World’s Best Kopi: 190 Degrees Bakery Reaches A Tier
Geowin’s search for the best kopi in Singapore continued at 190 Degrees Bakery in City Gate, where Coffee #4 of 100 became one of the strongest entries in the series so far.
The mission remains simple: try 100 coffees across Singapore, score each one, and place it on the growing World’s Best Kopi tier list. Some coffees begin badly and need help. Others improve only slightly after Geowin adds the mysterious liquid from her white bottle.
This time, the coffee was already good before she changed anything.
Coffee #4 at 190 Degrees Bakery
For the fourth stop in the journey, Geowin visited 190 Degrees Bakery, a bakery with multiple locations around Singapore.
She ordered a small kopi-c kosong peng for S$2.50. Compared with the earlier stops in the series, it was one of the more affordable coffees she had tried.
Once the order was collected, Geowin delivered the phrase that has become part of every episode:
“We got the goods!”
With the drink in hand, it was time for the first taste test.
There was no visible hesitation and no immediate disappointment. Geowin took a sip, considered the coffee for a moment, and responded with a satisfied:
“Hmm, it’s really good.”
That reaction stood out because it arrived before she reached for the mysterious bottle. The kopi did not need to be rescued from a weak opening score. It had already made a positive first impression entirely on its own.
Geowin gave the unmodified drink a score of 6 out of 10.
A Strong Start Without Any Help
The score placed 190 Degrees Bakery comfortably ahead of several earlier coffees at the same stage of the tasting.
Toast Box had initially received 3 out of 10 before improving dramatically. La Teh Cafe also began at 3, though its recovery was much more limited. The kopi from 190 Degrees Bakery reached 6 immediately, making it the first coffee in the series to feel genuinely successful before Geowin adjusted it.
Her body language reflected that difference.
There was no defeated expression and no sense that she was searching for something positive to say. She appeared pleased with what she had received. The coffee had enough flavour and balance for her to describe it as “really good” without qualification.
That first score made the second stage particularly interesting.
The question was no longer whether Geowin could save the coffee. Instead, it was whether her mysterious addition could push an already enjoyable kopi into one of the highest positions on the tier list.
See Where Coffee #4 Lands
Follow the full 100-coffee journey through World’s Best Kopi, where every new stop adds another contender to the ranking.
For more stories about coffee, tea, cocktails and drinking culture, explore The Drink Journal and learn more about its approach to beverage storytelling on the About The Drink Journal page.
Doing It Her Way
After completing the first tasting, Geowin brought out the now-familiar white bottle.
The contents remained unexplained, as they had throughout the earlier episodes. Viewers could only watch as she added a relatively small amount to the coffee.
She was not especially generous with it this time.
Perhaps the drink did not require much adjustment. Perhaps she was testing whether a small amount would be enough. Whatever the reason, the addition was noticeably more restrained than in some of the earlier tastings.
Even so, it worked.
After mixing the mysterious liquid into the kopi, Geowin tasted the drink again and found that it had improved.
The original 6 out of 10 increased to a final score of 7 out of 10.
Her verdict was simple:
“Very nice.”
It was a solid score, and one that placed 190 Degrees Bakery firmly in the A tier.
190 Degrees Bakery Joins the Leaders
The final result put 190 Degrees Bakery alongside the strongest coffees tasted so far.
What made the result notable was not only the final score, but the way the coffee reached it. This was not a dramatic recovery from a poor beginning. The kopi was already enjoyable before Geowin added anything.
The mysterious liquid improved it by a single point, but the foundation was already there.
That makes Coffee #4 one of the more convincing performances in the challenge so far. A coffee that starts at 6 and rises to 7 suggests consistency rather than rescue. Geowin’s addition enhanced the experience, but it did not have to rebuild it.
The price also added another layer to the result. At S$2.50, the small kopi-c kosong peng delivered one of the strongest score-to-price combinations seen in the first four episodes.
This remains Geowin’s personal experience with one coffee from one visit. It is not a formal assessment of every 190 Degrees Bakery outlet or every drink on its menu. However, within the World’s Best Kopi journey, this particular cup earned its place near the top.
Singapore’s coffee culture also extends beyond the everyday kopi cup. Kopi-O explores local coffee flavours in a different form, while Studio Origin and Destination Beverage represent other parts of Singapore’s wider drinks landscape.
Follow the Search for the World’s Best Kopi
Four coffees have now entered the rankings, and 190 Degrees Bakery has become one of the early leaders.
Its kopi-c kosong peng began with a strong 6 out of 10, improved to 7 out of 10 after Geowin added the mysterious liquid, and earned a secure position in the A tier.
Visit World’s Best Kopi to follow Geowin’s search across Singapore, suggest the next stop, and see which coffee eventually becomes the first to reach the S tier.
