MANILA -- SGD Coffee invites Manilenyos to discover the Philippines through coffee at Kapetolyo, the coffee shop right beside Manila City Hall.

SGD Coffee started working with Manila City Hall for the Manila Coffee Festival. The event was supposed to bring coffee farmers from all over the Philippines to meet coffee aficionados from coffee shop ownersn and baristas to coffee drinkers and coffee home brewers. The event didn’t push through because of the eventual lockdown.

It was during these talks that Mayor Isko Moreno Domagaso floated the idea of what would become Kapetolyo.

“You know what, we’re going to put up a coffee shop, right in the park,” Margaret Gil Watanabe, one half of the couple behind SGD Coffee, recalled the mayor telling them during the talks.

At first, SGD Coffee did not really take this seriously, especially since, because of COVID, and opening something new was a risky proposition.

However, Moreno believed in the project that he pushed to get this done even amid the pandemic business environment. The mayor’s main requirement for this coffee project was that the eventual partner should be a local coffee entity and not an international corporate coffee chain.

SGD Coffee eventually won the rights to lease the space where Kapetolyo is now. Watanabe stressed that Moreno and the city are Kapetolyo’s landlords though the City of Manila owns the Kapetolyo name and logo.

“Any change that we’ll do, like improvements, they have to sign off on it,” Watanabe said.

The initial design of the Kapetolyo’s structure was actually Moreno’s, with the mayor drawing it on scratch paper. SGD Coffee took the mayor’s initial concept of a floor-to-ceiling glass building, fleshed it out, and made some practical changes like adding a cordoned off outdoor area, a second-floor function room, and a fully functional kitchen.

Some design features, like the full body disinfection misting machines, were inspired by similar facilities used in the Manila City Hall.

Watanabe credits the company’s Coffee Heritage Project, SGD Coffee’s blanket initiative to improve, promote and conserve Philippine coffees by educating the farmers about their coffee so they can sell at fair prices.

“I think the way he (Moreno) saw our platform, it was not just us selling coffee. We’re really involved to the grassroots level. We plant with the farmer. We harvest with the farmers. And then he also liked meeting the farmers here.,” said Watanabe, adding that SGD has helped bring local coffee beans to competitions abroad.

Opening a new business in the middle of lockdown was a scary prospect. Watanabe recalls friends and family they were offering investment to asking if they were kidding. But some were crazy to take the plunge. This, with the sincerity of the City of Manila to push for local coffee, eventually led to Kapetolyo opening its doors in the latter part of 2020 to an overwhelmingly positive reception.

Watanabe credits the clout and promotions of the city and the Department of Tourism plus the added exposure from Moreno’s social media channels which have around 4 million organic followers.

“We’re wooing Filipinos to drink local coffee again, the way it’s supposed to be, as a good black -- matapang,” quipped Watanabe, saying that when they first opened, they only served long blacks and espresso.

But these days, milk-based espresso drinks such as cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites have been added to the coffee menu.

On any day, Kapetolyo has three to four different local coffees from known coffee producers Benguet, Sagada, and Bukidnon, and emerging coffee regions like Nueva Vizcaya and Maguindanao.

For coffee geeks, the reason to come is to sample what SGD Coffee calls AVPA coffees, or beans that have won awards from AVPA (Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products) overseas like the Mirabueno competition-grade Robusta from Bukidnon, North Star Upi from Maguindanao, and Bana’s coffee and SGD coffee from Sagada coffee beans.

Besides the coffee, SGD Coffee brings its menu from its home base in Teacher’s Village to Kapetolyo. Being locked down during the pandemic allowed Watanabe and her husband to really work on their food, particularly those that have coffee in the recipe.

Inadobo sa Kape is one of their crowd favorites, pork adobo with green mango with the acidity taken from vinegar and espresso with a side of black rice.

On the menu also are the Tinapasta, and their grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup that’s not available in Quezon City.

But it’s the desserts that really go best with coffee. SGD Coffee makes its own ice cream, and biscotti.

Another must-try is the tiramisu. Rich Watanabe, Margaret’s husband, said they really went above and beyond on the R&D, tweaking everything from the coffee, to the water, to the cake and lady fingers to get what he considers a superior tiramisu. And he isn’t kidding. SGD Coffee’s tiramisu is firm yet moist, and doesn’t have that feel of a wet sponge. Most importantly, the high-grade coffee used shines through.

Kapetolyo just makes this sleepy corner of Manila come alive. Soon, they will resume their Coffee & Music sessions featuring live jazz on weekends, as well as coffee cupping sessions to promote local coffee.

Having a cup of Philippine coffee while enjoying the old-world charm of Manila makes Kapetolyo a must-visit destination.

Kapetolyo is located near the Kartilya ng Katipunan Park right beside Manila City Hall. Paid street parking is available on Cecilia Munoz St.