Daylight Coffee: Specialty Brews at Hawker Prices Now at Amoy Street Food Centre

November 10, 2023 — In the bustling lanes of Amoy Street Food Centre, a new coffee stall is making waves with its unique approach to serving specialty coffee at affordable hawker prices. Daylight Coffee, which opened its doors in October 2023, is the latest addition to Singapore’s vibrant hawker scene, joining the ranks of young hawkerpreneurs like Generation Coffee Roasters and Mad Roaster.

Daylight Coffee, run by Jass and Aaron, cousins who are both 27 years old, and Han, a friend who is also 27, stands out for its trendy appearance and whimsical logo of a coffee cup with googly eyes. This trio of entrepreneurs, new to the hawker business, brings diverse backgrounds to the table. Jass has a marketing background; Han was a technician; and Aaron worked as a mechanic. Jass and Han are now fully dedicated to the stall, while Aaron balances his day job with his commitment to Daylight Coffee.

Despite being located in the same hawker centre as Mad Roaster, Jass humorously admits to 8days.sg that they were unaware of their competitors’ existence. Their focus isn’t on competition but on offering something unique. “We wanted to do F&B all along,” Jass shares, driven by the desire to make a difference in a market where coffee prices are soaring due to inflation.

The team invested over S$30,000 (US$22,100) in Daylight Coffee, acknowledging that they are yet to break even. High rent and the cost of goods, coupled with modest sales, pose challenges. They pay around S$4,000 monthly for rent and use a high-end Nuova Simonelli machine from Italy, costing nearly S$10,000. Jass believes their slow sales might be due to a perception of high prices, despite offering some of the most affordable quality coffee in the area.

Daylight Coffee’s menu is a blend of tradition and innovation. They use a mix of Grade 1 Indonesian Robusta and premium Brazilian and Indonesian Arabica beans, a significant step up from the Nanyang-style beans commonly used in local kopitiams. The team, mostly new to coffee-making except for Jass, who has over two years of barista experience, has spent months perfecting their blend, tasting 20 to 30 cups daily.

Their menu is still evolving, with plans to introduce new choices periodically. One of their upcoming offerings is the ‘Dirty Matcha’, a unique blend of green tea latte spiked with coffee. Prices start at S$1.90 for traditional kopi, kopi O, and kopi C, made with robusta beans.

Their specialty coffees, brewed with Arabica beans, include black coffee (S$3.30 hot, S$3.80 iced), white coffee (S$3.50 hot, S$4 iced), and a variety of flavoured lattes. The standout is their Spanish latte (S$4.50 iced), a rich concoction of espresso, milk, and condensed milk, offered at almost half the price of similar drinks at popular chains.

While Daylight Coffee’s prices are slightly higher than some of their hawker counterparts, they offer the option to switch to oat milk for an additional S$1. This new entrant in the hawker coffee scene is not just about serving coffee; it’s about redefining the coffee experience by making specialty brews accessible to all, one cup at a time. Stay tuned to DEI for more updates.