For my National Coffee Day post, I’d like to talk about The Giving Cafe, a newly-opened social enterprise in Mandaluyong city.

The Giving Cafe is located right beside the warehouse of coffee retailer Henry & Sons, which also owns the cafe. Food Trip PH gives a good summary of H&S’ offerings:

Henry & Sons offers 360-degree coffee solutions tailor-fitted to every challenging demand. From premium coffee roasting, coffee machines and supplies, training and support services, even your own bespoke blend. Every single thing you need to get immersed into the world of coffee and make it your own personal business. Vikings Luxury Buffet actually buys coffee from Henry & Sons.

Henry & Sons has been around for a long time, but The Giving Cafe was only opened last July. Here’s how Rappler describes the cafe’s mission and vision:

The Giving Cafe (TGC) was actually created to raise funds for the Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence (FSCE), which has been supporting a farming community in La Trinidad, Benguet for years, giving the farmers and their families access to basic necessities such as potable water, medicines, and education.

The Giving Cafe serves its own brew in-house, but you can also take home some beans for charity in the form of Bloom Coffee – a commercial blend which is also available in select Rustan’s and Robinson’s grocery stores nationwide, and through the Henry and Sons mobile app [iTunes] | [Android via Google Play].

Bloom Coffee comes in different canisters, and the canister that you get determines the cause to which your purchase will go. We were told by the people manning TGC that all canisters hold the SAME blend. So it’s really just up to you to select the charity you want to support.

(above photo is from Zomato.com)

Check out the chart above for descriptions of the causes that Bloom Coffee supports. By the way, if you’re a stickler for roasting dates, you can check the roasting date at the bottom of the canister.

My frequent traveling partner, Lar of Philippine Travel Photos, took several lovely photos of the Giving Cafe during our first visit there. Browse through the photos below!

They offer 3 kinds of single-origin coffee daily. You can pick one, or get a sampler of all three. You can specify the brewing method, too!

I picked the Sumatra Mandheling, a personal favorite. And it certainly did not disappoint!

I read on Spot.ph that the Taiwanese fried chicken is one of their bestsellers, so just had to try it for myself. Extremely satisfying flavor and crunchiness!

Lar got the beef pares, another bestseller. Very flavorful and filling.

Along with the meal, Lar got the decaf americano. Yes, you can request for decaf! We were curious about their fancy “quake” drinks, too, because the day was hot out, but the interior of the cafe was nice and cool, so hot drinks with our meals seemed more reasonable.

Another bestseller: the rosemary bacon popcorn. The serving is huge and I mean HUGE. But well worth it, and excellent paired with coffee!

The large menu behind the counter.

The counter. There are chocolates and coffee on display.

An indoor mural. The text reads: “We achieve more when we chase the dream instead of the competition. – Simon Sinek”

There are outdoor seats at the back of the cafe.

They’re nice and shaded, but on a hot day, the indoor seats are more comfy.

A large Diedrich brand coffee roaster located in the shop.

A lovely window seat. On the shelves are books, board games and decor enjoyed by the owners of the cafe growing up.

A nifty Lego ship on top of an antique cupboard. There are a few eye-catching Lego arrangements serving as decor.

No photo of it here, but the ceiling decor is made almost entirely of rope. Such a lovely and classy look!

Auro artisan chocolates from Davao are spotlighted in this cafe. You can buy dark or milk chocolate bars with nibs, or without nibs (I recommend the ones with nibs, the texture is exquisite).

Chocolate coins, may be great for cooking or baking!

The Giving Cafe is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM (it’s closed on Mondays), making it the perfect place for an early breakfast or late dinner! It’s located at the following address:

1550 Sheridan St corner Pines St
Mandaluyong City

As of time of writing, their official website doesn’t seem to be up yet, but their Facebook account is here: https://www.facebook.com/TheGivingCafe/

Henry & Sons, the corporate entity behind The Giving Cafe, also has a Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/henryandsonsph/

Have you been to The Giving Cafe? How did you find their offerings? Leave a comment below!