specialty coffee

Coffee world regains momentum with new trends taking hold of its exciting comeback

The coffee industry could not be expected to escape the global pandemic unscathed. It definitely went through and experienced setbacks. But as the world begins to reign over the effects of the crisis, the coffee world regains momentum with new trends taking hold of its exciting comeback.

The return to some semblance of normal made customers want authentic, high-quality blends and coffee beverages to be delivered to their doorsteps. Bo’s Coffee has been aggressively giving their customers exactly that in the last few years.

Ready-to-drink coffee all ready to take on the market

In 2018, when ready to drink coffee became one of the fastest growing market segments in Europe, Bo’s Coffee has already been working on its ICED BREWS. With RTD coffee known to be a healthier alternative to sodas, an overwhelming response to the new drink is helping fuel this market’s premium status.

Three variants are available today: Iced Brew Mocha, Iced Brew Macchiato and Iced Brew Latte already in stores and available for delivery. One can also avail of an assortment of flavored Iced Brew bottled coffee thoughtfully crafted and served in a glass bottle with its Iced Brew Sampler available online.

Specialty coffees is becoming increasingly, well, special

While most consumers still buy mainstream coffee blends, there’s quite a demand for high- quality coffee. Some reports align with socially conscious consumers looking for real experiences of brewing coffee, and will pay a premium for a good social story.

Bo’s Coffee has always been a proponent of the local coffee industry that every cup of our coffee celebrates and supports Philippine Coffee, partnering and adopting various coffee communities in the Philippine highlands where the best of Philippine Coffee is grown.

Such is the story behind the team of Kalsada Coffee, harvesting the season’s bounty of its single origin 100% Arabica Caliking Beans from the rich landscape of Sitio Kisbong in Atok, Benguet. Bo’s Coffee puts the spotlight on Philippine Coffee and prides itself of flavor profiles found in the Philippine highlands. Beans are sourced from the mountains of Sagada, Mt. Kitanglad, Mt. Matutum, Mt. Apo, and of course, Benguet where Caliking Beans will be wrapping up its harvest by the women-led team of Kalsada Coffee.

Coffee as a subscription

A burgeoning industry, the coffee subscription plan is where Bo’s Coffee sends coffee to your doorsteps. While this concept has been around for a few years, the lockdowns brought it forward as coffee fans looked for ways to get their coffee fix while stuck at home.

When one subscribes to Bo’s Coffee Subscription, receive a box delivery every first day of the month. The box contains 2 bags of Coffee Beans and a welcome kit detailing coffee origins, tasting notes, grind size, and brewing guide. Enjoy one flavor of coffee beans every month in this order: Atok, Ampucao, Sagada, Kitanglad, Matutum, and Apo. So, by the time the subscription needs to renew, you will have tasted the best coffee beans the Philippines can offer.

ABOUT BO’S COFFEE

Bo’s Coffee is a homegrown specialty Philippine coffee chain with over 100 stores all over the Philippines, 9 in Qatar and soon 50 in the UAE. The Philippines’ largest homegrown coffee brand celebrates coffee putting the spotlight on the country’s highlands.

Bo’s Coffee prides itself on flavor profiles that have striking taste and body that truly epitomize rich diversity of their geographies. Its Philippine Coffee Origins beans are sourced from the mountains Sagada. Benguet, Mt. Kitanglad, Mt. Matutum and Mt. Apo. Each region, climate and culture contributes to the distinct flavor profile found only in the Philippines.

‘Your Homegrown Brew’ has been and will remain the brand’s promise in serving Filipinos and the world the best of what home has to offer – Philippine Coffee Origins, its coffee culture, its support and service to local start-ups and social enterprises and its Filipino brand of hospitality.

Details and images provided in a recent press release.

Specialty coffee and gourmet dishes at The Coffee Academics Cafe in Makati

During an overcast Saturday morning in Makati’s Central Business District, you would think that the cafes there would be nigh deserted. After all, office workers who rely on their cuppa to energize them for their workday are mostly at home, enjoying the extra time they can spend in bed snoozing.

However, such is not the case at the Coffee Academics Cafe along Carlos Palanca Street. In this cozy yet well-appointed establishment, there is a hustle and bustle of activity: patrons coming in for their takeout orders, some staying to enjoy their coffee and light meal inside as baristas and servers hasten to serve up the drinks and dishes.

The world standard in coffee

The Coffee Academics Cafe is the first Metro Manila presence of Hong Kong’s favorite coffee hotspot, joining its sister branches in Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai. Known for setting the standards in specialty coffee and for delivering unique coffeehouse experiences to its clientele, TCA is a welcome addition to Makati’s gastronomic scene and prime destination for serious coffee aficionados.

TCA sources only the top 5% of specialty arabica coffee from sustainable and fair-trade institutions worldwide, with the aim of ensuring the conservation of biodiversity and local livelihoods. Since its founding in 2012, it has garnered awards and recognition from global industry bodies and media outlets for its coffee products and practices.

Its strong grounding in its trade allows it to make delicious coffee creations that wow its customers, such as:

Specialty gourmet dishes

Your foodie adventure at TCA does not stop with coffee, however. With its unique takes on cafe fare, you can sate your hunger while indulging in your favorite brews.

These include:

Nori Nachos and Hummus (Php350). Homemade nori rice chips served with mixed pea hummus topped with Harissa chili, Lucban Longganisa and Kesong Puti.

Eggs Royale Bibingka (Php445).Toasted Quezo Bibingka Muffins topped with young pork tocino and poached eggs drizzled with dalandan Hollaindaise.

Prawn & Aligue Pasta (Php495). Buckwheat pasta on a bed of coconut cream sauce topped with seared prawns and crabfat, garnished with fried basil and nori rice chips.

KFC 2.0 & Kimchi Fried Rice (Php445). Boneless fried chicken thighs doused in Korean-style garlic soy glaze on a bed of kimchi and spam fried rice topped with furikake flakes with a side of caramelized sweet potato.

Steak Rice (Php795). Bistro steak and seared mushrooms on a bed of Japanese-style steak rice topped with furikake, Asian chimi and homemade demi glace.

As you can see, you can definitely do more than just enjoying a cuppa (or two!) at The Coffee Academics Cafe!

You can come in for a leisurely coffee break, a light snack or a filling meal.

Savoring your coffee and food in this relaxing atmosphere is an experience in itself.

You can also bring your TCA experience to your home, as it retails its signature coffee blends in whole beans, Nespresso-compatible capsules or drip bag sets.

The Coffee Academics Cafe is located at 109 Don Carlos Palanca Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City, open daily from 7am to 12 midnight.

A new branch is set to open soon at Molito Lifestyle Center in Alabang.

Know more about The Coffee Academics through its website, or follow it on Facebook and Instagram.

Disclosure: Together with fellow bloggers, I attended a food tasting held at this restaurant. Food items served were not paid for by the attendees.

Coffee appreciation at Himawari Specialty Coffee in Silang, Cavite

Personally, I can’t get started on my day without my cuppa joe first thing in the morning. I’ve found that, in order to be physically energized and mentally alert, I need to have a cup of hot coffee waiting for me as soon as I get up from bed.

At various points of the day, such as the unholy hour after lunch when I feel a wee bit drowsy or late in the afternoon when my energy levels start to dip, I would find myself reaching for another cup of coffee to get that energy boost.

Apparently, I’m not alone in my dependence on this beverage as Statista revealed in a recent study that total coffee consumption in the Philippines in 2020 reached 3.3 million 60-kilogram bags.

However, this consumption is actually driven by the demand for soluble coffee, also known as instant coffee. While so easily accessible and, for many, very affordable, instant coffee does not fully showcase the possibilities of the beverage, and that experience of enjoying an outstanding cup of coffee will remain beyond reach for a lot of people.

Introducing specialty coffee

Fortunately, there’s a coffee shop in Silang, Cavite that advocates for the highest quality of coffee, prepared according to exacting standards, so that Filipinos can discover the experience of enjoying a really good cup of this amazing beverage.

Himawari Specialty Coffee is a coffee bean roasting shop located along the Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay Road. It sells single-origin roasted beans sustainably sourced from various countries. It differentiates itself from other coffee shops by offering specialty coffee – those which come from green coffee beans of exceptional quality which are farmed, roasted and brewed to a significantly higher than average standard.

The shop is helmed by its Master Roaster, Mr. Yutaka Shinozaki, whose pursuit of knowledge and skills in specialty coffee has earned him 100 points in the Coffee Skills Program and a diploma from the Specialty Coffee Association.

“I want to introduce specialty coffee here in the Philippines,” he said.

To this end, he established the Himawari Coffee Shop in 2019 and regularly holds coffee brewing workshops at the store on Saturday afternoons.

During my recent visit to his shop, Mr. Shinozaki provided a crash course on what goes into specialty coffee which he summarized into three elements: the bean, the roasting process and the brewing method.

The bean.

Specialty coffee begins with single origin beans grown in select altitudes, climates and soil, and nursed for years before harvesting. These beans are free from defects and picked at their peak of ripeness.

“There are two main types or species of coffee beans: Arabica and Robusta,” shared Mr. Shinozaki. “Robusta is mainly for instant coffee. Arabica is for coffee shop practice.”

He further explained that there may be differences in levels of quality among Arabica beans. “The lowest grade of Arabica are normally used by some commercial coffee shops. They say that they are using Arabica, yes, that is correct. But it is the lowest grade, meaning low-quality and cheap. So they are using cheap beans but selling at high price.”

Specialty coffee, on the other hand, is made from the highest quality of Arabica beans, as certified by the Specialty Coffee Association.

The roasting process.

Mr. Shirataki personally roasts the green coffee beans for up to twelve minutes in a 180-deg C roaster, taking careful note of the measurements and resulting flavor profiles.

The beans are lightly roasted, going from a light green color to beige to medium brown, throughout the process. A light roast ensures that the distinct tastes of the coffee depending on the region where it was sourced are discernible.

Common lore is that coffee is best when its freshly roasted, but Mr. Shirataki shares that immediately after roasting, the beans are still emitting some gases so it is best to wait for up to three days before brewing.

To maintain the freshness of the roasted beans, they are stored in air-tight containers at room temperature away from direct sunlight.

The brewing method.

The final element to creating the delicious cup according to Mr. Shirataki is the brewing method.

“To make a good cup of coffee, of course, you need good beans. But you also need to know how to make good coffee. Even with the same bean, if you don’t know, your cup is different from our cup.”

Brewing specialty coffee to bring out all its natural goodness requires a very specific method and measurements. The process begins with grinding the fresh-roasted beans only when you’re ready to brew and pre-heating the equipment that you will use.

The ground coffee is placed onto the filter, then 20ml of freshly boiled water is poured over the grounds to let them expand or “bloom.” After thirty seconds, 140ml of water is slowly poured over the bloomed coffee for a minute, making sure that the white foam – which has a bitter taste – that appeared on top of the grounds does not touch the filter so as not to transfer the bitter taste to the coffee.

Whew! All that effort just to get a cup coffee. However, for true coffee lovers, that perfect cup of coffee is well worth all that effort.

Visitors of Himawari Specialty Coffee can enjoy hand-drip hot coffee by the cup for:

Specialty Coffee (Yirgacheff from Ethiopia, El Jagar from Costa Rica, Fazenda and Ipanema from Brazil, Mandheling from Indonesia): Php250/cup (roasted beans also available in 100g pouch for Php1,000)
Local Beans (Mt. Apo and Bukidnon): Php150/cup (roasted beans also available in 150g pouch for Php400)
Mimawari Premium Blend: Php200 (roasted beans also available in 100g packs for Php200)

Those who want to munch on something as they sip their coffee can also enjoy Japanese cream-filled pastries such as the Chocolate Eclair (Php120)and the Cream Puff (Php120) or the Japanese-style Cheescake (Php200) which has a smooth and silky cheesecake layer.

Whether you’re a true-blue coffee fan or a casual coffee drinker, Himawari Specialty Coffee is definitely worth a visit. Here, you can enjoy your favorite beverage or expand your coffee horizons. Doing so will also support the continued growth and richness of our own coffee culture.

Himawari Specialty Coffee is located at CVI Building along the Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay Road, Sitio Muson, Silang, Cavite. To order its specialty coffee beans, visit its online store.

To stay updated on its offers, follow Himawari Specialty Coffee on Facebook and Instagram.

Disclosure: I attended a workshop and coffee tasting held here. Food and beverage items mentioned here were served in exchange for this feature at no cost to me.