Some exhibitors are using the Singapore Coffee Festival as a test-bed for new ideas or a launchpad for new products. Here are a few to check out:
TIONG HOE SPECIALTY COFFEE
It is launching a special blend of coffee beans from Panama, Honduras and Columbia. Priced at $18 for a 250g bag, the beans have tasting notes of mixed berries, honey and citrus. Ms Juliana, 27, who goes by one name and is in charge of the coffee supplier's wholesale operations and procurement, said: "We want to let people know that they can get better quality coffee at the same price as those sold in supermarkets."
HYDE & CO
It is selling its cold brew iced teas in bottled form for the first time at $8 each.
They come in three flavours: Turkish Apple tea, Berries of the Forest tea, and Milk French Earl Grey tea. Owner Derrick Chew, 31, said this is in line with the recent trend of takeaway food and food delivery services.
BRAWN & BRAINS
It is roadtesting coffee beer and pourover coffee, which is a style of brewing where water is manually poured over coffee grounds in a filter.
The coffee beer, which tastes quite light, sells for $10 a pint and is a partnership between the cafe and local craft brewery Rye & Pint. "We have spent about two months putting it together through trial and error," said Brawn & Brains founder Xavier Teo, 40.
As for the pourover coffee, Mr Teo said: "You see the Japanese companies doing a lot of pourover coffee. We wanted to challenge ourselves to do it too."
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SINGAPORE COFFEE FESTIVAL
WHERE: Marina Bay Cruise Centre; 61, Marina Coastal Drive
WHEN: Aug 3 (for trade and media only, register at www.sgcoffeefestival.com); two sessions daily from Aug 4 to 6, 10am to 3.30pm and 4.30pm to 10pm
ADMISSION: $22, $18 (DBS and POSB cardholders, ST subscribers)
INFO: Go to www.sgcoffeefestival.com
GRYPHON TEA COMPANY
It launched its cold brewed sparkling tea at the festival. Those who want to drink the tea on the spot can buy a cup, which is served in a mini flamingo float drinks holder, at $7.50. There are three flavours - Osmanthus Sencha with passionfruit, Earl Grey Lavender with strawberry and Pearl of the Orient with lychee.
For those who want to take the tea home, they can buy a bottle at $3.50. By yesterday afternoon, the booth had sold roughly 500 cups and more than 1,000 bottles of tea. "We are happy that the response for the product has been really good," said its executive director Lim Tian Wee, 48.
SHISEIDO CAFE
Visit the cafe for edible treats and beauty products, including eight new lipstick shades that the Japanese beauty company will officially launch next month.
The cafe sells the company's cheesecakes, chocolates, cookies and drinks specially flown in from the flagship Shiseido Parlour at Ginza in Tokyo. A selection of these are sold at the Shiseido Parlour counter at Takashimaya.
Its assistant marketing manager Eugenia Tan, 27, said: "It is more about the exposure than the sales. We have got people who were quite curious about us and asked when we were going to roll out a Shiseido Cafe in Singapore."
There are no plans yet for a Shiseido Cafe in Singapore.
