Toast Box Kopi: a taste of Singapore

I. am. not. a. morning. person.

In fact, without coffee, I feel like my brain processes things, like my very first statement. Really s.l.o.w.l.y... I'm sure you get the point.

In our Manila home, I used to be fairly low-maintenance.  I usually made do with the Nescafe 3in1 sachet that was made in Malaysia (smuggled into the country through the back door and sold freely in the barter market in Zamboanga, or in Binondo, which is Manila's Chinatown).  The Malaysian version of Nescafe's instant coffee was normally stronger than the one locally available, more so if you do not add too much water.  The downside is that there's no way for you to control the sweetness.

In our Singapore home, the only thing I use my kitchen for is to make coffee.  I love it when my home smells like Starbucks.  It gets me in the perfect mood to be productive, so this is a must when I decide to work from home.  I can actually work straight until I feel hunger pangs at around 2pm or 3pm, then I'll need to step out since I find it easier to buy food than to clean up after anything I would prepare.  Of course, the story is totally different when my daughter and her nanny are in Singapore too.

We love making espresso using the moka
A few drops of espresso + loads of latte for fi
and the rest of the espresso w/ latte for mom
picture taken with an iPod

Our hotel in Durban had this.

Having this at hand for 3 weeks really conditions you into thinking that you NEED one in your home too.

This was the first thing I bought when I got back to Singapore :p
picture taken with an iPod

The only gadgets I willingly invest in are my coffee gadgets.  I really hate spending anything on what I consider to be household things.  I even bought the cheapest water heater I could find in Mustafa, which made the water taste like plastic, and died in less than a year.  Bad choice I know, but I thought a water heater is a water heater...  Hahaha. This led me to receive the worst birthday present a girl could ever get from one of her closest friends!  I got a Philips water heater that was expensive enough to merit free gift wrapping from Harvey Norman...  thoughtful much - definitely... but most definitely NOT what any girl wants!!!  Hahaha... Don't tell my friend, but it actually is very useful, and it does not make the water taste like plastic.  I still tell him it's the worst gift ever!


Back on topic, during my last few trips back, I've really struggled with coffee in our Manila home.  It seemed like we either had a supply chain problem or a forecasting problem since we rely on smuggled goods from the province, normally brought in by a kind uncle from either my mother or my father's side of the family.  Hahaha... This means I needed to find an excuse to go to Starbucks every day.  This is actually no hardship since there is actually a Starbucks every 15 mins, and I still think that the White Chocolate Mocha still tastes the best in the Philippines... It's probably one of the cheapest countries for Starbucks too.  My usual drink (White Chocolate Mocha Short) is only Php115 (SG$3.40).


But when I saw this in Singapore, I knew I had to buy it, so I could bring it home to Manila and have good hassle-free coffee...  This saves me from being a grouch in the morning, and I could go to Starbucks whenever I wanted to... and not because I needed to.  It also helps that I love Singapore's local Kopi, so I love the idea that I can have a taste of Singapore in Manila (or wherever I go, since it's very handy).

Toast Box Coffee Brew and Powder
Usual Price of a Coffee Brew and Powder Set is SG$30.80 (Php

Toast Box Nanyang Coffee Powder
They say that this is the same powder that they use in the Toast Box Stores
It's as easy as ABC to make.  Use 2 scoops for every cup of coffee you want to make.
But the maximum is 2 cups at a time.

The instruction says let it steep for 3 minutes.
I find it a bit weak though, so I normally steep mine for atleast 5 minutes.
Most of the time, I forget I'm making coffee, so it sits there longer, but it always tastes good.

Once the coffee has steeped to your preferred strength,
you just place the contraption on top of your cup or mug and the coffee will automatically drip.

For an authentic Kopi experience, use condensed milk to sweeten to taste.
In Singapore, I think they call this Coffee/Tea Sweetener.

Once the sweetener is mixed in,
you'll recognize it as that Kopi that you can order from any street corner Kopitiam.

It goes really well with my favorite low-key Filipino breakfast
Pandesal with butter and kesong puti

Toastbox has many branches in Singapore and is part of the Breadtalk group.
In the Philippines, they have branches in Greenbelt 5, Robinson's Ermita and Bonifacio Global City (I have no idea where there!). I saw on their facebook page that they sell the Toast Box Blend Coffee Powder in the Philippines for Php350 (SG$10.30). Yay, I don't even need to buy my coffee powder and carry it in from Singapore!  Just Saying.