A Cup of Coffee to Share…

I have this very distinct taste about my coffee. I want my coffee to taste coffee in my mouth not any type of sweetener. I don’t go for any commercial coffee that serves sugar drink with pinch of coffee if you know what I mean. The balance of earthy taste from the coffee bean and its eccentric aroma is what I’m looking for. As I always say to my friends and colleagues, “a coffee drink will never be a coffee drink without the basic ingredient in it which is the coffee not sugar or cream”.

A taste of staple coffee slowly drip filtered on ice while the sweetened milk awaits to embrace the bitterness.

One thing that my co-workers know about me is that I love COFFEE. I know it is bad to drink too much but I have as much 10 cups per night. Because of that I even got a Blood Coffee award or should I say Coffee Smelling Piss Prince <aromatic… eww! Hahaha> I always need to start my shift with a cup and the day will just flow as it is. I always tell my friends, especially Lissa, my buddy, about how coffee makes my nerves calm too. Yup! You read it right, it makes me calm. I don’t know, do I have things all in wrong way about coffee? Should I get myself tested?

I think you already know where this article is going to. Yes, it’s listing down coffee drinks on top of my list.

Topping all is just coffee or coffee with sugar.  What else should I be listing on top but the very basic coffee mix. I like it brewed and a little bit darker. Varieties of brewed coffee I like are the following: Kape Alamid or Kopi Luwak or commonly known as the civet coffee, Kape Barako or commonly known as Baraco coffe a member of the Coffea Liberica,Vietnamese Espresso, Italian Dark Roast, Yukon Organic blend, and Sumatra Dark Roast. You can have a bag of ground beans and prepare it with either your coffee maker at home or any coffee drip filter. You can get your Kape Alamid from certified coffee brewers like Alamid Café Express in Bonifacio Global Heights for Php 295.00 a cup or visit any Alamid Coffee shops around Tagaytay. Kape Barako is best to drink in cold breezy morning of Tagaytay and Batangas as you drink it with the locals. You can get abount ¼ kilo ground Baraco beans in ShopWise stores for a cheaper price <Yey! Kape all you want!>. Some of the brewed coffees on my list were gifts from my friends Ria, Paul, and others which have their distinct tastes and aroma.

Seconding on my top spot is the Vietnamese iced dark roast coffee on sweetened milk which called Cà Phê Sữa Dá or Cà Phê Nâu Dá (in English its iced brown coffee also similar with Café Cubano or cafecito). What best about this staple coffee drink is its simplicity in preparation and the balance of sweetness, creaminess, and bitterness of dark roast coffee. Also, this drink is something you can find anywhere in Vietnam from the coffee shops, restaurants, and along the hawkers or street vendors. Another think I like about Cà Phê Sữa Dá is the presentation. Coffee Highlands, one of the most popular coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh serves their Cà Phê Sữa Dá in a clear glass with 2-3 spoonful of condensed milk on ice and a coffee drip filter that allows the ground dark roast coffee’s flavour mixed with hot water and it slowly drips and combines to the other ingredient. Another thing why you would like this coffee drink is because of the cost. It is priced at ₫20,000-30,000. <funny thing about their money with a symbol ₫, it is called Dong hehehe. It was used since May 3, 1978 which was formerly known as Hào then it was Xu.>. You might say that this is too expensive for a coffee drink but it’s not. Try to convert.

Next on my top lists is the Caramel Macchiato, which I always get from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) as hot with ice on the side. Why do I order that way? And why not have it iced instead? I can give you 2 reasons. First is due to the taste. I don’t want my coffee to taste blunt due to melted ice. Second reason is you are getting ½ parts more than what you paid for <Isn’t it wise? LOLz>. You can go with the regular 2 shots or spike it up if wanted stronger coffee blend. You can have with breve in replacement of your regular milk too. Just ask it over the counter, if they don’t have breve then you can ask for half and half.

Another café latte type drink that I indulge was Starbucks’ Asian Dulce Latte which I wanted venti size with additional shots. You know how Starbucks make their coffee.  Asian Dulce Latte stayed for over month which start last May of 2013. It is another type of Caramel Macchiato but without the caramel. It was a switch from Caramel to an Asian Dulce, a mixture of milk or cream and sweetener.

I will end my list as of the moment and will give you additional if I got some new stuff coming. I’ll be in Macau and Hong Kong this September with friends and hopefully I can have new coffee blend specifically brewed from those countries. Maybe I can have some cups from Terra Coffee House, or Margaret’s Café e Nata, or CuppaCoffee.

I’ll you know ‘till next time. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, just let me know and I’m hoping to give you what you are looking for. Ciao for now!