Bumi Brew

Caught wind of the opening of the new Bumi Brew that is hidden at the foot of Blk 631 Bedok Reservoir Road — this would be within the same neighbourhood where one can find Bedok Reservoir Food Centre which bears the address of 630 Bedok Reservoir Road. Bumi Brew is a fairly recent addition to the neighbourhood in the last couple of weeks prior to our visit made to the establishment — they take up a space that is a somewhat of a typical size of a HDB shophouse space at the foot of a HDB block; the establishment is rather easy to recognise considering how there is a concave area in its glass facade that creates a space for bench seat outside of the space, while Bumi Brew bears a white signboard with green text that we found to be pretty prominent. The interior of the shop is vastly different from the other shop units that surround Bumi Brew; there is a chic industrial charm where things are kept simple yet tastefully decorated — all that with a slight rawness that makes it cosy and classy at the same time. Think concrete floors and walls matched with a counter featuring dark green tiles, while the furnishings include cushioned armchairs matched with wooden furniture; all that coming harmoniously with a bar stool and camping chairs that maximised the seats available within the limited space that they have. A concept highly focused in serving up beverages, the menu is segmented into categories such as Classic Coffee, Signature Coffee, Local Brew and Non-Coffee.

We tried both the Spanish Latte and the Nanyang Brew from the Classic Coffee and the Local Brew sections of the menu respectively during our visit to Bumi Brew. One thing interesting to note is how Bumi Brew does seem to serve their Nanyang Brew using beans that have been extracted via the espresso machine — much similar to the likes of Generation Coffee Roasters (operating at Tekka Centre, Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre, Hong Lin Food Centre, and Bendemeer Food Centre) , Kopi Folks Club (operating at Blk 89 Circuit Road Food Centre), Star Coffee (operating at Bukit Merah Central Food Centre), Kopi More (operating at Golden Mile Food Centre) and Lim’s Kopi (operating at Chinatown Complex Food Centre). Considering the similarity, we did feel that Bumi Brew’s version of the Nanyang Brew was most similar to that of the local Nanyang-style Kopi when served hot, though does come with quite a noticeable hint of smokiness that was more intense than that of the typical cup of Nanyang-style Kopi that added more depth and dimension of flavours in general. Meanwhile, the Spanish Latte that we have had was a more milder cuppa that is aligned to what one would expect out of a typical espresso-based specialty coffee offerings with a milkier and milder body with a nutty and earthy flavour profile. Both the Spanish Latte and the Nanyang Brew are concoctions that involve the use of condensed milk — we do think that both were geared a little more on the sweeter end for our preferences. Overall, an earnest, hole-in-the-wall coffeeshop that is able to cater to the preferences of the hipster and the traditionalists under one roof — a humble establishment that is all about serving up the community around it with sincerity and passion for the craft; we do look forward to giving their other more interesting creations like the Einspanner Latte once they start serving it when they make their full launch!