Coffee Tales and The Curator's Coffee and Cocktails

Tomorrow is a Thursday, and as most of social media will be abuzz with throwbacks, I am reminded of all the drafts I have lined up in this blog, and that they are - essentially - throwbacks. Not one to waste any coffee story, I will once again (ONCE AGAIN!!! Never give up, never surrender!) revive my coffee blog; this time I will intersperse with throwbacks of my own, thus doing something about my photo storage as apple keeps reminding me to.  I will begin where I left of.


Long ago, in my coffee lifetime, I was told of a place called, "Craft". It was generating so much buzz, I should've headed out and tried their specialty brew. In fact, friends who knew I love coffee, wondered why I never rushed over there in the first place. That time, I was in a coffee rut.

I heard that Craft was put up by a group of coffee lovers. It was a fantastic concept place for learning, cupping, experiencing, and enjoying the brew. Unfortunately, that maiden effort supposedly closed, with the group agreeing to disagree on certain issues or concerns, and part ways (as I was told).

Turns out, it didn't close. The partners did part ways (partly), with two staying with the company, and one continuing onward with his own coffee adventure. Well, you can't expect coffee lovers who are able to, to just pack up and sulk in a corner.

This one member opened his own coffee company, which he calls The Curator. And while the main coffee shop was still undergoing renovation, they opened a counter where award-winning baristas prepared and served coffee, imparting helpful information while doing so. My friend C and I couldn't wait for the opening of the bigger place, so we tried out this counter.

It's located along Gamboa Street in Legazpi Village, Makati. You might miss it because it's inside Archives (Homme et Femme).

Once inside, the enticing aroma of coffee will let you know you have arrived and your brain will start doing all sorts of crazy stuff with its circuitry to let you know that you need some of that coffee you smell.

This is the main counter. It's all they need, apparently.

Don't be deceived by the size. You all know about looks that can be deceiving and great things coming in small packages. Be dazzled, instead by the equipment, if you can manage to snap out of the hypnotic smell of coffee (and sight of fabulous shoes lined up for the taking) surrounds you. At The Curator, multi-awarded baristas Kevin and Mikko (pictured here), make your coffee for you. After the standard - what would you want? what are our options? how do you like your coffee? - we decided to try one of each: full-bodied brazilian and the lighter/fruity/tea-like Ethiopian.

Since this first taste of The Curator, I have visited their renovated digs several times: once to do a story for a glossy magazine, and the rest of the times to have coffee and/or cocktails. 

As one of the partners, David Ong, shared, The Curator turns into a bar after 5pm. From that time onward, one can enjoy their unique alcohol-based concoctions, choosing from just about as many options as they offer with coffee. 

The Curator's David Ong at work

The hand-brewed Espresso

Pourovers

The Curator's Menu

David Ong with a fan ;-)

Love the group, love the vibe, and I love how the group's business continued to bloom. And that leads to the story of EDSA - Beverage Design Group. Another entry, but yep, same people. 

A 5-oz Legaspi at Yardstick Coffee

 The tip came from some insiders among Manila's coffee lovers, those who knew about good coffee, with some making a living from it. Of course my coffee buddy C and I had to check it out. We decided that if we were going to meet up for coffee, since we love the beverage, we should make an expedition of it - in pursuit of the best coffee places in Manila or the Philippines (who knows?)

We put two relatively new places on our list a few afternoons ago and started with the one she hadn't tried out yet - Yardstick Coffee.

No main or lighted signage up yet, but we just knew it was that new coffee place we were looking for when we drove by it. Then we saw this sign that confirmed it and we were all set. 

First impressions: 

The place was huge, clean, and well-lit. Yardstick has mostly white walls, and an expanse of it all bare, opposite the main counter, a change from the usual framed coffee/food/lifestyle illustrations or murals (I couldn't help thinking: does it serve as a canvass for something new and hip, or...? Possibilities were beginning to excite me. What?!) They had several wooden tables, a couple of long high ones, benches, and stools neatly distributed throughout the space, without any particular configuration or "cafe-style" layout. There was also a notable absence of plush upholstery, easy chairs, or dim drop lights, yet it had such an inviting vibe to chill out, work, or just have a day's dose of caffeine in. I saw a conference room-looking area, glassed in from the rest of the place. 

Although the menu board wasn't quite done yet, they had their specialty coffees, hot and cold beverages, and pastries colorfully listed on chalk boards. Before we could even get confused or overwhelmed, one of the young-ish people around the counter, obviously one of the owners, approached us to ask what we would care to have. He listened, asked a few questions, then gave us options. No heavy suggestive selling, no preachy (as one friend would describe it) or condescending tone and jargon. My friend and I decided to each have a black (or were they hand brews?), but in different blends.

The counter with the temporary menu board, a display of coffee paraphernalia,
a toaster, and the ref. To the left is the coffee prep area.

She preferred the sound of a brew with fruity and slight acidic tones, so she got the Project Y. I wanted something with a more full-bodied profile, so I got the Legaspi blend. Another partner (who introduced himself as Kevin), took our orders and told us more about the coffee we chose to have. While watching our coffees being prepared by the barista, we learned that all hot beverages came in standard 5-oz cups. Excited as we were to carry off our coffee with us, we decided to pick our seats first, because there were at least 4 other table groupings occupied. We chose one of the tables positioned at the center.

The same guy who met us when we entered helped bring our cups of coffees, a bottle of water, a couple of glasses, and some almond milk, which we requested for. He introduced himself as Andre (Chanco), one of the partners, who, with Kevin and Jessica, own and run the place. They're coffee lovers with professional training and experience to match, who began planning the business about 2-1/2 years ago, started the Concierge (their portable coffee service) at Apartment 1B in Rockwell last September, and finally opened their Yardstick Coffee doors, "to walk-ins just last Monday or Tuesday (must have been 18th or 19th November 2013)." They knew each other in grade school, then met up and renewed their friendship while at university in Singapore. Although they had help from a barista (and probably other members of the business), they personally handle the roasting, cupping, man the counters, coffee station, and go around to chat with customers, themselves.

The taste test:

And here's my Legaspi (named so as a tribute to the area, i.e., Legaspi Village, and because it's something that's more 'approachable', according to Andre) - a blend of pulpled natural Brazil Cerrado (40%), and 2 wet-hulled coffees from Sumatra - Tobing Estate (30%) and Ratawali Valley (30%). I was so happy with it. Not very bitter, nothing that will make chest hairs sprout, but really full-bodied and cocoa-ish.  It was just 5-oz but it was 5-oz of excellent coffee. No refills necessary.

I got a taste of my friend's Project Y coffee, too. It's basically 50% Ratawali and 30% of semi-washed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, and 20% of a different Brazil from Alta Mogiana. Although I'm not partial to the acidic profile in coffees, this one I liked just as much as mine Legaspi. It changed my mind about acidic, fruity, etc., characteristics of coffees, which came as a red flag to me before, for "sour with a, uhm, sour aftertaste." I guess if the coffee's roasted right, ground on demand, and done right, there wouldn't be any need for milk or creamer to temper whatever strong characteristic over-dominated the brew.   

We were told that the blends would change once in a while. "The idea behind every blend is that there is a designated taste profile rather than a specific composition. With the Legaspi it will always be chocolate-nutty, more approachable. For Project Y, it's always going to be fruity, (citrusy)," Andre added.

We also learned from Andre that they also bottled, crowned, and sold their own cold coffee, that they are distributors of coveted espresso machines, La Marzocco and Rocket Espresso, and other coffee paraphernalia. Oh, and not to forget - coffee in Yardstick also means they serve beer - made with coffee. As it says in the bottle, "a collaborated brew by Katipunan Craft Ales and Yardstick Coffee."

My friend and I were so pleased to have made the trip to find Yardstick Coffee happy with this visit, we're planning another one soon. We have a list of coffees to try, the beer, and probably attend a cupping session soon. I'm not a coffee snob nor do I pretend to be an expert. I just know I love coffee, I enjoy it when it's good, and I can tell when it's not (many times, I drink it anyway) - and I can confidently say, Yardstick has excellent coffee.

There's definitely more to learn from them, more to write about. Till then, if you want to experience a not-so-usual coffee break or some 'creative' time away from the office desk, look for this sign along the sidewalk of Esteban St. near corner Rufino St., Legaspi Village, Makati. 

Kuppa's House Blend

"Surprise me,"I challenged my friend Marco when he asked where I wanted to meet up for coffee.  We were supposed to meet for lunch, but the traffic that day was so horrible, I finally got to The Fort in Taguig over three hours after the time we initially set our 'lunch date'. So coffee it was and the venue, up to the hungrier person - me. 

Yes, I was surprised, and absolutely pleasantly so. The place was Kuppa Roastery and Cafe at the ground floor of CommerceCenterBuilding, 31st St. cr. 4th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio Global City,Taguig.

From outside, the place looked so hip and inviting, yet it was surprisingly peaceful inside. 

In case you can't get a menu, just read from their glass windows, black boards around
the counter, and on the table top standees.

From their facebook page: 

Kuppa (pronounced, cup-pa) started from a family that knows coffee. It took 50 years to make their first cup of coffee, starting with their grandfather after the first World War, who passed the roasting trade down to their father, who passed it on to his children.

Kuppa Coffee first opened its doors to the public in Bacolod on January 2006 by Eugene and Karen Lo-Tsai. The first coffee shop was built on the same lot where the Lo family started roasting coffee in the 1950s. Kuppa was the first coffee shop to introduce in-house coffee roasting in the Philippines, to ensure superior tasting coffee. 

Their menu covers items from breakfast through happy hour, to dinner, and of course, desserts. Having already missed lunch and barely survived about 5 hours total in the car, I had to have something to make me feel better. I narrowed my choices down to sandwich or pasta. Pasta or sandwich? 

Don't ask me what it was because I can't remember exactly. It was a four-cheese penne dish.
Ask me how it was. That I can tell you.

Pasta won. Delish! Then I had to give the place the test. Coffee!

Since the entire place began with a love for coffee, Kuppa, of course, has a list of coffee variants, blends, and twists. I chose to try their basic brew - their house blend. What kind of coffee's in it? The server said it was their secret. So I waited, intrigued, till it was served.  It came in a coffee press.

Color looked wonderful. Smelled heavenly. Yup, those are a couple of coffee grounds that escaped the coffee press' filter, but it didn't matter because it was a perfect panacea for my frayed nerves from my long and slow crawl through that day's traffic.

With a packet of cream I usually take my basic brew with - just perfect. You can tell by the color. No grey tint and not still mud brown. Strange as it may sound, that's one almost-sure indicator of a great cup of coffee for me.

I was so happy with my time spent there catching up with my good friend who knew the perfect way to perk up my mood, and I was delightfully full. I didn't have any room for dessert, but walking out, the pretty strawberry muffins got my attention, so I just needed to take a couple home. (They were heavenly!)

"Kuppa serves coffee as it should be: sweet, smooth and complex. The cupping of each blend and single origin coffee is done on a daily basis to ensure the quality and the freshness of the coffee are maintained.  Kuppa strives to have each visit a fresh new discovery."

If that's a promise, and with my first experience there as basis, I'm definitely going back.

Mountain-grown Arabica, Boyd Coffee Co, Philippines

I haven't been drinking a lot of coffee out lately -- save for the Starbucks fix I get when I have to wake up while shopping or in a meeting -- because I have the best brewed coffee right here at home. Mountain-grown Arabica, as fresh as I can get it, the way I want it. A 1/2kg bag for under P250!

I got it from Boyds Coffee Philippines, where I saw for myself just how fresh a bag of ground coffee beans go into a bag ordered. It's a thrill for a coffee lover like myself to make a trip to their Coffee Factory-Store on Sheridan St., Mandaluyong, because I get to sample their coffees before I decide on which blend to purchase. I have been fortunate enough to have owner/coffee expert Robert Francisco join me a couple of times to demo, give a short lecture, some tips, and take a whiff, s sip (actually, more of a slurp), swish it around my mouth, and ingest the different variants on hand. Never knew coffee can be fruity, woodsy, etc. More of this coffee tasting bit can be experienced in their coffee workshops at the end of each month.

More reasons to get my coffee from them, from http://www.boydphil.com/about.htm:

• Boyds coffee beans are specially selected, picked, and graded by hand. They are meticulously chosen from only the best supplies the country has to offer.
• Coffee is always freshly roasted and made especially for YOU. Our beans are roasted locally and packed only upon order of our clients to assure fresh quality beans.
• Our coffee is roasted by batch. This procedure allows the beans to roast evenly to guarantee that each bean is as flavorful as the next.
• As part of our quality control, we clean and calibrate our roasters, scales, grinders, and machines daily and randomly cup our batches of coffee to ensure our customers of the best quality coffee.
• As part of our daily ritual, all staff drink coffee from what has been recently roasted.

Then there is the other treat I get when I want more coffee from Boyd's. They deliver! Fabness!!! (632) 746.3253; 746BOYD.