The Starbucks VIA Ready Brew will be available on mid-September 2010.

Happy Coffee Drinking!

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There’s a lot of buzz going on about how great Serenitea is so we decided to check it out. So after having dinner at Ristras, we just crossed the street to finally try Serenitea. We ordered their best sellers such as Hokkaido and Okinawa Milk Tea. Karla had the Hokkaido Milk Tea with 50% sweetness level and it tasted like caramel. She had pearls as “sinkers” in her milk tea.  On the other hand, I ordered Okinawa Milk Tea with 50% sweetness level and tasted a bit bittersweet, just like how I wanted my milk tea. As for my “sinker”, I had my Okinawa Milk Tea with pearls and crystals. It was love at first sip. Mmmm.

The interesting part is that their milk teas a brewed per order. They use Teapresso machines, just like espresso machines used in coffee shops. Isn’t that interesting?

Serenitea Branches:

1F G&L Building J. Abad Santos cor V. Cruz, San Juan City
268 Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Paranaque City
74 B N. Roxas St. cor. Banawe, Sto. Domingo Quezon City

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Real Leaf Green Tea is made of natural green tea leaves, honey and fruit flavors such as apple, lemon and lychee. These flavors are also known as Honey Lemon, Honey Apple and Honey Lychee. What’s to like about Real Leaf Green Tea: it’s deliciously reviving!

My favorite green tea drink from Real Leaf is Honey Lemon. What’s your favorite Real Leaf flavor, is it honey lemon, apple or lychee?

Facts You Should Know about Real Leaf Green Tea

1. Real Leaf Green Tea contains Theanine. Theanine is an amino acid that is found in tea plants. Read more about Theanine in Wikipedia.

2. The production of Real Leaf Green Tea makes use of brewing processes that are based on the standards of the Coca-Cola system.

3. Green tea leaves that are used for Real Leaf Green Tea came from Zhejiang (a region in China that produce 70%+ of the total green tea that’s being produced worldwide.

4. Honey has a low calorie level and it’s an excellent substitute for sugar. It is a good source of antioxidants.

There are indeed benefits in drinking Real Leaf Green Tea based from the facts from Real Leaf. Also, we’re assured that we’re drinking a quality product that are based on world-class standards.

If you like Real Leaf Green Tea, follow them on:
Facebook of Real Leaf
Twitter of Real Leaf

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Caffe Ti Amo is the newest gelateria (gelato + cafeteria) that arrived here in the Philippines. The brand came from Korea and is partly owned by Jollibee Foods Corp. We were recently invited to grace its opening a few weeks ago. Their very first store is at the ground floor of SM Annex and will soon be opening at the Fort.

Caffe Ti Amo does not only serve gelatos in cups but they have different ways to serve it. Let me show you how you can enjoy Caffe Ti Amo gelatos below.

Coffee, Cookies and Creme and Chocolate Gelatos in Cups

Affogatto @ Php 159

Affogatto is a popular Italian dessert wherein gelato drowned in espresso. This dessert also has vanilla, tiramisu and almonds for extra flavor and texture. This is one of my favorite desserts in Caffe Ti Amo. The combination of the hot espresso and cold gelato gives a tingling sensation in your palate.

Honey Bread @ Php 199

Never thought that this could be possible but Caffe Ti Amo serves honey bread topped with gelatos. You can choose any flavor of gelato you’d like in your honey bread but it’s suggested that you have yogurt and vanilla. Another plus factor for this dessert are the sprinkled cinnamon and blueberries.

Gelato Waffle at Php 360 (with 2 scoops of gelatos), 1 scoop gelato and 1/2 waffle @ Php 185

Waffles topped with gelatos. There are 3 types of gelato waffles that you can have in Caffe Ti Amo: Chocolate, Green Tea and the regular one. This was one of the desserts that I personally enjoyed. Aside from the gelatos, the waffle is topped with fresh fruits, whipped cream and chocolate or caramel syrup.

Yogurt Mischiato @ Php 239

Another way is to have is a-la Mischiatto. The word Mischiato itself means “mixed with ice” so it’s like our Filipino Halo-Halo. In Caffe Ti Amo, there are 3 varieties of mischiato to choose from: Yogurt, Green Tea and Coffee. Their yogurt mischiato is composed of yogurt gelato, fresh fruits and corn flakes drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Coffee Mischiato @ Php 219

The coffee mischiato on the other hand has coffee gelato, bananas, corn flakes and chocolate cereals drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Green Tea Mischiato @ Php 229

Among all the mischiatos, I loved the Green Tea. It has green tea gelato, corn flakes, bananas and chocolate cereals drizzled with caramel syrup.

It’s nice to eat mischiatos using this happy spoon!

Caramel Macchiato

Aside from gelatos, Caffe Ti Amo also serves coffee and tea.  The interesting thing about their teas is that they’re not inside the tea bags when they serve it to customers. They have a tea brewing machine (photo below) wherein fresh tea leaves are soaked in hot water on a pitcher-like thing then when it’s ready, just rest it on top of the cup and voila, your tea is ready! This is really amazing and good news, they sell it in their stores for Php 3,000. How I wish it was cheaper, I could have bought one for myself.

Tea Brewing Machine @ Php 3000

So far, Caffe Ti Amo has the best tasting gelatos I’ve ever tasted because they’re not very creamy compared to the others I’ve tasted. Another factor that made me like this is because of the different way to enjoy gelatos. It may seem that their other gelato desserts are expensive but they are actually meant for sharing (unless you really want to eat the whole thing).

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I am a tea lover, but at the same time I’m also a coffee lover. Many people say that this characteristic could not exist in one person but apparently, I love them equally. I got tired of drinking the usual instant coffee and it came to the point that instant coffee can’t perk me up anymore. Brewed coffees are the ones that can perk up my senses. My most favorite is making gourmet coffee, adding something exciting to my ordinary brewed coffee.

Probably you’re wondering how an ordinary coffee can become a gourmet coffee, well, basically it’s just coffee plus other additives or flavors which can enhance the coffee. When you go to coffee shops, you usually see different syrups such as Hazelnut, Vanilla and many more. You can add a different kick on your ordinary cup of cappuccino by doing this (or would this be weird? hahaha).

Other ways of describing a gourmet coffee, would not only mean adding flavors on it, others would say that the complexity of producing certain coffees can be considered gourmet. You can probably think of it like wines; gourmet coffee can be considered high quality coffees.

Many people say that too much coffee is bad for our health. I would definitely oppose to that because coffee is already proven to have health benefits so whether you have one or two cups coffee can help you lessen the risk of having diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease. Hmm, all this coffee talk makes me want to have a cup of coffee now.

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3. La Mia Tazza Coffee in Legazpi, Albay

La Mia Tazza Coffee was a coffee shop that Karla and I frequented while we were in Legazpi, Albay. This is somewhat their Starbucks there but the good thing is that the owner is a home grown Bicolano. They have 2 branches in Legazpi. One is at the Old District Albay and at the Embarcadero. We went to the Embarcadero branch because that’s where we go have our night cap.

The interiors are like a combination of Starbucks Coffee, Seattle’s Best and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. They have cozy sofas inside and the good thing about it is that they have free wifi!

Pili Tazzaccino

To stick with being a true blooded Bicolano, they have incorporated in the coffees what they’re famous for, Pili nuts! We tried the Pili Tazzaccino as a recommendation of the barista. The drink was delicious and was glad to have tasted this coffee concoction! I’ve also tasted the Pili Nut Cappuccino and it was also good.

The barista also recommended us to try their chocolate cake. This is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever tasted in cafes! It’s moist and not too sweet.

La Mia Tazza Coffee Branches:

738 Rizal St
Old Albay District
Legazpi City

and

Embarcadero de Legazpi

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La Cusina Del Caffe is just opposite the building where I worked in Melbourne. This is where I always get my lunch (usually a pita sandwich or quiche) because I don’t need to go very far. I know there are other cafes to choose from but I’d prefer to buy here.

This is just a very small cafe in Stead Street South Melbourne. They are only open during the weekdays (like most of the cafes around the area) and closes at 3 or 4 pm. They serve sandwiches, pasta, quiche and many more. As you all know, Australians don’t really eat heavy during lunch time. A sandwich for them is already enough.

What I liked in this cafe is that they’re really cheap. You can already be full with only AUD 4.00-8.00 in your pocket. They also have a very friendly staff so I didn’t have a hard time to understand them. Well actually, most people I’ve met in Australia were really warm and friendly. People who work in restaurants and cafes show you a smile and they’re not hesitant to help you if you’re having a problem choosing from the menu.

Now this was the last lunch I ate hours before I left Melbourne. A slice of lasagna and a bottle of Pomegranate and Green Tea drink. This only costed me around AUD 10.00 – 12.00.

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Bobby Chinn, Discovery Travel and Living’s World Cafe star, was able to enlighten me and other members of media about brunching at the event organized by Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf 2 weeks ago. It was one of the earliest events that I’ve ever attended but since it’s Bobby Chinn, what the heck, I’ll wake up early for him. How often would you get to see and hear Bobby Chinn in flesh? Anyway, he candidly talked about brunching and how it can be interesting for us.One thing I never knew about Bobby Chinn is that he was a stand-up comedian. He was so perky that morning and I can’t believe I was listening to a stand-up comedy at 11:00 am on a Saturday.

muffins and biscotti

Salmon Scramble (with Chicken Sausages and bread on the side) @ Php 229

Moving forward, not everybody knows that Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf offers brunch meals to its customers. I usually neglect this but upon tasting the Salmon Scramble during the event, I didn’t realize that it was good. When you order a brunch meal (Brek O’Day, Salmon Scramble or Eggs Ben), it already comes with a free cup of brewed coffee or tea. The good thing also about their breakfast selections is that it’s available all day long so if you’re craving to have eggs for dinner, that’s fine. It’s just too bad that CBTL only has a few brnch selections in their menu. I hope that they add some more items in the menu to choose from.

Camembert Oreo Cheesecake Tart

photo op with Bobby Chinn!

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Ham Ensaymada @ Php 90

After participating on the silent protest against Conass and dimsum dinner at David’s Tea House,  fellow bloggers and I decided to have our dessert at Kohikan. It was actually Jayvee who suggested that we try Kohikan’s award-winning ensaymada.

There are 3 flavors of ensaymada to choose from: plain, ham and ube. According to the waitress, their best seller is the ube ensaymada. I wasn’t really in the mood for ube so I tried their ham ensaymada instead. When the waitress served the ensaymada, I was really surprised on how big it was. It’s as big as 3 typical sized ensaymadas combined! 2 people can actually share this (I shared mine with Karla ).

The surprise does not end with the size of it. The moment I had my first bite, I couldn’t help but feel giddy inside. Whenever I have this kind of feeling whenever I taste something new, this is definitely a sign that it will be part of my random food cravings . The ensaymada was soft and packed unlike other ensaymadas that are just like cotton candies that are filled with air. I was actually searching for the meat but I couldn’t find it. Probably, they used real ham juice to get the taste of ham. I am guessing that they wouldn’t want to mess up the consistency of the batter. I don’t know. But really, I dig this dessert! The best of it all is that there is an abundance of cheese!

Yogurt Lemon @ Php 195

I paired my ham ensaymada with a drink called Yogurt Lemon. I am a yogurt lover so I can’t help but to order this. I loved how the tanginess of the two main elements (yogurt and lemon) complemented each other. It’s a good marriage between the two .

Other sumptuous desserts are being offered at Kohikan. The prices of their cakes range from Php 160-200+. I’ll definitely be back at this place to try their other desserts and of course to taste their coffee.

Kohikan
G/F Diamond Hotel
Roxas Boulveard cor. Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila 1000, Philippines
Telephone: (632) 528-3000
Fax: (632) 526-2255
Website: http://www.diamondhotel.com

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Green tea originated from China and has been known to cure headache and depression. It comes from the leaves of Camellia sinensis and undergoes very minimal oxidation. It’s dried instead of undergoing fermentation which is being done in black teas. Green tea has caffeine but not as strong as black tea.

I’ve made some researches over the internet and the common thing they say about green tea is that it helps prevent cancer. The fighting element against cancer is what we call as antioxidants which can be found in green tea. By drinking it everyday, it can help reduce bladder, colon, esophageal, pancreas, rectum, and stomach cancer by 60%. Also, I got information from the cancer thread in a natural health forum that it can also help prevent breast cancer.

Aside from preventing cancer, green tea is also known to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol that is why they are associated with weight loss. Green tea also increases metabolism. It can also lower blood sugar.

Another interesting fact that I learned about green tea is that it can also help prevent bad breath. It is advisable to drink a cup of green tea after dessert to kill the bacteria in the mouth.

Some of the Different types of Green Tea:

1. Sencha – most popular in Japan. Its color is a bit yellowish and has a sweet and astringent taste.
2. Dragonwell (or Lung Chung) – comes from West Lake in China. This is one of the most expensive green teas. This is also called the ultimate green tea. It is bright green and taste is strong.
3. Macha – It is very fine and used in a traditional Japanese Ceremony. It tastes light and sweet. This is also used for desserts.
4. Genmaicha – It’s not really a kind of tea. It is a combination of green tea with toasted brown rice.

The list isn’t complete yet but these are some of the common green teas that we have here in the Philippines.

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