Singapore's Apartment Coffee has been crowned the best coffee shop in Asia for the second year in a row. 

It has also retained its sixth place ranking on the World's 100 Best Coffee Shops list, which was unveiled at the CoffeeFest Madrid 2026 on Monday (Feb 16). 

Apartment Coffee is the only Singapore cafe that made the list. 

Besides being featured in World's 100 Best Coffee Shops, Apartment Coffee also received accolades such as second place in the Singapore Brewers Cup in 2022 and first place at the Singapore Roaster Forum 2019.

The cafe specialises in artisan coffee roasted with beans sourced from around the world. Apartment Coffee in 2018, later moving to its current location at Selegie Road in 2022.

With its focus on the coffee experience, the cafe doesn't do takeaways, founder Yeo Qing He told The Straits Times.

World's Best Coffee Shops

14 coffee shops from Asia made the World's Best Coffee Shops list, including Malaysia's Story of Ono (second in Asia, 8th in world) and new entries such as South Korea's Momos Coffee (22nd), Japan's Ult Coffee (24th) and Taiwan's Coffee Sind (36th).

The top spot on the list went to Onyx Coffee Lab from the US, followed by Norway's Tim Wendelboe and Alquimia Coffee from El Salvador.

According to the guide, the rankings are assessed based on a comprehensive set of criteria comprising eight key aspects. 

These include: quality of coffee, barista expertise, customer service, innovation, ambience and atmosphere, sustainability practices, food and pastry quality, and consistency. 

A voting system incorporating both public opinion and expert evaluations also ensures "a fair and transparent" selection. 

carol.ong@asiaone.com