Coffee Fanatics, Rejoice!
Singapore Coffee Festival (SCF), the country’s first ever coffee-centric festival, will be happening in June this year at the F1 Pit Building! With over 100 exhibitors, from local third wave coffee practitioners to coffee equipment suppliers, the festival will showcase Singapore’s rich kopi heritage and local craftmanship in specialty coffee. Presented by DBS and hosted by The Straits Times, all coffee enthusiasts out there can’t miss this!
What’s more, you could also win a trip to one of the greatest coffee capitals of the world – Melbourne. SAY WHAT?
Whether you’re a long-time coffee expert, or someone who is just starting to appreciate the sultry, robust beverage, SCF 2016 is one of the freshest events this year that you definitely can’t miss. Here are 10 things that you can look forward to doing at SCF 2016!
1. Attend Workshops To Begin Your Transformation Into A Home Barista
Make your dream of becoming your very own in-house barista come true. You can sign up for workshops conducted by Common Man Coffee Roasters on the basics of specialty coffee making, and find out what makes a fantastic cup of coffee.
You don’t need any special training or certificate. At The CMCR Lab, even the common man can hone the skill of pulling the perfect shot in the comfort of his home.
SCF 2016 will also have a Make-Decent Coffee area, where industry professionals will demonstrate how anyone can make great coffee at home using different brew methods.
2. Find Out Why Specialty Coffee Is So Much More Expensive Than Instant Coffee (And For A Good Reason, Too)
If you’ve never understood why people are willing to fork out so much money for a cup of espresso, or why coffee enthusiasts would never touch instant coffee even with a 10-foot pole – SCF 2016 will clear your confusion.
An incredible amount of hard work and precision goes into every step of the coffee making process. From sorting the beans at harvest, to the exact amount of time that an espresso is extracted for, even the smallest things can affect the final taste of a brew.
Find out everything you’ll need to know about what goes into that cup of smooth, velvety-rich specialty coffee, at the Labs. Learn about the science behind the perfect brew, the origins of the bitter bean and more, with various classes, talks and workshops scheduled throughout the festival.
Get ready to find out exciting facts about the beverage; you’ll leave SCF armed with enough knowledge to make you a true-blue coffee aficionado. Don’t miss this opportunity to stop for a chat with baristas from your favorite cafe too, to find out what they love about the bitter black bean!
3. Sample Premium Coffee From Singapore’s Best Coffee Roasters
SCF 2016 will showcase some of Singapore’s most established coffee roasters and cafes such as Symmetry and The Coastal Settlement, all in one spot. For one weekend only, you will not have to cafe-hop around the island to sample the finest coffees on offer.
With so many varieties and types of specialty coffee concentrated in one location, it’s so much easier to compare the taste of different blends, and to figure out what distinguishes one brewer from the next.
Here are some of the many specialists that will be brewing up a storm at this year’s festival:
Dapper Coffee: Signature Gold Brew
Amoy Street’s Dapper Coffee has a drink that will bedazzle you. Their signature Gold Cold Brew is incredibly unique with its mysterious metallic shimmer, and is a must-try at the festival this year.
Oriole Coffee: Your Cold Brew Experts
I’ve heard so many fantastic things about Oriole Coffee’s cold brew. Aside from their smooth Taisho Cold Brews, their signature M.A.D Milk series is something to look out for. Made from a combination of cold-pressed macadamia and almond milk, and sweetened with dates – the drinks from this series are 100% dairy-free and 100% delish.
Common Man Coffee Roasters: From Bean To Cup
As a wholesale roasting arm, cafe, AND coffee bar, Common Man Coffee Roasters crafts their coffee, from start to finish. With access to some of the most coveted coffee beans from around the world, they’re one of the top companies to head to for an all-encompassing coffee and cafe experience.
4. See And Create Some Amazing Latte Art Magic
Latte Art is more than just making patterns with milk, it requires knowledge about milk texturing, as well as dexterity and practice.
Watch the magic as it happens and be amazed by the impeccable latte art-crafting skills of some of Singapore’s top baristas at Singapore Coffee Festival.
If you’ve always wished to try your hand at picking up this impressive skill, watch out for The CMCR Lab by Common Man Coffee Roasters. They have a Latte Art Technique class scheduled for every day of the festival, so be sure to grab your seats fast!
You can check out the line-up of The CMCR Lab’s class schedules here.
5. Cafe hop to your heart’s content without having to cab around the city
Avid cafe-hoppers, you’re in for a treat. With various F&B partners setting up shop at SCF’s Cafe and Bistro Zone, cafe-hopping need not be a tiring and expensive cross-island endeavor anymore. There’ll be more than enough delicious food to fuel your caffeine-buzzed soul as you explore all the trappings that SCF has to offer.
Here’s a sneak peak of the grub that will be on offer at the festival. You can also check out more of SCF’s F&B partners on this list!
6. Grab some cakes for your coffee break
Pair your cups of caffeine with elegant artisanal mini-cakes and eclairs from Two Bakers. For a more unusual tea time treat, try some of Hatter Street Bakehouse’s funky bakes, such as their Ho Lok Tin cake, a mash-up of Ovaltine and Horlicks flavors!
Fuel up on delicious cafe food
Nothing complements a great cuppa like some solid brunch fare. House of Robert Timms and Hungry Heroes have you covered, with their substantial bistro bites and burgers. Don’t miss Common Man Coffee Roaster’s mini-cafe set up either, where you’ll get to savour their famous brunch items without having to travel all the way to their main space along Martin Road!
Beat the heat with freshly churned artisanal gelato
If the weather gets too warm for another cup of hot coffee, cool off with popsicles and scoops of gelato from Asia Pacific’s Gelato World Tour Winner Momolato, before heading off for another round of coffee-tasting.
6. Get your healthy living game on
It doesn’t matter if you’re not a cold-press juice junkie, these 100% natural, all-organic treats are bound to temporarily turn you into a health nut.
HIC Juice
Get your fill of colourful cold-pressed juices and nut milks from HIC Juice. These nutrient-packed drinks don’t just look good, they’ll make you feel good too!
Project Acai
Nope, açaí bowls aren’t just for vegans or Instagram fitness goddesses. You can treat yourself to some antioxidant-packed superfood goodness too, with Project Açaí’s snapshot-worthy açaí bowls. Remember to hashtag #SGCoffeeFest.
7. Chill out at the live Music Stages and The Shiseido Parlour
A festival isn’t a festival without awesome music.
So, you’ve missed Laneway 2016. All’s not lost! Stay tuned for the line up of local acts curated by Daniel Boey that will be playing at SCF. With not one, but TWO live music stages in the Cafe and Bistro Zone, get ready to chill out to some great bands as you soak in the festival vibes.
In addition to the caffeine boost and festivities, we have beauty goodies and delectable bites lined up for ladies at The Shiseido Parlour beauty pop-up. Try out Shiseido products while nibbling on Japanese confectionary such as Shiseido Parlour Cheese Cake and Ganache, air-flown directly from Ginza.
8. Converse over coffee with The Straits Times’ top journalists
What’s coffee, without conversation? Aside from delicious coffee and cafe food, you can also look forward to snagging some food for thought at SCF 2016. At The ST Reading Room, helmed by The Straits Times, participants can chat and interact with prominent ST journalists on culture, current affairs and any hot topic under the sun.
From serious stuff like getting the low-down on covering Singapore’s political scene from ST opinion editor Chua Mui Hoong, to getting tips on how to beautify your Instagram feed with award-winning photojournalist, Neo Xiaobin – you’re sure to find a topic that’s your cup of joe.
9. Ask the coffee experts at forums and chat sessions
DBS and Bettr Barista Coffee Academy will be moderating a series of interactive forums and discussions at their The #LiveBettr Lab. Here’s your chance to have a Q&A session with champion baristas, discover the secrets behind the most successful specialty cafes, and even get some general life hacks on managing your finances!
10. Pick up coffee equipment and supplies for your in-house coffee counter
For The Budding Home Barista
Singapore Coffee Festival is also a one-stop shop for coffee enthusiasts and people aspiring to start their own cafes. You’ll be able to see a wide range of top-notch coffee equipment – from cold brew systems to espresso machines – to deck out your home barista set-up. Equipment exhibitors such as Knockhouse Supply Co, Smitten Specialty Coffee & Tea, Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee and Stellar M will be happy to help you make an informed decision.
For The Coffee-Drinking Earth-Saver: KeepCup
Source
If there’s one thing a hardcore coffee-drinker needs, it’s a KeepCup. Each reusable cup is sleek, handy and perfect for coffee on-the-go. What’s more, it’s environmentally-friendly to boot.
Imagine how many disposable cups you’ll save, especially if you’re the type who requires several cups of coffee to boost you through the day.
BONUS: Join SCF’s Online Coffee Trail now, and stand a chance to win a trip to Melbourne!
Melbourne’s coffee culture is undisputedly one of the best in the world, and its quirky cafe-lined laneways make it every coffee fan’s mecca.
Here’s how you can win a trip to this spectacular coffee capital!
In a tag team joint effort with Tourism Victoria and Qantas, SCF is sending a lucky pair down under, with the SCF Online Coffee Trail contest . Not only will you snag a pair of return tickets to Melbourne and a 3-nights 4-star hotel stay, you’ll be going on a special Melbourne Coffee Trail Walking Tour that’ll take you to the best caffeine haunts in the city, for you to truly get a taste of the city’s amazing coffee culture.
All you have to do is click on this link, purchase your SCF tickets (if you haven’t already), and embark on your online coffee trail. The contest runs from 22nd April – 22 May, with the winner to be declared on 2nd June. Only ticket-holders will be considered for the contest, so get your tickets now!
Get Buzzed For The Singapore Coffee Festival 2016
If you’re crazy about coffee, mark the 9th to 12th of June down in your calendars. Get your tickets HERE.
The Singapore Coffee Festival isn’t just for the connoisseurs. In fact, I’ve only recently started getting into coffee myself! This event is a wonderful way to see why people are so obsessed about specialty coffee- not only will you get to experience the best of Singapore’s expanding coffee scene, you’ll learn more about the makings of a cup of specialty coffee.
Give SCF a shot, even if you aren’t a fan of coffee. Who knows, you may be converted.
When:
9th June 2016 – Trade & Media
10th – 12th June 2016 – General Public
Where:
The F1 Pit Building
1 Republic Boulevard, S(038975)
Media and Trade professionals are encouraged to register their interest here.
For general enquiries, drop SCF a message here.
For more details on the Singapore Coffee Festival 2016, head to their website or find out about the latest information and updates by liking their Facebook page.
For beautiful photos showcasing the participating roasters and cafes, follow the Singapore Coffee Festival on Instagram here or check out the hashtag #SGCoffeeFest
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