Manila’s affogato is here at Affojeans, SM North EDSA

You would think that with the onset of rainshowers that announced summer’s end we would be feeling a lot cooler by now.

Not so, apparently, if the sweltering heat that continues to pervade Metro Manila is anything to go by.

So how to cool our bodies and our tempers despite the mercury rising?

How about a sweet frozen treat like an affogato?

The affogato is an Italian dessert which is made of a scoop of ice cream or gelato, poured over or “drowned” with a shot of hot espresso, resulting in the combination of creamy sweetness and a strong coffee flavor. It is a perfect item for lovers of dessert and coffee.

Recently, affogato specialty brand Affojeans set up its first-ever dessert station at SM North EDSA, providing foodies up north with their sugar and caffeine fix in one delectable cup.

During a recent foodie meetup together with my #SaanSaPH foodie buddies, Affojeans’ co-owner Megs filled us in on what makes Affojeans special.

According to Megs, many premium coffee shops already offer affogato but these are usually priced high. Given the relative ease in producing the dessert, Affojeans’ affogatos are priced affordably (with cheekily named variants shorts for regular-sized and jeans for large-sized cups). These flavors include:

Affoshot (Php89 shorts | Php120 jeans). Classic affogato.

Cinna-Bun (Php89 shorts | Php120 jeans). Cold cinnamon bun.

Black Panda (Php99 shorts | Php130 jeans). Made with mocha and oreos.

Caramello (Php99 shorts | Php130 jeans). Made with salted caramel and nuts.

Tiramisu (Php99 shorts | Php130 jeans). Made with chocolate and cheesecake.

Avococo (Php109 shorts | Php140 jeans). Made with avocado and coconut.

Matchago (Php109 shorts | Php140 jeans). Matcha affogato.

The espresso shots poured into the affogato are made made fresh in small batches using a mocha espresso percolator, guaranteeing freshness.

When enjoying these desserts, you will notice that even when fully melted, the ice cream (house-made by Affojeans) remains creamy. Too bad these ice cream flavors by themselves are not available on retail.

Affojeans’ beverage menu also includes Cold Brew floats. Cold brew is a process of steeping coffee from ground coffee beans at cool temperatures for an extended period of time, around 12 to 24 hours. Because the beans never come into contact with heated water, the resulting brew has a different chemical profile from coffee brewed via conventional methods. This includes a lower acidity and caffeine content than regular coffee which makes Affojeans’ cold brew floats suitable for those suffering from acid reflux or caffeine sensitivity. We were served Affo Cold Brew (Php155 shorts | Php175 jeans) and New York Cheesecake (Php165 shorts | Php185 jeans) floats.

Got a fellow caffeine addict or a sweet tooth buddy? Why not take advantage of Affojeans’ Buy 1 Take 1 offer on cold brew floats and treat yourselves to these yummy drinks? Get two short floats for Php199 or two jeans floats for Php249.

Affojeans is a great new concept store that’s sure to satisfy the sweet and caffeine cravings of foodies up north. I hope a branch opens nearer to my neck of the woods.

Thanks to Kian (@kainventures) for extending the invite!

Affojeans is located at the Upper Ground Floor, Main Building, SM North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City (in front of National Bookstore), open daily from 10am to 10pm.

Disclosure: Together with other foodies from #SaanSaPH, I was invited to join a foodie meetup held at this restaurant. Food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.

Check out my reviews of other dessert places in the metro: