat — much of the hype surrounding it being how the counter is being set-up through a window that faces the back alley of the shophouse it is located at, which makes it a rather “hidden” find with a unique vibe. Since then, there have been a few new entrants into Crane Joo Chiat; this includes Cafe Natsu (which also had opened yet another outlet in Citadines Connect City Centre Singapore along Clemenceau Road), where one can also enjoy Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar’s coffee whilst dining in. One of the more recent Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar outlets being set-up around the island would be the outlet situated at UIC Building — Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar had already been operating from this location for a couple of months prior to our visit, having taken over the spot which was formerly occupied by an outlet of The Coffee Academics at the lobby of the office tower. Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar still predominantly operates as a takeaway coffee kiosk at UIC Building, though there are actually dine-in seats located at this location. The outlet’s soft launch saw the location serving up only specialty coffee for a while, though they had since started serving up a small variety of cakes, pies and wraps when we made our visit. For those looking for something aside from specialty coffee, Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar does serve up chocolate beverages, Matcha Latte, Houjicha Latte and a variety of teas as well — just to name a few.

We were not impressed with Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar when we had made our visit to Cafe Natsu previously — we recalled their cuppas being a little pricey but we’re not particularly well-pulled at the same time. Since Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar does serve up a small variety of bakes at their UIC Building location, we went for the Basque Burnt Cheesecake to compliment our order of the Kohito — the latter being a special concoction under the “Signatures” section of the menu that comprises of coffee, fresh milk and mint. It is rather unfortunate that the Basque Burnt Cheesecake felt rather subpar — perhaps it is due to how it was stored; the piece that we have had being the last one left in the display fridge. The entire cake felt like it had sat in the display fridge for quite a while — possibly the driest and toughest Basque Burnt Cheesecake that we had came across till date; totally lacking of that rich, luscious and smooth mousse-like layer that one would have expected and thus was just dense and jelat. Meanwhile, the Kokito was probably something that felt like it an item that is for those with acquired tastebuds — perhaps it is due to the base being that of an Iced Black; the coffee element isn’t quite as punchy as we would imagine it to be. Meanwhile, the fresh milk does come infused with a mint element here; there is this slight tang that brings it close to that of Calpis, though with a cooling and refreshing note at the same time — intriguing, though not necessarily something that went well with our preferences. Considering the quality of the items that we have had though, it would be difficult for us to say that Kōhī Roastery & Coffee Bar is a preferred spot for coffee break in the neighbourhood; this is especially when the area has no lack of other better options such as Lunar Coffee Brewers at OUE Downtown and Alchemist at 71 Robinson Road in its immediate vicinity.