As a tea lover, the increase in homegrown tea brands in the recent years is a cause for joy. I’d like to share the joy with you, so in the first of a multi-part series (final number yet to be determined because I find new brands all the time), I’ll be introducing a few local Singaporean tea brands that I love.
The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.
This is the first local brand that I found and one that I recommend to pretty much everyone. Sourcing direct from Sri Lanka, The 1872 Clipper Tea Co. is a family run-brand that delivers great flavoured teas. My family adores their Lychee Black Tea and their Timeless Earl Grey (even I love their Timeless Earl Grey and I am picky about that). The only tea of theirs that I’m not a fan of is their green tea and that’s because it’s made with the var. assamica leaves (from Sri Lanka) rather than the var. sinensis leaves (from China or Japan) that I prefer
They have a flagship store in Ion Orchard with tea-based mocktails and finger foods. If you’re in Singapore, I’d definitely recommend you drop by.
My Review of their Travel Journal
Kittea
Kittea is a brand I always recommend to people who are looking for a fun and affordable introduction to loose leaf teas. Their tins retail for about SGD$8~9 per tin and are packed with flavour (as well as cute cat drawings). Kittea also drops seasonal blends and so far, I’ve been unable to resist buying some.
I’ve been drinking mostly straight teas lately so I’ve been drinking less of Kittea, but some of her blends (like her Christmas ones and the Li Hua Maos) are staples for when I need something fun or when I want to give people some tea.
Note: the teas here are pretty strongly flavoured. I’m not a fan of some of this year’s CNY blends because of it (though I love the Christmas blends), but I also know people who love the teas because of the flavours. You know yourself best – if you’re a flavoured tea person, go for it!
My reviews of various Kittea teas
Antea Social
If you’re in the market for flavoured oolongs, I almost always recommend Antea Social. They specialise in Taiwanese oolongs, specifically flavoured oolongs. Flavours include lychee, peach, mango, and more!
My personal favourite is the lychee oolong – it’s got one of the most natural lychee flavours that I’ve had and works well hot or cold and the only reason why I haven’t written a proper post about her teas (though I do have a post about her teahouse) is because her tea are almost always finished before I find the time to slowly drink and review them. That’s how much my family loves her tea. In fact, I used to serve samples of her tea in my old job and pretty much everyone loved them – I’ve only met one person who thought her teas needed to be sweeter.
There’s also a teahouse in Farrer Road and it’s such a chill place that I love meeting friends there. I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere to have tea in Singapore.
My Review of Antea Social’s Teahouse
Have you heard of any of these brands? If anyone would like to come on a tea trip around Singapore (for these brands or to explore new ones for future posts), let me know!
I am on my way home from vacation and saw this post. Thank you for providing the tea reviews. I’ll see if I can find them online. I only wish we had a tea store in Central. ew York like the one you first described in your post!
I hope you enjoyed your holiday! I think all three brands should be able to ship to America if you buy from their site 😊
I love reading your posts! You seem to know so much about tea! I just buy some and hope for the best!
Thank you! Tea is a huge passion of mine (probably rivalling my love for books) so I love learning more about it. Let me know if you’d ever like some tea! (:
You certainly know your teas!
I am not likely to get a chance to travel to Singapore any time soon … but I have been there, many years ago. It is beautiful. One good memory I have is of going out in the morning to get a breakfast of soft-boiled egg and a Chai (that’s what I call sweet, spicy tea with steamed milk). This drink had some kind of a special name that I don’t recall. I don’t know how you feel about that drink, given how refined your tea palette is. Perhaps you prefer to taste the tea itself, not the sugar and spices.
I do like various fruit flavors of tea, especially in a tropical climate. Now that I live in a cold place, I go for black tea or coffee with lots of cream.
Oh, the chai sounds like our kopitiam teh? Or if it was at a prata place it could very well be chai! I hope you liked your visit!!
I enjoy all teas – plain teas are great but sometimes I just want something sweet and energising.
It may be a bit out there, but have you tried puer tea? It’s a post-fermented tea and while it takes some getting used to, it was fantastic for cold days in Japan.
Oh, maybe it was kopitiam teh. Gosh, I still can’t remember. It’s just been too long.
I’m not against fermented stuff. I like miso, for example. Will keep my eye out for puer tea, though I’m unlikely to run across it in the windswept wastes of North America. 🙂
Miso is amazing! If you have good Chinese restaurants nearby, they may serve puer with the food – would be a good (and inexpensive) way to see if you like it without having to actually buy a cake of tea.