Geowin’s search for the world’s best kopi reached Episode 15 with a visit to Peekabrew!, the colourful “hole in the wall” cafe at 12 Baghdad Street. From the outside, the place promises something far removed from the ordinary Singapore coffee stop. Its bright turquoise exterior leads into an intensely pink interior, complete with a bell, a mysterious opening in the wall and a mechanical hand responsible for delivering each order.

The coffee itself may not have reached those theatrical heights, but Peekabrew! still gave The Drink Journal something important: three excellent opportunities to laugh at Geowin.

Embarrassment Number One: The Door That Wasn’t a Door

Geowin began the visit as most reasonable people would. She approached the entrance and attempted to open the door.

Unfortunately, Peekabrew! is not a normal cafe.

There was no counter waiting behind the entrance, no barista ready to take her order and no conventional door-opening experience to be had. The real ordering system was located outside through a touchscreen kiosk.

This was the first moment in which Peekabrew!’s unusual concept defeated her. To be fair, a cafe built around collecting drinks from a literal hole in the wall does not operate according to familiar cafe logic.

After discovering the kiosk, Geowin began navigating the menu and selected an iced latte.

Embarrassment Number Two: The “Free” Coffee

The kiosk then delivered another brief moment of confusion.

While customising the drink, Geowin spotted a $0.00 figure and momentarily believed that the coffee might be free. It was not. She soon found the actual price and discovered that her iced latte cost S$6.50.

That provided The Drink Journal with its second laugh of the visit.

The confusion appears to have come from one of the drink customisation options rather than the price of the latte itself. Still, for a few hopeful seconds, the world appeared to contain a spectacularly designed Singapore cafe giving away iced coffee for nothing.

Reality inevitably returned.

The Hand Inside the Wall

Once the order was placed, Geowin received a printed receipt and waited beside the cafe’s namesake opening. A bell and a partially concealed turquoise chamber helped build anticipation around the collection process.

Then the hand appeared.

A large, furry, clawed arm emerged from the opening holding her drink. Despite standing directly in front of a hole-in-the-wall cafe whose entire concept revolves around something coming through the wall, Geowin was still visibly startled.

This was embarrassment number three—and unquestionably the most satisfying.

The hand withdrew, Geowin recovered and the iced latte was finally secured. Peekabrew! had successfully turned the simple act of collecting coffee into a small piece of interactive theatre.

That theatricality mattered because the drink itself did not immediately make the same impression.

The Kopi-O Intermission

Geowin’s experiments often reveal how an ordinary coffee changes after meeting Kopi-O, Singapore’s modern coffee liqueur. For a closer examination of what makes it distinctive, read what sets Kopi-O apart in the crowded coffee-liqueur category.

A Cute Concept Carrying a Bland Latte

Geowin described the iced latte as “okay” but quite bland. Her expression suggested that “okay” may have been the kindest accurate description available.

The problem was not that the drink tasted actively unpleasant. It simply failed to live up to the experience surrounding it. Peekabrew! had already delivered a colourful exterior, a self-service kiosk, a hidden collection chamber and a monstrous arm reaching through the wall. After all that build-up, a relatively muted latte inevitably felt disappointing.

Geowin said that she expected more given the concept. At The Drink Journal, we can only assume she expected the greatest coffee in the world to emerge from that mysterious turquoise cavity.

That would have been appropriate.

However, she also acknowledged that the concept was genuinely cute. The presentation and entertainment value earned Peekabrew! additional credit, raising the initial score to 6.5 out of 10.

It was therefore a score for the entire encounter rather than the latte alone. The coffee may have been bland, but few ordinary cafes can claim to have confused, misled and frightened their customer before handing over the drink.

Adding Kopi-O

Geowin then added a relatively generous amount of Kopi-O to the iced latte.

The mysterious addition did not significantly alter her opinion. She said it did not really do much, although the drink remained good enough to keep drinking. Her score stayed exactly where it began: 6.5 out of 10.

This was not one of those episodes where the coffee liqueur transformed the drink or moved the cafe into a different tier. Those interested in the wider story behind the bottle can explore why Kopi-O is emerging as Singapore’s defining coffee liqueur or read The Drink Journal’s editorial look at its role in the modern bar.

Peekabrew! Enters the B-Tier

With a final score of 6.5, Peekabrew! secured a solid position in the B-tier of the World’s Best Kopi Tier List.

The result feels appropriate. The latte did not match the creativity of the cafe, but the overall experience was too memorable to dismiss. Peekabrew! understands that buying coffee can be entertainment, and the monstrous hand alone gives visitors a story worth retelling.

More importantly, it embarrassed Geowin three times in a single episode.

For that, The Drink Journal remains grateful.

Continue the Singapore Coffee Hunt

Discover more stories from Singapore’s evolving drinks culture through The Drink Journal’s editorial mission, then explore how coffee, cocktails and hospitality meet behind the bar at Bar Somma. The hunt for the world’s best kopi continues—and the next cup may finally be as impressive as the cafe serving it.