Tag Archives: coffee grounds

Authentic Sagada Coffee and Food at SGD Coffee

by

I’ve always wanted to make a pilgrimage to SGD Coffee in Quezon City. I finally had my chance when an old, dear friend, who only wishes to be identified as cuportwo @ IG, agreed to meet up with me there, for a full-blown coffee adventure.

It turns out, it wasn’t just a coffee adventure for us – it was a food adventure, too!

sgd coffee rules

Ms. Yvette Tan of Spot.ph has already done an excellent writeup on SGD Coffee, so I’m just going to help spread the word about that. Please read it, because it’s a really great article, comprehensively detailing SGD Coffee’s mission and vision for Philippine coffee – Sagada coffee, in particular.

For now, I’m just going to share my own experience and photos from my visit.

sgd coffee graffiti

The cafe posed a bit of a challenge for us to find, because our Uber driver dropped us off at what seemed like a purely residential area. There didn’t seem to be any business establishments around. However, the graffiti pictured above caught our eye, so we inspected the area around it.

sgd coffee bodega sign

We looked up, and sure enough, there was a sign declaring the presence of the “SGD Coffee Bodega” and the “Coffee Science Center.” We must be in the right place!

sgd coffee storefront

A bit more looking, and we finally found the secret entrance! Just kidding, it wasn’t really secret. The door WAS hidden behind a bunch of tall plants, though.

sgd coffee steps

The steps leading up to the cafe, also behind the plants, are home-y and inviting. It felt like we were just going up to visit friends at their house.

sgd coffee interior 1

The interior of the cafe was spacious, cool and serene. The place was full of patrons when we got in, and many of the patrons were hunched over their laptops or paper notes, concentrating quietly on their work.

sgd coffee minions motif

They had a Minions motif going on, perhaps in time for Halloween. Though the place was calm and quiet, the decor made it cheery.

sgd coffee counter

Halloween buntings hung over the barista counter.

sgd coffee interior 2

There were more seats at the second floor, and they were all filled up when we got there.

sgd coffee stairs

Stairs leading up to the second floor.

sgd coffee science center door

The door to the Coffee Science Center. It appears to be closed off to cafe patrons.

sgd coffee goad sibayan

A tribute to Goad Sibayan of Bana’s Coffee in Sagada. I understand that the founder of SGD Coffee is a good friend of Mr. Sibayan, and they are both Philippine coffee pioneers. I hope to write more about Mr. Sibayan soon.

sgd coffee black

Friend and I couldn’t wait to try out the SGD Black. I liked it a lot, but I realized halfway through my drink that I was craving something stronger. Maybe I should have gone for the Espresso instead?

sgd coffee lemon bar

REALLY good Lemon bar. Reminded me of the lemon pie in Sagada. The half-plate design is novel, but a bit messy, as the crumbs kept falling off it (or maybe my friend and I were just messy eaters?).

sgd coffee dessert case

The dessert case, with prices for the signature drinks displayed behind the counter.

sgd coffee oatmeal orange cookies

Oatmeal orange cookies.

sgd coffee revel bars

Revel bars.

sgd coffee etag carbonara

Etag carbonara – my other reason for being excited to come to SGD Coffee. I am a huge fan of etag – traditionally cured and smoked meat. It was the first time for my friend to try it, and she was blown away by how flavorful it was.

sgd coffee chicken tocino

Chicken tocino with red rice, part of their all-day breakfast menu.

sgd coffee affogato

Affogato. Highly recommended. The coffee flavor goes so well with the ice cream! Photo borrowed from cuportwo @ IG.

sgd coffee sagada beans

Pure Sagada arabica beans for sale, at P600 per 250-gram bag.

sgd coffee bathroom handle

I want to take a moment to talk about their bathroom, which I found unique and quirky. The hardwood door handle is shaped like this, so it sort of feels like you’re taking the hand of a concierge as you’re closing the bathroom door behind you.

sgd coffee bathroom mirror

The mirror has a lovely wooden frame around it, too. I think the wood is locally sourced, and the carving made by local artisans.

sgd coffee grounds

Coffee grounds work great as a deodorant…

sgd coffee diffuser

…but there also appears to be an aromatherapy diffuser beneath the sink with coffee grounds on it, if extra deodorizing powers are needed.

I’m always fascinated by how coffee grounds are recycled, and from what I’ve seen, SGD Coffee does it cleverly. They also use it as part of their decor at every table.

SGD Coffee
Operating Hours: (8 AM to 11 PM, 7 AM to 11 PM on weekends)
No. 45 Maalalahanin St., Teachers Village East, Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines
Tel: 0917 826 9537

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SGD.Coffee/

Signing off with a recommendation: if you’re looking for authentic Sagada coffee and food, drop by SGD Coffee in Teacher’s Village. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

Baguio Coffee Artist and Environmentalist Vincent Navarro Dies, Aged 23

by

Vincent Navarro made the news a few years back as an up and coming young artist who uses coffee grounds for making art – not stains, or beans, as other niche artists have been known to do, but grounds, the oft-overlooked aftermath of the global coffee trade.

The news broke only a few days ago that he has died, and the world lost another young, talented artist, who was also a passionate environmentalist. The Kicker Daily article I’ve linked here says he got into coffee art as a way of helping prevent the buildup of garbage in Baguio’s landfills.  (One imagines that in the northern Philippines’ coffee-growing regions, agricultural garbage is a problem.)

His frequent subjects: the coffee farmers of Benguet, the unsung heroes of the industry. Coffee farmed in the Philippine highlands is often organic, relying mainly on the labors and traditional wisdom of the farmers, yet there is little effort made to know them personally and to highlight their struggles.

Coffee grounds are used to make many things, but art is perhaps one of its least popular uses. Navarro was able to take an environmentally friendly material and transform it into a lasting, beautiful way to immortalize a marginalized group.

I’m still researching other uses of coffee grounds myself… I don’t generate a lot of them, but they amount to a lot over time. It feels like I can still do my part in conserving nature and making sure the grounds don’t go to waste… but since I am not very good at art, I may need to find other ways.

My love for coffee and my love for art come together in works by artists like Navarro. Here’s to the hope that his works will be remembered for a long time, and that the messages he embedded in them will reach more people all over the world.

Visual artist Vincent Navarro based in Baguio City died last February 16 at the age of 23 The artist allegedly died due to complications after undergoing surgery He is known for using coffee grounds in a portrait series of Benguet coffee farmers

Source: Baguio visual artist Vincent Navarro dies at 23 | Kicker Daily News