Dimbulah

Located a few metres away from Black Coffee Dessert Bar at Hitachi Tower, Dimbulah at Chevron House was as vibrant when I visited after lunch. Loved how the colourful panels and pictures stood out against the mostly neutral palette, wood and metal in the brightly-lit place with lots of vertical space. Could smell a nice aroma of roasted beans in my order of macchiato – strong (all coffee are double ristrettos) with a tinge of bitterness overwhelmed by acidity. Am not so sure this is fine Australian coffee but the passion to bring quality coffee from plantation to cup has led to vertical integration of coffee beans from farming to retail coffee shop. Exclusive Arabica coffee beans are grown, harvested and roasted on Dimbulah Mountain Estate, its own plantation on Atherton Tablelands in Tropical North Queensland, Australia. Interestingly, only one of its six branches in Singapore is outside the Central Business District.

New Kid on the Block – Costa Coffee

At the rate that coffee chains and independent outlets are opening one after another, either Singapore cannot get enough java or the coffee culture here is gaining ground. The more the merrier, I say so that with choices and hence competition, it will no longer be a mean feat to find good coffee. Within walking distance from Japanese's Doutor Coffee at Marina Bay Financial Centre are English's Costa Coffee at Chevron House and Australian's Jamaica Blue at One Raffles Place. And it seemed all three opened within the same week.