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MANILA, Philippines – Hey, college students! Maybe you and your friends are looking for a place to relax with while waiting for your next class. Maybe you’re just around the Diliman, Quezon City, area and need a pick-me-up in the middle of your day. Well – What About Coffee?
This isn’t just a question – it is the name of family-owned, local café What About Coffee, which recently opened at the University Hotel of University of Philippines (UPD) Campus to serve busy students and vacationing hotel guests high-quality coffee in a space you can wind down or be productive in.
It is a special find inside the state university’s enormous campus – not only does it serve coffee-based beverages made with premium ingredients, but it also prides itself in its cozy ambiance and warm service. What About Coffee’s friendly baristas and attractive interiors make it the perfect tambay spot.
What about its beginnings?
The idea for What About Coffee? (WACo) started when owner Marichele Gregorio noticed a “rustic and roofless corner” filled with unwanted and spoiled greenery at the lobby of the University Hotel (UH). To her, it looked out of place and needed a little bit of a makeover.
Wondering what to do with the basically abandoned corner, Marichele reflected on a pain point she’s experienced herself as a regular visitor of the hotel: there was no good quality coffee being served.
“Every time I’m here, I want to have coffee, [pero] ‘di talaga ako maka-order ng coffee dito. Siguro ‘yun ang naging push [to open a coffee shop] especially dito sa hotel,” Marichele told Rappler.
(Every time I’m here, I want to have coffee, but I really can’t order here. Maybe that become the push [to open a coffee shop] especially here at the hotel.)
Combining her love for coffee and her desire to level up the looks of UH’s lobby, Marichele created WACo – a hip new coffee spot open to anyone visiting the UPD campus.
WACo is located at the lobby of UH and is the first thing you see once you enter the hotel. The lobby’s lighting is quite dim, so WACo easily stands out with its vibrant green seats, glass ceiling, and bright store sign hung on a pillar at the center of the lobby.
What about the quality?
For Marichele, the most important thing that she focused on when developing WACo was the quality of the beverages. Her resolve has gone as far as traveling to Uji – a city in Kyoto known for having the highest grade matcha powder in Japan – to source the authentic powder for WACo’s Matcha Latte.
Marichele has also brought to UPD the specialty-grade coffee beans of Yardstick, the Makati City coffee shop known for sourcing and roasting premium coffee. She uses them for WACo’s coffee-based drinks.
“I wanted to give the best quality coffee,” the owner explained. “Ang recipe kasi ng coffee shop, open ‘yan. Kahit sa Youtube nandiyan ‘yan. Nagkakatalo lang talaga sa beans.”
(The coffee shop’s recipes are really open to anybody. You can find recipes on YouTube. It really just gets competitive over the coffee beans used.)
While some may argue that the prices are a bit too expensive for students, WACo explains that apart from the quality of the drinks, customers also pay for the coffee shop’s ambience. The interior design of the coffee shop sets a cozy yet sophisticated mood for patrons – perfect for both students and hotel guests – and on top of that, the baristas are nothing short of professional, cool, and friendly.
Highlighting the importance of having a good set of staff to run the business, Marichele underscored that “you have to take care of your people.”
“Every time I hire, I always tell them: ‘yung skills napag-aaralan talaga ‘yan, pero ‘yung [tamang] attitude hindi,” she added. (Every time I hire, I always tell them: skills can be learned, but having the [correct] attitude can’t be learned.)
When talking about her staff, Marichele beamed with pride. “Love ko na talaga sila. Sila ang buhay ng WACo – hindi ako eh. Pag wala sila edi sarado ‘to. Kung wala sila, paano aandar ‘yan?”
(I really love them. They are the life of WACo – not me. If they’re not there, WACo would be closed. Without them, how will it it operate?”
What about taste?
WACo serves a variety of coffee-based drinks, non-coffee drinks, and tea. The drinks may be served hot (12 oz) or iced (16 oz), except for the espresso and tea options only served hot and a few cool refreshments only served iced.
There are nine coffee-based drinks to choose from: Espresso, Americano, Café Latte, Cappuccino, Vanilla Latte, Spanish Latte, Caramel Macchiato, Café Mocha, and Oat Milk Latte. The prices for these drinks range from P94 to P199.
I ordered the best-selling iced Spanish Latte (P179). The espresso is served in a separate cup, giving customers a chance to pour it over the milk themselves, and also allowing them to see the espresso mix in with the milk and aesthetically sink to the bottom of the glass.
The generous serving of milk dominates the drink – it is a latte after all – but rest assured, the taste of the coffee is still strong. As someone who has tried a fair amount of Spanish lattes and has high expectations when ordering one, WACo did not disappoint: it’s just the right amount of sweet and milky, yet it has enough of that caffeine kick to boost your energy. It also offers value for money considering that the coffee fills up a relatively large glass.
Marichele’s daughter Angela also recommends ordering the Spanish Latte and substituting its regular milk with oat milk for a dairy-free yet still creamy alternative.
Not a fan of caffeine? Worry not – WACo also serves non-coffee drinks such as the Uji Matcha Latte, Milo Dinosaur, AURO Classic Chocolate, Lychee Lemonade (also a best-seller), and Triple Berry Burst. Prices range from P169 to P199.
Different types of tea – at P109 per order – are also available: Wild Berry, Chamomile, Earl Grey, Lemon & Ginger, and Pure Peppermint.
Well-loved French pastries kouign-amann, croissants, and pain au chocolat can also be found at WACo, along with other sweet treats such as Belgian waffles, banana bread slices, and the famous Banana Crumble with Salted Caramel Ice Cream.
I first had a bite of the Butter Croissant (P99). The size of the bread is larger than what I’m usually used to when ordering from other cafés, but it’s the right amount of soft and flaky still. On mornings when I’m craving for a light and simple breakfast, this is something I’d go back for. The price is also reasonable for the size of the croissant.
The Banana Crumble with Salted Caramel Ice Cream (P199) is one of WACo’s signature sweets and my favorite item.
It consists of two scoops of salted caramel ice cream, topped with large bites of banana bread chunks and drizzled with caramel syrup. I really liked the banana bread, as it helped to balance the intense sweetness of the ice cream and syrup, and it also added a chewy texture to each bite. While this dessert is more on the pricey side, I think it’s still something worth trying if you have the budget to spend.
What About Coffee? is located inside the University Hotel at Guerrero Corner, Aglipay Street, UP Diliman, Quezon City. It is open daily, from 6 am to 9 pm. For more information, you can check out the shop’s Instagram. – Rappler.com
Cheska Lingad is a Rappler intern.
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