ARTISAN COFFEE

In recent years, the popularity of third wave, speciality, and/or artisan coffee has increased significantly in the Philippines. And there’s a good reason for it—the nation is home to a sizable population of coffee aficionados. We were able to speak with a few of these coffee shop owners, and we are delighted to learn that they all employ sustainable coffee production methods and place a high value on the single origin coffee they sell.

-Papa Kape Coffee –

A quaint micro coffee shop located in the owner’s family home, Papa Kape is a third wave specialty coffee shop that opened during the last quarter of 2020. Albeit intentional to be small in size, the coffee shop is big on the drinks it serves. Papa Kape currently has 2 branches: one at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, and one at Palanan, Makati. Each branch has their own specialty drink, so be sure to check out both. Some of the drinks they serve are Blue Ginger Salabat (ginger, lime, mint, and butterfly pea flower), Iced Coco Latte, and Black Gulaman Americano (espresso, pandan syrup, grass jelly, and basil seeds). 

Leon Coffee beans from Iloilo

Hailing from Leon, Iloilo, this Papa Kape exclusive coffee beans surely captures the distinct Filipino coffee flavor. The robusta beans are grown in a high elevation on an Iloilo mountain range, with the harvesting period from November to February. As per Papa Kape, the robusta beans are best enjoyed on a medium roast, drip coffee procedure.

Photo retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

-Escolta Coffee Company – 

Taking its name from one of Metro Manila’s famous streets where they are also situated, the Escolta Coffee Company is focused and passionate about sourcing responsibly-gathered single origin coffee. The coffee shop is also proud of its community as it is a homegrown Escolta, Manila brand, with the team being part of the Escolta community even before they started working in the shop. Some of the single origin beans that the Escolta Coffee Company offer range from Benguet to Bukidnon, with the tasting notes being some of the Philippines’ delicacies such as Biko (sticky rice cake), Santol (cotton fruit), and Cacao nibs. For a primer on the shop’s coffee beans, they recently released a Coffee Discovery Kit which has seven, 20g sachets of their offerings which will take you from the North to South of the Philippines. The discovery kit also has a journal for you to note all your coffee adventures. Escolta Coffee Company is located at First United Building in Escolta, Manila as pictured above.

-Amadeo Artisano Coffee Farm – 

Hailing from the coffee capital of the Philippines, Amadeo, Cavite, the Amadeo Artisano Coffee Farm started last 2020. Although fairly young, the coffee farm is proud of what it has developed so far. Not to be confused with coffee cupping, the coffee farm offers coffee tasting which will take you on an almost fantastical journey as the names of the coffee blends, and even its appearance is likened to a folktale or story from Cavite. Amadeo Artisano is also a proud sustainable agriculture farm as they only allow organic growth of beans in their area. They are also proud producers of the four kinds of coffee beans, namely: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa. To make the most of the tour, the owner of the farm suggested visiting during the months of December to January as this is the season for the coffee fruit’s ripening, where they are all red and are ready to be harvested.