One of my favorite things these days is my Pesado 58.5 Tamper with Depth Adjuster. Paired nicely with Pesado's IMS basket and E61 competition screens (available at El Kapitan), I've been enjoying a consistency of high quality espresso extraction on a day to day, cup to cup basis. Read More
Stunning location! Set next to the Singapore Botanical Gardens, this cafe's greenery is healthy and biodiverse. Well positioned mirrors reflect the greenery all around. Large bouquets of fresh flowers bring in the aromatics and complete the outdoor vibe even when in the air conditioning. There's harmony. Coffee was good but not stellar. However, a well designed menu of great food means that the dining experience is quite balanced. It was the perfect spot for a Saturday brunch to wind down from a very busy week. Read More
Many times, I have come across cafes that have quite expensive and -- frankly -- merely passable food offerings. And often this makes sense, as coffee flavors and excellence tend to get all the attention in these environments. That's why Malaysia's Adelphi & Co was such a refreshing and lovely dining experience. Surprisingly excellent food paired with equally stellar beverages. Balance! And while I would not call it inexpensive, you definitely get quality on your dollars spent. While we were there, Nica and I got to taste their steak and salmon dishes, paired with beautiful espresso Read More
What a ride! Last week I got to compete in the inaugural Philippine Brewers Cup and was able to bag the first runner up trophy. Losing sucks, I'm not gonna lie. Especially by a margin of just a few points. You keep thinking about what you could have done differently. Rules that would have helped you (Section 15, Article A, ii 😅), they float in and out of your subconscious. This has been what my last day has been like. The truth is that I have a veritable multitude of thoughts about what transpired. I'm sure you have similar thoughts too if you were there. However, for this Read More
It was a good morning at Pregio. We visited them at their main location, which also houses their training classroom. Coincidentally, we discovered that this is KK's arm of the Barista Guild of Asia. A pleasant surprise for us as, as the Philippine chapter of BGA and Barista Cafe often partners with us for our open cupping events in Kendo. If their training program follows the same standards as the Manila counterpart, this is probably a great place to learn the art of being a barista. Consequently, the shop itself had a very fun barista culture, with some very hospitable staff members Read More
Took a day to really take in this island's nature and wildlife. Substituted the usual playgrounds for the biggest trees we could find, then went on a boat trip to see birds, monkeys, and fireflies. Read More
Continuing our exploration into KK's developing coffee scene, we find ourselves inside Perdana Park to find Inch Coffee, one of the longer running and more established shops in Kota Kinabalu. While we were here, we treated ourselves to some fine coffees from around the world. As a multi-roaster concept, Inch is able to offer a variety of beans. While we were there, Artisan Roast Coffee Roasters, The Coffee Collective, and Norway's Angora Kaffe we're all being featured on espresso and brew bar. The bar itself is impressive in terms of equipment, boasting a quad grinder setup and a Read More
While in Kota Kinabalu, we got to try out Ampersand's Coconut Espresso, a refreshing signature beverage combining their take on local roaster, Cloud Catcher's espresso with a natural favor of this island. Served deconstructed. Ampersand is a young coworking cafe concept, so there are sockets everywhere. Sadly, Nica and I are still unable to plug anything in as our search for travel adaptors is somewhat fruitless so far. The wifi in this cafe is also great, but city-wide free 10mbps wifi means that you could probably get online literally anywhere in KK. This means that Read More
Solid cafe in the touristy area of Malate. It's a good place to hang for a few minutes, but a little hard to get work done because the tables and chairs are all wobbly! Coffee was pretty spot on though. Solid espresso calibration of the Kalsada's Filipino single origins. Read More
This is my first time to see this painting in daylight. A quick and dirty mural we painted in the dark last week accidentally and appropriately captured the color, energy, and an appropriate amount of turbulence that this marriage has grown through. So fitting. I see colors outside the lines, rough edges, our children, and overflow. I guess that that's what marriage is: painting in the dark. Nobody knows all the answers, or has a playbook from day one. At best, you have a rough sketch. Nobody really knows how it's all gonna turn out. But trust even in disagreement. When you can't trust Read More