Starbucks at 6750 Ayala Avenue: Where the Modern Filipino Coffee Shop Experience Began

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Filipinos love coffee, there is no doubt about that. Traditionally though, Filipinos are not really that fancy coffee drinkers. Just a simple cup of coffee bought at the sari-sari store, with perhaps some creamer and sugar would do. There are also the beloved regional blends like the kapeng barako of Batangas or the Philippine Civet Coffee or kapeng alamid which is sourced from the droppings (AKA, uhm…poop) of wild Philippine civets which also happens to be the most rare and expensive variety.

In recent years however, Filipinos have come to appreciate the more “sophisticated” varieties of coffee like the cafe lattes, cappuccinos, frappes, etc. And we can all thank/blame (depending  on your perspective) one establishment for this change: Starbucks. Today on the Urban Roamer, we shall be checking out where it all began as we visit the first Starbucks branch in the Philippines.

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From Crystal Arcade to PNB Building to…Gone? The Saga of an Escolta Address

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Escolta itself is a street has bore witness and reflected as well the ups and downs Manila’s history: from the glorious past, to the steep decline, to the present struggles and some triumphs of rebirth it is experiencing at the moment.

While we have buildings such as Calvo, Regina, and First United to tell us the resilience of this old commercial and business district in the midst of these shifts in the city history, if you want to learn more about the more tragic side these shifts have caused, we have this particular address in Escolta we will be looking at today.

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Where’s the Line 1 South Extension?

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During the last days of 2015, people were all in anticipation with what should be the biggest news on the first day of 2016, President Noynoy Aquino and my “favorite” Transportation Secretary Jun (P)Abaya being run over by a train because they apparently could not keep their promise of having the construction of the 11.7 kilometer Line 1 South Extension from Baclaran to Bacoor in Cavite by the end of 2015.

It was a promise first uttered at the height of the campaign period for the 2013 midterm elections as Aquino was campaigning for his senatorial bets in Cavite. It also happens that (P)Abaya was also a congressman of the province before joining the cabinet and is also a high-ranking official of the administration party. Put the elements together and…I guess you get the picture. In a way, Aquino was dangling a carrot in an effort to boost his bets’ chances in the vote-rich province.

What exacerbated the matter was the fact that Aquino told the audience there that he has a “word of honor” or something that he intends to keep and (P)Abaya’s presence also implied that there’s this guarantee that the project would be done at the soonest time possible. But now it’s 2016 and Aquino’s term is about to end in June but still, not a single work has been done to signal the commencement of the project at least. And the people, especially those in Cavite are up in arms as it has been over 20 years and still no progress has been made for this long overdue project.

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