Why do Chinese and Indian kopitiam drinks taste so different?

SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user wanted to find out why drinks at Chinese and Indian kopitiams taste so different, posing this question in a recent r/askSingapore post from earlier this week.

U/KabutoRaiger30 claimed that the kopi peng — iced coffee with condensed milk — served by Indian vendors tastes different from the sweet drink served by the Chinese.

For them, this happens “without fail” and they notice it almost “every time.”

The post author asked whether this is because of the ingredients used by each vendor or the method of preparing the beverage.

They added that they rarely buy kopi peng or other drinks from Malay vendors.

For one commenter, the difference is all in the ”brands” used by the beverage stall owners, though they admitted that they only drink kosong, or drinks without any added sugar or sweetener in them.

They explained that they like kopi c kosong (black coffee with evaporated milk and no sugar) from the Chinese vendors and teh c kosong (tea with evaporated milk and no sugar) from the Indian ones.

And why? They clarified that Chinese coffee tastes stronger in terms of caffeine, while Indian coffee tastes more diluted. However, Indian tea has more “thickness” and depth than Chinese tea, which for them “have only one note.”

One Reddit user agreed enthusiastically with this, writing that while Indian teh has “melody,” Chinese teh is “flat” with one note only.

“And boy are u right about the kopi too. I’m keen to figure out if it’s because of different coffee powders and tea leaves or a difference in preparation,” they added.

Another argued that in Indian stalls, the is “tarik”, or pulled properly, while the Chinese stall owners only add hot water. This gives Indian tea more depth, they claimed.

A commenter wrote that not only do different kopitiams have different suppliers, but there are also cultural differences when it comes to tolerating levels of sweetness as well.

“I noticed a lot of Chinese coffee shops give me diluted bitter coffee, while Indian ones give me diabetes coffee,” they quipped.

One seemed to agree, saying that Indian tea has not been very “nice” to their waistline, but they love watching the tarik process.

Another said that Indians like boiling the tea in milk, which adds to the flavour of the drinks. /TISG

Read also: Café customer asks why ‘simple cup of kopi o kosong’ costs S$3