Apartment Coffee - Singapore

In the specialty coffee underworld, Apartment has earned quite a reputation. It’s one of the few cafes I’d heard about long before visiting. So I was surprised to see an inconspicuous entrance off the beaten track in Singapore. No name anywhere, just an all-glass front, albeit with people queuing to get a seat.

Once inside, you’re struck by the impression of how much thought and care went into the overall design of this place.

The immaculate order of the baristas’ workspace leaves no room for error.

You can immediately notice the shift is staffed by three people with a clear separation of responsibilities:

• One person greets and seats guests, and offers them water (or a refill).
• One person responsible for espresso-based drinks.
• One person responsible for pour-overs.

The menu is very short and simple: 3 pour-over options, espresso, flat white, 3 teas, 2 chocolate drinks. Yes, you got that right. A specialty cafe serving specialty chocolate. No food, not even pastries. Just high-quality drinks.

So how do they manage this in a world where more and more cafes give up on pour-overs, claiming they’re not viable? By employing highly skilled baristas capable of brewing six (!) pour-overs at a time methodically. Their workspace includes six of everything (glassware, cups, scales) and two kettles.

Notice the blue refractometer on the left. A real testament to their craft.

We couldn’t help but order a little bit of everything: coffee, tea, and chocolate. Everything of top-notch quality. The Kenyan coffee was fruity and refreshing, perfect for equatorial weather. The oolong tea brought back memories of I first tried one. The chocolate was surprisingly sweet.

The drink I received first. It screams: “This is going to be good!”

Uncompromising quality even in tableware. Notice how every drink includes a small card with all the relevant info: region, varietal, harvest year.

What sets them apart from other specialty places? After all, there are plenty of cafes serving you delicious drinks in a stylish interior. Apart from the highly efficient approach I described above, the attentiveness of the staff is remarkable. Sadly, in many places how baristas treat their customers is merely an afterthought. For Apartment, it’s a skill just as important as brewing itself. There’s a fine line between being polite and friendly, and fake smiling to a level where a customer thinks: “That’s enough, just let me be”. Here, every member of the staff knows how to make you feel welcome without overdoing it.

Thanks to the downpour outside, I could take some pictures with no intruders.

And not every cafe puts actual art on the walls. So when you combine highly skilled baristas, methodical brewing techniques, a stylish and clean interior, attentive staff without overdoing it, art and thoughtful design, you get Apartment.

Six pour-overs? No problem.

Not a big space, yet it feels spacious. It can seat quite a number of customers.

We gave our compliments to the staff as we took our leave. Assuming we might come again, they told us that the place is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which is rather unconventional. But it’s good that such highly skilled professionals are rewarded with as many days off as most people in other jobs.

This raises the question: do you need to travel to one of the richest countries in the world for a coffee experience like this?