The Community Coffee (Haworth)

w/ oatmilk

The Community Coffee had been slow and steady with its expansion plans of the late — having first established at Far East Plaza when they had first started out a couple of years ago, they had since expanded their operations to include a second outlet that is situated at the fringe of the Central Business District at Upper Cross Street in the previous year. Since then, they have also taken over the operations of the coffee bar of Chu & Co — an artisanal bakery that has been opened for quite some time in the Serangoon Gardens at Lichfield Road this year. That does quite sound like a feat already, though The Community Coffee has opened yet another outlet within Haworth’s offices at Anson House. For cafe-hoppers who find this address and description rather familiar, this is because it is the same exact space that was formerly run by Upside Down Coffee Roaster in the past. The entire set-up is similar to how the space was when in its day being Upside Down Coffee Roaster — the shelves behind the counter displaying the various coffee wares as well as bags of roasted beans. Just like how Upside Down Coffee Roaster previously, The Community Coffee offers hot food at this outlet — the hot food menu is being segmented into All Day Breakfast and Lunch, while the beverages comprises of Hand Brew V60, Aeropress as well as espresso-based offerings, special concoctions like the Shakerato and Dirty Matcha, and non-coffee options such as the Turmeric & Chai Latte and the Lychee and Lime Cool Tea, just to name a few.

Considering the limited space around the kitchen at The Community Coffee’s outlet within Haworth, most of the hot food items are rather simple and seasonal fare which they have collaborated with Brine Restaurant (previously at Hotel Clover; now within Groundstory Coffee + Crafts along North Bridge Road) to develop. Skimming through the menu, we found the Knife Cut Noodles to be something which piqued our interest — the menu described the Knife Cut Noodles to come with elements such as Chickpea Emulsion and Pangrattato (i.e. bread crumbs). The Knife Cut Noodles is also one of the few vegetarian dishes that The Community Coffee serves up here. The first impressions of the Knife Cut Noodles was how incredibly simple it looks; the Knife Cut Noodles coming pretty much as-is with the ingredients being described in the menu, coming along with sliced cherry tomatoes around it — aesthetically plated in a way that one would associate it with a plate of pasta. Digging into the Knife Cut Noodles, the entire combination was nothing short of comforting — the knife cut noodles come pretty much chewy as how they should be. It was pretty smart for them to have tossed the knife cut noodles with the chickpea emulsion; the chickpea emulsion provided a slightly nutty earthiness that replicates that mushroom cream with a slightly grittier texture similar to mashed potatoes — provides much of the flavour that the knife cut noodles needed. The inclusion of Pangrattato seems especially adequate to all of that — the fine crumbs somewhat replicating that of grated parmesan cheese that one would typically find in a pasta dish elsewhere. Meanwhile, the cherry tomatoes adds a refreshing burst of tanginess to the dish, cutting through all the savouriness that is going on in the plate.

The Community Coffee is one of those spots serving up specialty coffee that has since gained popularity over time — it does have its own loyal following and had pretty much stood the test of time as well over the years; a name synonymous with quality specialty coffee indeed. We are, however, particularly intrigued with the approach that they have went for with this outlet — the serving of hot food here being quite a surprise that would go well with the office workers around the Central Business District that would not mind having more dining options in the ‘hood. Despite being a brand that is more known for its specialty coffee, their collaboration with Brine Restaurant ensures that the quality of their food is not compromised yet at the same time, being consistent to what their specialty coffee is being known for. We had also went with their Espresso Tonic during our visit — we found it to be one that was pretty balanced in terms of the complexity of flavours that it attempts to bring; there was sufficient kick from the shot of espresso, whilst being zippy and slightly citrus-sy from the carbonated tonic water. For those whom are familiar to The Community Coffee, the hot food menu in collaboration with Brine Restaurant available at the outlet at Haworth offers a different perspective of what they have to offer at their other locations; otherwise, the Haworth outlet does make for a more convenient location for those working in Tanjong Pagar / Shenton Way neighbourhood to grab their favourite cuppa from The Community Coffee.