The coffee shop

Café Amadeo: our stopover in a quaint coffee shop (a review)

Café Amadeo Development Cooperative

The café is operated by the Café Amadeo Development Cooperative, a group of coffee producers that intended to revive the town’s coffee industry, a major source of income and livelihood for many of its residents. Café Amadeo Development Cooperative is engaged in the processing, promotion, distribution, repacking, and marketing of coffee both in the local and the international markets.

Native sweets

Café Amadeo is best known for its Pahimis (combination of Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa, and Liberica coffee varieties), Premium (a combination of Robusta, Arabica, and Excelsa), and Cavite Pure (a mix of Robusta and Excelsa) coffee blends.

Know your coffee

Café Amadeo grows four coffee varieties: Excelsa, Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. While many of us would rather just enjoy our daily fix of freshly-brewed coffee, it is also interesting to know the distinct characteristics of the coffee bean varieties that go in each cup.

Coffee beans for sale

With that, here is a brief description of each coffee variety that is locally-produced in the town of Amadeo:

Excelsa – this coffee type is most often used in espresso blends, sometimes even mixed with spices to give it a bolder flavor.

Arabica – this coffee variety is best-known for its pleasing aroma and full-bodied flavor even though it only has medium acidity.

Robusta – most of us are probably familiar with its taste as Robusta coffee is the main component of soluble or instant coffee.

Liberica – this coffee variety is characterized by its strong flavor and aroma. This is locally known as “Barako” so most of us are also well-acquainted with its taste.

These coffee varieties are all available for sale in Café Amadeo, including the Pahimis, Premium, and Cavite Pure Blends.

The Café

From outside, Café Amadeo looked like any other pasalubong shop that one would typically see along the highway. It had non-descript exteriors; it can actually be easy-to-ignore save for the sign that announced that it was a coffee shop.

Biscuits and cookies

Inside, just as expected, you will see racks of native delicacies on display and available for sale like candies and sweets, biscuits and pastries, jars of sandwich spread, as well as a host of chips and snacks for nibbling on while driving on the road.

Peanut butter and cookies

Aside from the packed food products that were displayed, there were also several tables in the middle of the store for those who want to grab a quick meal or just have coffee and desserts. The interiors were not grand but it looked cozy and homey. What also caught my attention was a giant sack of coffee beans displayed inside the coffee shop beside the exit door.

Giant sack of coffee beans

Since we were still full because we had lunch before leaving Canyon Cove, we thought that it was a perfect idea to try Café Amadeo’s coffee instead, which we heard was good. Aside from coffee, we were also told to try their banana chips so we bought two large packs of it. Café Amadeo seemed like a popular stopover for people because most of the tables inside were full during our visit.

Most of the seats were occupied

We ordered an iced coffee to cool us down because of the blazing summer heat outside. There were really not too many choices so it was easy to decide on which to get. I wanted to try a café latte because I was looking for a drink that was neither too heavy nor rich. Despite the number of customers at that time, preparation time was fast and our drinks were handed to us in no time.

My Café Latte

I was already feeling thirsty so I sipped on my latte right away and was immediately satisfied with how strong and full-bodied the coffee was. It was balanced with the sweetness of the milk, which I suspect was condensed milk. I do like putting either condensed or evaporated milk in my coffee because it makes it a lot creamier.

Café Latte

The cold, aromatic coffee combined with the sweetness of the milk was hard to resist that I just kept on gulping it. I thought it was the perfect cooler for a hot and dry summer day, a truly unforgettable treat.

Native cakes and pastries

After a few more minutes and when we had paid for our stash of goodies, we were back on the road again. While on our way home, I was wishing that Café Amadeo would have a branch in Metro Manila. Then again, if Café Amadeo had a branch in Metro Manila, it would have the characteristic quaintness of its branch in Cavite.

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Café Amadeo is located at Brgy. Dagatan, Amadeo, Cavite. For inquiries, you may get in touch with them through telephone numbers 09175039574, (046) 4435738, and (046) 6833289 or send them an email at cafeamadeo_devtcoop@yahoo.com.ph.

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