One of the few upsides to the past eighteen months was having more time. For many of us, that time went into discovering (or re-discovering) passions. I was no different; my personal love affair for the past months was with specialty coffee.

I have always been a coffee addict – admittedly and regrettably, even a coffee snob at one point (🥴 ). My busy life, however, often prevented me from being able to personally brew my own cup of coffee. I often found myself getting my fix from whatever coffee shop was the nearest to me. Last year though, amid the lockdown, I was able to revisit my love for brewing coffee and discovered e-tailers who sold high quality and locally produced coffee beans. Much of those I tried, I love, but here, in no particular order, are the ones that came out on top:

Yardstick Coffee’s Legazpi

This coffee strikes a pleasing balance between fruity and decadent. Upon sipping, it subtly coats the mouth with a tinge of brightness from its peach and blueberry notes. This then mellows into a light decadence comparable to a wash of white chocolate. I normally don’t like fruity coffees, and I LOVE this – a testament to how smooth this coffee tastes. This is said to be best brewed using an espresso machine, and while I agree, I also found that it also beautifully suits a pour over. I’d recommend this to people who are generally averse to the jarring punchiness some fruity coffees might give, but would love to slowly branch out and sip on a something with a fruity note.

This is available at CoffeePHL for PHP 700 / 250 grams,

H Proper Coffee Roasters’ Ethiopia Sidamo

My, my, where to begin? As with Legazpi, this is subtly fruity upfront with a beautiful velvety chocolate finish. The fruity overtone is luscious – thanks to the grape and black tea notes. It tastes vivid, but not jolting – how I like fruity coffees to be. This blend then morphs into a silky and creamy chocolate finish and goes down smoothly. I love brewing this through a dripper (pour over), but in the rare instances that I’m craving to have this with milk, I find that brewing this through an espresso machine tastes better.

This is also available at CoffeePHL for PHP 450 / 250 grams.

Kalsada Coffee’s Sitio Belis

I don’t gravitate towards punchy, fruity, coffees; this is the exception. This coffee is crystal clear – like a zing of zest with its upfront calamansi note. Its crispness is tempered by the vanilla and chocolate undertones, which hamper the brew from being too jolting. I often enjoy this over ice. Served cold, this yields a refreshing brew ☀️

This is available at CoffeePHL for PHP 600 / 200 grams.

Primal Brew’s Dark Momentum

I’m a sucker for chocolate-y and nutty coffee, so this absolutely hits the park. With notes of caramelized brown sugar, roasted nuts, and cacao nibs, the cup this yields is decadent and luscious. I also find that this coffee pairs with milk extremely well. Nearing a dark roast, this coffee packs a punch, but remains sweet and smooth.

This is available on Lazada for PHP 400 / 250 grams.

Candid Coffee’s Black Forest Cake

Honestly, I just bought this coffee because of the name. It seemed so quirky – too wacky, even, that I did not expect it to live up to its name. But it did. Spectacularly. Upon sipping, you can taste the cherries upfront, followed by a rich undertone of chocolate – very much resembling a black forest cake! I ended up making two brews of this on the same day I first bought it because I was so pleasantly surprised with its flavor profile. It’s smooth, and I find that it is brewed best through pour-over.

This is available on CoffeePHL for PHP 490 / 250 grams.

The specialty coffee industry here in the Philippines has been thriving for years now – these coffees are testaments to such! I love that more and more people are getting into third wave coffee. Our country has SO MUCH good stuff to offer! Hopefully, this post inspires you to brew your own coffee and add these coffee beans to cart for your next online shopping session 🎉

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