WHERE CAFFEINE MEETS GREENS
WHERE CAFFEINE MEETS GREENS
This new cafe has drinks that will give you the extraordinary you need. SHILPA SHADES spoke to the customers at Beyond Coffee to find out more about their views towards this acquired taste.
This recently opened cafe takes its drinks to a whole new level. Beyond Coffee, as the name states, takes its beverages beyond your usual caffeine fix by combining fresh produce with coffee.
Most of the items on the menu consist of mainly drinks with either a coffee or tea base with a blend of fruits and/or vegetables, depending on which beverage you order from their menu. The produce is blended upon ordering to ensure patrons that they are getting the best experience in terms of freshness and flavour. Some might even say it’s a healthier alternative to bubble tea.
Ms Yvonne Low, 29, a procurement officer, says “it [Beyond Coffee] is good for those who are health conscious.”
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Tomato Tango ($7.50) is a little something for the adventurous foodie crowd. The most extraordinary item in Beyond Coffee’s menu is a coffee-based beverage that includes a blend of fresh cherry tomatoes and zesty limes topped with two strips of seaweed and mint for garnish. The presentation resembles a fruity sunrise kind of drink as the colours are pleasant to the eye. The seaweed may look unusual for a drink garnish but overall the flavour is slightly sweet, tart but refreshing. It’s definitely worth a try.
If you’re looking for something a little more on the sweet side, Go Bananas ($7.50) is probably the one for you. This concoction of espresso with blended milk, sweet ripe bananas topped with torched cheese foam and three slices of caramelised bananas will excite sweet lovers everywhere. The taste is well balanced in terms of flavours as it resembles a banana smoothie that is mixed with coffee.
Beyond Coffee likes to take it up a notch with its ways of presenting drinks. For instance, using a blowtorch to roast the cheese and to caramelise the bananas right in front of you. Talk about service with a show! They even use precision to carefully place the three slices of bananas on top of the drink to make sure they do not sink, creating a masterpiece of a beverage and the Instagram Story.
“All of the drinks had great presentations, which was what prompted me to post them on Instagram in the first place,” says Mr Altron Lee, 30, a data analyst and a frequent visitor to Beyond Coffee.
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Melaka Rhapsody (5.90) is Beyond Coffee’s local take for brown sugar milk tea. Finished off with sweet torched cheese foam on top, the Melaka Rhapsody comes with a coffee base, drizzled generously with gula melaka syrup (palm sugar syrup) with coffee jelly and black sugar pearls. This particular beverage is not overly sweet. The coffee jelly and black sugar pearls give the entire drink a different texture, making it more than something to just sip on.
Beyond Coffee is tucked away in a little corner of VivoCity, located at Harbourfront. When you walk into the cafe, the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s quite small. It only has five tables: two 2-seater tables and three 4-seater tables.
If you’re looking for a place to unwind or to study with friends, this is the place to go to.
Ms Marissa Lee, 24, says: “It’s modern - LED display light and well-spaced out. Minimalist concept with good natural lighting. Good place for a meeting or study area.”
The 4-seater tables are placed at the left side of the cafe next to the window where you can get a view of the Sentosa Boardwalk and the harbour.
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If you step into the cafe as a first timer, don’t worry. The staff are more than willing to go through the menu with you to see what you’d like to go for. They will ask which base you’d prefer, be it coffee or a tea base, and from there they will give you their recommendations.
Apart from their unique concoctions, they have the classics like cappuccinos and americanos – if you’re looking for safe options.
Tomato Tango will surprise patrons with their unique blend of espresso, cherry tomatoes with two strips of nori.
Photo by SHILPA SHADES
This pleasant mixture of bananas and espresso will be your next addiction.
Photo by SHILPA SHADES
Toppings of ‘Go Bananas’ getting caramelised by their blow torch to ace the presentation.
Photo by SHILPA SHADES
Gula Melaka Rhapsody generously drizzled with Beyond Coffee’s homemade gula melaka sauce (palm sugar syrup).
Photo by SHILPA SHADES
