World’s Best Kopi Goes to Luckin Coffee, Singapore
The first of many kopis
Geowin’s mission to try 100 coffees across Singapore begins at Luckin Coffee.
For the first episode of World’s Best Kopi: Singapore Edition, she visits the Luckin Coffee outlet at City Gate. The plan is simple: pick up a coffee, try it and find out where it belongs on the growing tier list.
This is Coffee #1 of 100, so Luckin Coffee has the unusual honour of setting the starting point for every café and coffee shop that follows.
Starting the Journey at City Gate
Geowin arrives outside Luckin Coffee and introduces the first stop of the journey. Inside, the staff appear efficient and professional, quickly preparing her order while she waits.
She chooses an iced latte priced at S$5.60.
It is a familiar starting point. Rather than beginning the series with an elaborate signature drink, Geowin goes with something simple enough to let the coffee speak for itself.
Before long, she emerges with the cup in hand and announces:
“We got the goods! Let’s see how it performs.”
With the first coffee officially secured, it is time to begin the tasting.
The First Sip of Coffee #1
Geowin swirls the iced latte before taking her first sip.
Her initial reaction is reassuringly casual. This is not a technical breakdown of espresso extraction, milk texture or roast profiles. It is simply someone drinking a coffee and deciding whether she enjoys it.
She describes it as being like a regular latte—pleasant, familiar and “really nice.”
There is nothing particularly strange or dramatic about the drink. It appears to be the kind of iced latte that is easy to enjoy without having to think too much about it.
Geowin settles on an initial score of 7 out of 10.
That could have been the end of the visit. Luckin Coffee had produced a good iced latte, Coffee #1 had received its score and the journey could continue.
But Geowin is not quite finished.
“But Let’s Do It My Way”
After trying the latte as it was served, Geowin decides that the drink needs her personal touch.
“But let’s do it my way!”
She then produces a mysterious white bottle.
The bottle appears suddenly, as though it has been waiting for this exact moment. Its contents are never properly introduced, leaving viewers to wonder what she has been carrying around.
Is it milk? Creamer? Sweetener? Some kind of homemade coffee mixture?
The video does not say.
Geowin pours the pale liquid generously into the Luckin Coffee cup. Whatever it is, she is not adding a cautious drop or two. She gives the latte a noticeable serving, swirls everything together and prepares to try the altered version.
For a moment, it seems as though the first episode is about to take an unexpected turn. Perhaps the mystery liquid will completely transform the drink. Perhaps it will uncover a new way to enjoy an ordinary iced latte.
Geowin takes another sip.
Then comes the verdict:
“Honestly, still tastes the same.”
After all the mystery, the generous pour and the second round of swirling, the drink remains largely unchanged.
The score also stays exactly where it was: 7 out of 10.
A Seven Before and a Seven After
The mysterious bottle may not have transformed the drink, but it gave the first episode its most memorable moment.
Luckin Coffee’s iced latte received a seven before Geowin modified it and another seven afterwards. Whatever she added neither improved nor ruined the experience.
That makes the Luckin Coffee visit a fitting beginning to the series. It introduces the basic format—visit the shop, collect the coffee, take a sip and place it on the tier list—but also shows that Geowin may bring a few surprises of her own.
The comments beneath the video reveal that not everyone shares her opinion. One viewer described Luckin Coffee as too bland, while another admitted that they had not expected its coffee to be good.
That disagreement is part of what could make the journey interesting. The goal is not to establish a scientific answer to which coffee is objectively the best. It is to follow Geowin through 100 different experiences and see which drinks leave the strongest impression on her.
Coffee #1 happens to be a straightforward iced latte accompanied by a mysterious white bottle.
Coffee #2 could be something completely different.
Follow the Cup
The journey is only beginning. Explore more stories about Singapore’s evolving drinks culture through The Drink Journal, where coffee, tea, cocktails and the people behind them are documented in greater depth.
Luckin Coffee Joins the A Tier
A final score of 7 out of 10 places Luckin Coffee firmly in the A tier.
It is the first name on the board and, for now, the only coffee against which future drinks can be compared.
There are still 99 coffees left to try. Some may move above Luckin Coffee. Others may land far below it. There may also be more unusual additions from Geowin’s mysterious bottle—or perhaps entirely new bottles waiting to appear.
For the moment, Luckin Coffee holds a comfortable position near the top.
The iced latte was enjoyable, the visit went smoothly and Geowin left with a good first experience. The mystery liquid changed almost nothing, but it made Coffee #1 considerably harder to forget.
Readers curious about Singapore’s wider beverage scene can also discover the work of Destination Beverage, explore locally developed concepts from Studio Origin, or learn about Singapore-made Kopi-O coffee liqueur.
Ninety-Nine Cups to Go
Luckin Coffee has opened the scoreboard, but the search for the World’s Best Kopi is far from settled. Follow the journey as Geowin continues through cafés, chains and neighbourhood coffee stops across Singapore—one cup, one score and one unexpected moment at a time.
