It’s more than just a cafe.
By Snezhana Deomania
The loud hustle and bustle of the city lights and the blaring horns makes it seem impossible to find a safe haven, but luckily I have found mine. The newly-opened Caffe Pocofino paves its way to the cafe industry with a new take on how coffee shops are normally designed. As a cafe shop fanatic and coffee lover, (P.S. 50% of the annual coffee intake of Filipinos are probably by me. I have at least 2-3 cups of coffee a day. Unhealthy, but it’s hella good!) Caffe Pocofino gives out a unique identity with its mid-century modern Italy vibes inspired by the Prada Museum. Not only is it a good space to chill in, it also offers great premium coffee.
I had the chance to speak with co-owner, Tuesday Anglionto, about how Caffe Pocofino came to life. Tuesday’s coffee venture started when she stayed in Milan, Italy to take her masters. Her personal experience of Italian coffee sparked her idea to incorporate the touch of Italy to their family business. The endeavor of the family business was originally the distributor of the Danesi Caffe Italian Coffee Beans, the hundred-year-old premium coffee roaster that originates in Rome. The spike of the pandemic became her driving force to focus on the coffee industry. It started as a pandemic business and slowly elevated to coffee carts. And Pocofino now expanded to their flagship store known as the Caffe Pocofino. “Instead of focusing on retail and trading, we explored food and beverage... People won’t come to us, we have to come to them.” Tuesday said. To get the full experience of the coffee they offer, the owners decided to put up a flagship store.
It’s more than just a cafe. Besides being a calming place to pick up a cup of coffee to enjoy, Caffe Pocofino is also an event space, workspace, retail store, and a spot to cap off your night with wines and cocktails all-in-one. Tuesday said that “It’s not our behavior to drink coffee very late. At around 5pm, we don’t drink coffee because I can’t sleep. So we can’t just be coffee so what other experience can we provide for our audience? There’s this thing in Italy called Aperitivo and we want to bring this concept to Manila.”
The simple joys of life come from coffee cups, a slice of cheese bread and a wine glass that guarantees to make your day 10x better than it already is. My personal favorite coffee from Pocofino? The Iced Pocofino Latte. It is the perfect balance between dark roast and milky flavor. When I had my first sip I already knew it would be an instant favorite! I had a gut feeling that I’ll come back for more.
