A 400-year-old Shizuoka tea farm now has a counter at The Star Vista

Thirteen generations of tea farming, 15 seats and one mall in one-north.

Worth the trip to The Star Vista if you take your matcha seriously, and worth a weekday afternoon if you want one of its 15 seats. Koko Kawane, open since 29 September, pairs Koko, a Japanese-style patisserie from Gaia Group, with Kawane Matcha, a family farm in the Shizuoka mountains, and the farm is the reason to go. Order the flight of three matchas: it is the order that makes sense of the place.

The Ohashi family has tended its fields since the 1600s, and the farm is now run by the 13th generation, Kazuteru Ohashi. “For more than 400 years, my family has cared for these fields,” he has said. Thirteen generations of tea farming is a good argument for tasting the tea before the milk.

So the menu rewards curiosity in a particular order. Purists can start with usucha, the thin whisked tea, or the dine-in flight. Lattes run from the house blend to the single-origin Okumidori, which is the one to pick if you must have milk. The pastries are by chef Mei Kubota, originally from Kagoshima, from the Midoba and Kohaku to the Hisui, and the ochagashi pairing matches a tea with a sweet, the sensible order for two.

It is open daily, and weekday afternoons, when the one-north offices are still at their desks, look like the best bet for a chair. Buona Vista MRT is the nearest station.

Good to know Koko Kawane, #01-02 The Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617. Open daily 10am-9pm (last orders 8.30pm). Buona Vista MRT is the nearest station.

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Koko Kawane | #01-02 The Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617