Famous matcha hawker stall Hi Coffee moves from Hong Lim to Guoco Tower, serves ceremonial matcha from S$5.80
Matcha was already popular in Singapore, but 2025 saw the green concoction reaching a new level of popularity — it was in cafes everywhere and, sometimes, even in hawker centres.
One of the most well-known hawker matcha stalls was Hi Coffee, tucked away in level two of the iconic Hong Lim Food Centre.
One-hour waits were commonplace there, as Hi Coffee drew in large crowds after going viral.
While we’d have loved to see it continue peddling matcha in a hawker setting, things don’t always go as planned — the owners decided to move away when the lease ran up.
But don’t worry, CBD-bound matcha lovers: It will continue to serve its popular matcha lattes in the CBD.
Hi Coffee has moved to Guoco Tower, now snuggled inside the basement, a short walk away from the Tanjong Pagar MRT gantries.
In fact, if you’d walked past the takeaway kiosk, since its opening at the end of January, you would have noticed the long queues.
Two cups for S$9 opening promo
The reason for the crowd is simple: To celebrate the Guoco Tower opening, Hi Coffee is offering a month-long opening promo where customers can get two cups of Ajisai ceremonial-grade matcha lattes (U.P. S$5.80 each) at S$9.
The promo runs until February 28!
Outsiders might think that price doesn’t sound very impressive, but those who regularly consume the verdant liquid will inform you that a single cup of quality ceremonial-grade matcha in the CBD can cost as much, just on its own.
And Hi Coffee’s quality is assured, even if the prices are significantly lower than competition.
It uses matcha from Niko Neko, a renowned brand from Malaysia that sees crazy queues at its physical outlets, too.
That explains the remarkable crowd — response has been so good that the Ajisai matcha lattes were sold out when we visited.
That’s why the team has tweaked the deal to offer two cups of Akane hojicha latte at S$9 until further notice, instead!
Ceremonial-grade matcha in the S$5 range
Although many are rushing to Hi Coffee for its opening deals, its offerings in general come with pretty good prices, compared to competitors serving similar quality matcha in the area.
If you know anything about matcha, you know that costs can be steep. Part of it is due to price hikes arising from global shortage. Then, a good cup of matcha latte needs to be made a la minute, and requires a few minutes to prepare. All of that has to be factored into cost.
Still, given their humble beginnings — Hi Coffee started as a regular kopi stall before the pivot to matcha — the team said they wanted to keep prices as affordable as possible.
Owner Larry Lim explained: “We had to raise our prices with the move, but we don’t like how expensive matcha has gotten in Singapore. So we try to keep it reasonable, and the highest increase was S$0.80.”
For starters, Hi Coffee’s best-selling Ajisai matcha latte is priced at S$5.80 (after an S$0.80 increase) and it’s pretty good quality.
You get that comforting earthy fragrance, a touch of bitterness, and a thick, creamy mouthfeel — it stacks up well against more expensive options we’ve tried.
But those who enjoy a more umami profile can also opt for the Kiyone ceremonial matcha latte (S$8).
This one is a higher quality matcha from Niko Neko that, as far as the team knows, is available only at Hi Coffee locally, at the moment.
Compared to the Ajisai, this one is a lot more robust: There’s a grassy, vegetal umami at the start, while also boasting oodles of nutty fragrance, and the texture is thick and velvety.
Normal matcha lattes too boring for you? No worries: Hi Coffee has a range of flavoured iced lattes to add a pop of excitement to your afternoon matcha runs.
There’s the ever-popular strawberry matcha (S$7), strawberry hojicha (S$7), and also a new taro matcha (S$7) that was introduced with the Guoco Tower opening!
As most taro fans know, the problem with taro desserts and drinks is the balance, where most of the creations taste way too sweet.
Hi Coffee’s taro matcha is just nice. It’s not too sweet but you still get a nice, moderate dose of taro fragrance, which melds harmoniously into the earthiness of the matcha base.
And, as hojicha lovers, we also highly recommend trying the Akane hojicha latte (S$5.80).
As with Hi Coffee’s matcha, the Akane hojicha is also supplied by Niko Neko.
The best way to describe this hojicha? Roastiness overload. It is so intoxicatingly toasty, and elegant whispers of smoke and chocolate notes give the latte so much depth.
No matter if you’re coming for the two for S$9 opening promo or if you just want a solid cup of matcha (or hojicha), we think Hi Coffee’s new opening at Guoco Tower is definitely worth adding to your bucket list.
This was a hosted tasting.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on our survival guide for lohei sayings and the cool new Korean bar opened by 50 Best Bar Jigger & Pony!
- Tanjong Pagar
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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