by Nigel Ong
Aside from the original Old Town White Coffee, variations are available, from the less sugary to the salted caramel version.
There is also the hazelnut-flavored version of White Coffee, which seems to have received some positive reviews from Amazon. As a result, I decided to pick up a bag of it and give it a try.
In this post, I will sample the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee before comparing it against other White Coffees I have in my collection.
About Asian White Coffee
In Asia, coffee takes a different turn. You have the extra bold Middle-Eastern style to the spicy and milky Indian, subcontinental style of coffee.
Go further east to South East Asia, and you will discover the creamy, rich, milky Asian White Coffee.
In the West, White coffee may mean very lightly roasted coffee beans.
However, Asian White Coffee refers to a specific style of coffee preparation that originated from Southeast Asia, specifically Singapore and Malaysia.
Asian White Coffee is usually made with a blend of beans, typically Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa, or Liberica. These beans are traditionally roasted with sugar, butter, or margarine to add additional flavors to the beans.
The coffee is commonly brewed using both filtration and immersion methods with a coffee sock. The coffee is commonly served flavored with evaporated milk or sugar.
Many also enjoy the coffee black, or mixed with milked tea. This coffee tea mix is called Ying Yeung and is popular in Hong Kong.
Today, you can enjoy Asian White Coffee as instant coffee, not just in the shops. They are often packed in what is commonly called ‘3-in-1’ sachets, with creamer, sugar, and coffee all inside. You just add hot water to make the coffee.
First Impression
My pack of Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee comes in gang-green packaging, similar to what you will see on the jerseys of the New York Jets football team. As for the details, it retains a similar theme to other white coffee variations under the Old Town line-up.
This helps you to quickly identify the Hazelnut flavored version of the coffee from your grocery aisles.
The bag contains 15 sachets, each about 1.3 ounces (38 gm). Each sachet makes you a cup of coffee.
As for the content, you can see a blend of three colors inside the dried powders – brown, white, and slightly translucent granules. They should be coffee, creamer, and sugar.
As for the brewing instructions, add about 6 fl oz (180ml) of hot water to the content of the sachet. The recommended temperature is 176°F (80°C).
Then, pick up a spoon and stir the drink to dissolve everything. The powder dissolves easily and only requires a couple of turns with a teaspoon to disappear into the hot water.
The coffee has a creamy aroma with a hazelnut flavor; the aroma reminds me of Kahlua coffee liqueur. As for the looks, it looks rich and creamy, like a cup of Latte.
Some creamy bubbles float on the top of the coffee, but these bubbles are not as fine as the crema on your espresso.
How Does Old Town Hazelnut Asian White Coffee Taste?
Hot
When enjoyed hot, the coffee tastes very creamy and sweet. The foam on the top of the coffee helps add some air and lightness, making it a more enjoyable cup to sip.
In fact, a good cup of Asian White Coffee should be so creamy and sweet that the coffee flavor comes second in importance.
It also gave the coffee some texture in my mouth, like how champagne bubbles pop around for a bit in the mouth.
The whole tasting experience is consistent with regular White Coffee, with a twist – the hazelnut flavor.
The Hazelnut flavor adds a unique dimension to the coffee. It is there, but not too strong to overpower the overall White Coffee taste profile. The creaminess, nuttiness, and coffee flavor remind me of Kahlua coffee liqueur.
However, this combination of flavors made it a very indulgent cup of coffee. I do not think it will be good for waist watchers.
A quick check at the packaging shows that a cup of this coffee loads you with 163 kcal of calories.
If you compare that to a short Starbucks Cafe-Au-Lait with whole milk with 3.6 grams of sugar, this is rather high compared to a Short Starbucks Cafe-Au-Lait. That drink only comes with 64 kcal of calories.
The sweetness is a little too much, although I enjoyed the creamy flavors. I will probably do better with the 30% less sugared version of Old Town Instant White Coffee. If you dislike sweet coffee, this may work for you, too.
Iced
With the hot Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee out of the way, I wonder how the coffee will taste chilled. Ice can mute or elevate certain flavors in coffee, and it will be interesting to see how the Hazelnut White Coffee will behave chilled.
I added a sachet of the white coffee powder into a shaker, then shook it for about 20-30 seconds with 180 ml of chilled water. Then, I poured the coffee into a glass filled with ice.
The idea here is to ensure the coffee does not become diluted. If I made the coffee with hot water only to add ice later, some ice would melt and dilute the coffee.
Instantly, from my first sip, I liked the coffee. When chilled, the coffee becomes less creamy. It is there, but not to the point that it may become bothersome. The sweetness is also muted, like how a chilled glass of Coke tastes.
Overall, the chilled version of the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee tastes like a combination of Baileys and Kahlua without the alcohol. It is a nice drink to sip, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee vs. Other Old Town Coffee
I have two more Old Town White coffee packs sitting around my kitchen. I thought I’d compare the taste here. They are:
- Old Town White Coffee Classic
- Old Town White Coffee 30% Less Sugar
I made a cup of coffee similarly with each, with 180ml of hot water. I then sipped the coffee side-by-side with the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee.
If I had to choose between these three, I would pick the Hazelnut White Coffee. I just enjoy the Hazelnut twist to the coffee, giving it a better flavor.
My ideal combination would be the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee with 30% less sugar. However, this is not offered in the line-up.
The closest way I could dilute the sweetness is to mix it with a non-sweetened version of the Old Town White Coffee. However, this will also dilute the hazelnut flavor.
Instant vs. Hand-Made Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee
Next, I ventured to an actual Old Town White Coffee restaurant and ordered a hand-made cup of the Hazelnut White Coffee. I brought it home and drank it side by side with the instant version.
I would say that the difference is not too big, although the hand-made version tastes better. I can taste the use of evaporated milk in the hand-made version of the coffee, which will always taste better than the non-dairy creamer used in the instant version.
Please do not let this fact turn you off – the difference is not too great. I have sampled some instant coffees that taste way worse than the hand-made version, such as the Starbucks Frappuccino.
Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee vs. Regular Latte
Finally, I thought I should compare the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee with the more regular cups of coffee – those you can get for $1 at gas stations or convenience stores.
I picked up a cup of Latte from 7-Eleven and sipped it side-by-side with the Hazelnut White Coffee.
It might not be a fair comparison, but in some ways, the regular Latte from 7-Eleven cannot compete with the creamy flavors. It may have more coffee flavor, but the coffee does not give me good satisfaction. Perhaps the coffee itself is not too fresh.
If I have to choose between spending $1 to make my own instant cup of Hazelnut White Coffee vs $2 regular latte at 7-E, I will pick the former more often than not.
Should You Try Old Town Hazelnut Asian White Coffee?
I generally shy away from flavored coffee since the taste tends to be a bit too synthetic. In many cases, flavored coffee is also a way for roasters to slip in poor quality coffee and mask the bad tastes with the flavorings.
However, with the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee, I think it is not a bad idea after all. Perhaps because it is some kind of ‘instant’ coffee, I do not have too high hopes for it.
The hazelnut flavor blends well with the coffee, not masking the original White Coffee flavor. It also improved the coffee’s flavors, making it taste something akin to Kahlua coffee liqueur.
I particularly enjoy the iced version, as it tastes like a combination of Baileys and Kahlua. If you enjoy these liqueurs, you may also like this coffee.
Suppose you enjoy the taste of hazelnuts in your food, say chocolate. In this case, you may also try this coffee; you might just like it too.
However, the Hazelnut White Coffee will not work if you dislike creamy and sweet coffee. You are better off with regular coffee roasts instead.Here’s something for you to do – go check out the Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee, read up the reviews, and then decide if you want to try it. You can also check out what actual Asian White Coffee tastes like.