Since coming back to the city,I’ve been discovering new coffee shops and cafes to check out that are pretty worth it. Almost all the coffee shops here though either minimalist, a brutalist or a mix or two, they also offer specialty coffee experience that is extremely affordable.Dubbed as the city of students with a lot of students all across the country and even overseas, this makes caffeine a great commodity and necessity in this city. You can find a great deal of coffee selections that now are a lot more thriving than the space that I used to remember. Way back in 2015 to 2020, the coffee specialty was not thriving nor it gained interest. Yet now, it seems that coffee experience is the trend. People are no longer enjoying the cafe for its aesthetic cute photo spot but cafes now offering coffee flights,coffee knowledge and brewing classes. These are quite improvements as it would make people appreciate coffee and actually learn useful knowledge on how to brew a decent cup of filtered coffee. There are a few roastery and specialty coffee shops in town that I know of but one that caught my attention is a place called Haya.ti specialty coffee.

While I was visiting the cafe to get my caffeine fix, I was asked what I wanted. While I mentioned latte I sound like an inexperienced coffee drinker but then I was inquiring what’s the specialty of the place and the barista mentioned, “ filter coffee” while I was browsing through tubes and smelling them, the Barista then asked me if I ever drink filtered coffee. So, I said, “ yeah at home, it’s what I drink”. As I browsed through the tubes, he recommended a familiar scent of coffee . I was instantly transformed back to Laos when King, the barista at the cafe I was staying at, gave me a shot of espresso with passion fruit.

Then, as I browsed more and smelled more, the Barista was offering me a cup of filter coffee for free. As I cupped it, it was smooth and wasn’t too acidic. It really reminds me of Laos and I told the barista that they make espresso with fresh passion fruit in Laos. We ended up chatting quite a bit about coffee until I had to go back to my table and enjoy my Iced latte.

Kamojang Pink Guava

After a while, I ordered the same cup because I simply liked it and wanted more of it. The taste indeed reminds me of Laos and makes me want to go back very soon. It was really mild, a good clean cup that somehow you can drink 5 of it and be fine. If you're wondering about my coffee story back in Laos, you can read this one. Coffee Connects People.

This coffee with Guava and passionfruit notes is apparently grown from West Java and from all the coffee bean samples that they have there, they smell alike. In the past, I rarely discovered this but now, it’s going to be one of my favorite coffee beans from Indonesia.

On another note, remember when I visited a wild coffee plantation just a few months ago? I found similar coffee beans that are grown nearby that mountain and have a hint of pineapple smell on it.

Ethiopian Coffee : Bedesa Popping Floral

I don’t really recall trying a lot of African coffee beans but Ethiopian is indeed a good choice if you want to discover more from this continent. They’re easy to find and the other day, I got the chance to taste floral coffee that I rarely get to try. If you’ve smelled jasmine tea, they have a similar smell although when it comes to the taste, sour sweet mango was a lot more dominant. It was such a pleasant cup especially when using the Japanese filter method which is basically a cold one.

In this coffee shop, while serving the filtered coffee, they always come with an information cup that’s really helpful especially if you’re discovering new beans. At the store, they also sell these beans and it’s a lot cheaper than Starbucks beans, especially for imported beans. Unfortunately, they don’t have any from Colombia and only have beans from Brazil. I am not a fan but next time, since they have different types than coffee grown in Santos, I am very open to taste it and it might change my mind.

Have you tried any new coffee lately?