Geowin’s search for the world’s best kopi has reached a major milestone.

For coffee number 13, she visited the Alchemist pop-up at 119 Arab Street, where a S$6 iced latte became the first coffee in the series to reach the top of the rankings.

This was not a drink that needed rescuing. Geowin enjoyed it from the very first sip, responding positively to its clear fruit-forward character before the mysterious addition transformed it into the first-ever nine-out-of-ten coffee in the challenge.

With that score, Alchemist became the first name to enter the S-tier.

Coffee Number 13 at Alchemist

Geowin began the episode outside Alchemist’s Arab Street pop-up.

“Today on the list, we have Alchemist at Arab Street.”

Inside, she ordered one iced latte. The coffee cost S$6, making it slightly less expensive than the S$6.50 iced latte from Twenty Grammes in the previous episode.

The team explained that the pop-up was marking its anniversary with three signature blends. When Geowin asked which option she should choose, they recommended the fruitier selection.

That recommendation turned out to be a very good one.

The selected coffee was labelled Cajamarca, with flavour notes including dried apricot, almond and plum. Those tasting notes promised something more distinctive than a straightforward milky iced latte, and Geowin’s reaction showed that the fruit character was not merely written on the card.

Once the drink was ready, she returned to the familiar line:

“We got the goods!”

A Fruity Coffee That Immediately Stood Out

Geowin took her first sip outside the shop and responded with noticeably more enthusiasm than she had shown during many of the earlier episodes.

“There’s, like, a very fruity taste to it,” she said.

The flavour came through clearly. Unlike coffees that had been described as bland, overly milky or simply average, Alchemist delivered an identifiable character from the beginning.

Her body language matched her words. She smiled, appeared genuinely pleased and continued tasting the coffee without the uncertainty seen during weaker entries. Everything about the reaction suggested that she liked the drink rather than merely finding it acceptable.

Geowin gave the untouched iced latte seven out of ten.

That score alone would have placed Alchemist comfortably in the A-tier. More importantly, it showed that the café had already produced one of the strongest original coffees in the series before Geowin changed anything.

At S$6, it also delivered a stronger first impression than several more expensive café drinks encountered during the challenge.

A New Standard for the Search

The World’s Best Kopi journey is documenting how dramatically Singapore coffee can vary from one stop to another. Readers can follow more coffee, cocktail and tea stories through The Drink Journal, learn more about the publication on the About The Drink Journal page, and explore the wider beverage work of Destination Beverage.

The Mysterious Bottle Is Finally Revealed

The next part of the episode marked another first for the series.

Until now, Geowin had repeatedly added a mysterious liquid while saying:

“Now time to do it my way!”

This time, the bottle was shown clearly on camera. The mysterious addition was revealed to be Kopi-O coffee liqueur, created by Studio Origin.

That reveal helped explain why the addition had repeatedly changed the flavour of coffees throughout the series. Kopi-O is designed around coffee itself, allowing it to add sweetness, intensity and another layer of roasted flavour rather than introducing something completely unrelated to the drink.

Readers interested in the product’s place within Singapore’s beverage scene can also explore this feature on why Kopi-O is emerging as Singapore’s defining coffee liqueur.

For Alchemist, the combination worked exceptionally well.

From Seven Out of Ten to Nine

After adding Kopi-O, Geowin tasted the iced latte again.

Her response was immediate.

“It’s really good. I think it deserves a…”

She settled on nine out of ten.

“It’s amazing.”

This was the highest score awarded anywhere in the World’s Best Kopi challenge so far. The original fruitiness of the Cajamarca coffee had already given the drink a strong foundation. Adding Kopi-O then enhanced the overall experience without erasing the qualities that had made the coffee enjoyable in the first place.

That distinction matters. Some coffees in the series improved because the addition covered their weaknesses. Alchemist improved because the original drink and the coffee liqueur complemented each other.

The result was not merely sweeter or stronger. It became the most successful complete combination Geowin had tasted during the first 13 episodes.

Alchemist Enters the S-Tier

A nine-out-of-ten score gave Alchemist a position no other café had reached.

S-tier.

Until this episode, the top row of the tier list had remained empty. Strong coffees had entered the A-tier, while respectable but imperfect drinks had collected in the B-tier. Alchemist was the first to move beyond both groups.

Its achievement began with a seven-out-of-ten iced latte that Geowin already loved. The fruity profile came through clearly, the coffee had personality and her reaction was enthusiastic from the start.

The addition of Kopi-O then elevated it by another two points.

Alchemist therefore becomes the new benchmark for every future café in the challenge. To take first place, another coffee will have to match or surpass a score of nine.

Who Can Challenge the First S-Tier Coffee?

There are still 87 coffees left in the mission, and Alchemist now holds the position every future stop will be trying to claim. Explore more Singapore beverage stories through The Drink Journal and nominate the café, kopitiam or hawker stall that should attempt to challenge the first S-tier result.