Nestled cosily among a row of shops on level 2 of Tanjong Pagar Plaza is the one month old tea and coffee joint, Sun Tea Atelier. Opened by Yen and his fiancee, Sun Tea Atelier is a place through which they hope to share with customers the wellness and benefits associated with a tea-drinking lifestyle. With previous work stints at Restaurant Andre and Koi, Yen brings with him immense dedication to the craft of tea and coffee making, as well as a keen sense for unique and refreshing flavour pairings.
At Sun Tea Atelier, everything is painstakingly handmade by the couple, in line with their vision to share the benefits and purity associated with the tea-drinking lifestyle.
We were offered Ice Shaken Teas to begin our experience. The first drink was the Earl Grey Caramel Tea with Pu Er Jelly (far right). The earthy tones of the Pu Er jelly acted as a good complement to the richness of the earl grey and caramel, which translated to a pleasant and well-balanced drink overall.
The second drink was Sencha Green Tea with Grand Marnier Infused Orange Bits (second from right). This sencha tea was a particularly refreshing drink – the sweetness of the orange bits was enhanced by the aftertaste of the Grand Marnier (an orange-flavored cognac liqueur), all of which went really well with the light and fragrant Sencha Green Tea.
Both drinks were freshly made on the spot, with Yen steeping and boiling the tea leaves to bring out the best flavours, before adding the different ingredients to create the iced tea concoctions.Â
Drinking tea would not be complete without some snacks to accompany the experience and the conversation! We were offered two types of warm snacks – the first was a Baked Red Bean Rice Cake and the second, Sencha Cookies. The crispy edges of the Baked Red Bean Rice Cake were a delight when combined with the warm and chewy rice filling, generously dotted with red beans. Every bite was a mixture of textures and flavours – sweet, chewy and crispy all rolled into one. The unassuming Sencha Cookies were also amazing in their own right. Infused with Sencha tea, the crumbly cookie was light but yet, still richly delectable.
Following which, we were treated to a traditional pot of Oolong Tea. The leaves used were premium Alisan Oolong tea leaves specially purchased from Taiwan, and were exceptionally fragrant. The Oolong tea was paired with a mug of Matcha Latte, made by whisking premium Matcha powder together with milk. The bitterness of the matcha was appeased by the sweetness of the milk, and the interesting pairing of Matcha and Oolong served to bring out the flavours in both types of tea.
If these drinks are not your cup of tea, Sun Tea Atelier offers coffee as well. They take special care in ensuring that the best organic coffee beans from Taidong, Taiwan are used. We had the opportunity to try the Iced Cappuccino and the Cold Brew Coffee With Organic Honey. While the Iced Cappuccino was good, the Cold Brew was out of this world. The bitter notes of the coffee were perfectly matched by the sweet and fragrant honey. Every mouthful of coffee was an explosion of bitter coffee and sweet coffee flavours, which made for an extremely refreshing and unique twist to the typical iced coffee.
Conveniently located three minutes from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, the wallet-friendly (items are priced between $4-10) Sun Tea Atelier is the perfect place to grab a caffeinated drink to go, or to have a catch up session with friends! With the crafters’ attention to detail and the use of quality ingredients matched by unique flavour pairings, you’ll never see coffee and tea in the same light again.
This was an invited media tasting.
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Sun Tea Atelier
1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #02-36
Singapore 082001
Opens Daily: Mon – Fri 9:30am to 6:30pm, Sat & Sun 10:30am to 5:30pm
