Cotti Coffee 库迪咖啡 (CityLink Mall)

It’s not inferior to starbuck yet with a promotion only $3.90

Flash Coffee might have been a thing of the past but it does seem like some of the old locations of Flash Coffee had started a new lease of life again being establishments serving up espresso-based specialty coffee yet again. Taking over the former premises of Flash Coffee at CityLink Mall is Cotti Coffee; a new entrant into the Singapore F&B space, but one that also has a quite a worldwide presence with their claims of having 6000 stores worldwide based on the marketing collateral at the store (their website indicates 5500+ stores worldwide, however). Cotti Coffee is a brand originating from China; their first outlet being located in Fuzhou. Cotti Coffee is apparently the global sponsor of the Argentine National Football team as well. The founders of the joint are said to be the original founders of Luckin Coffee, though they are no longer affiliated with the brand after the Luckin Coffee financial scandal that happened in 2020 (incidentally, both Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee has outlets within CityLink Mall — though at different ends of the pedestrian mall). Ethics and all other matters aside (hey, we are all about the food here!), their very first location in Singapore is a takeaway kiosk; there are no dine-in seatings included in their CityLink Mall location. Serving only beverages, the menu at Cotti Coffee is being segregated into Limited Series, Top Picks, Argentina Series, Gold Medal Americano, Classic Coffee, Oat Series, Coconut Series, Tea & Drinks and Frappe.

Having skimmed through the menu, it does seem like the Limited Series comprises of items that are introduced to incorporate flavours more familiar to the local market — the drinks listed in the Limited Series includes a Pandan Milk Tea, Pandan Coconut Latte and a Pandan Jasmine Latte. Since the establishment does have some roots shared with Luckin Coffee, we decided it would be good for us to try the Pampas Blue Cocoa Latte instead. The menu describes the Pampas Blue Cocoa Latte to come with elements such as a blend of milk and coconut milk; they did not specify on the element that contributed to the blue hue of the milk elements, though the drink is suppose to “embody the unwavering football spirit of Argentina”. All the fluff aside, the Pampas Blue Cocoa Latte is brewed using their Sirius blend — itself being their award-winning blend of coffee beans that is also featured in most of their other coffee-based beverages as well. We noticed that there was a note in the description on the coffee beans being of a dark roast — considering the amount of coffee against the blend of milk and coconut milk here, we found it coffee to carry quite a punchy body; there is always a concern where the caffeinated kick in such concoctions are not particularly obvious, but it seems that this was well-managed here. The blend of coconut milk and milk here also adds a richness to the latte; the Pampas Blue Cocoa Latte being sweetened by default and does carry some sort of caramel notes without being overly sweet — just a light touch to give the cuppa a dimension of flavours that compliments the coffee nicely. We reckon that Cotti Coffee would likely be expanding their operations in Singapore considering how they are almost a global brand at this stage with outlets in Korea, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia amongst many others at the time of writing; a brand that would most likely be accessible in the heartlands in time to come for those whom are interested to give it a go.