The Coffee Empire, a quiet third wave coffee shop, along West Avenue in Quezon City serves really good coffee. What does third wave of coffee exactly means as we’ve been seeing a lot of these coffee shops in Philippines lately?

It means producing high-quality artisanal coffee which involves all the different stages of production from planting, harvesting, processing the coffee beans to creating a good relationship between the coffee growers, traders and roasters.

It includes direct trading of coffee, producing only high quality beans, single origin coffee (single farm or collection of beans from a single country), lighter roasts and latte art. It also revived coffee preparation with the use of vacuum coffee maker and brewing machines like theChemex or Hario V60.

Encased in a huge two-floor building with high ceilings, wooden interiors and it’s on terrace, Coffee Empire is frequented by customers who are studying or working as it’s not too crowded during lunch time and the vibe is very laidback.

They have their own Green Room with several bags of coffee beans from different parts of the world such as Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Panama, Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, India and local coffee from Benguet and Sagada.

They maintain the room temperature between 16 to 20 degrees Celsius with a humidity between 30% to 50%. They also have their own Roasting Room with a machine ready to serve their customers fresh ground coffee everyday.

We ordered their Mocha (Php150) and Latte (Php145) coffees. You can request which beans you want and as for the Mocha, they used a mix of African and Ecuadorian coffee while for the Latte, it was Colombian coffee. I was impressed with the rich taste of coffee and even without much sugar or cream, they blended it very well. Their Mocha was stronger and sure enough to wake you up while the Latte was lighter.

We also ordered Caesar Salad (Php250), Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Php270) and Bacon Spinach Pizza (Php385) for lunch. Definitely their food exceeded our expectations. Their Caesar Salad was a huge serving of Romaine Lettuce, chicken breast, tomato, croutons and sous vide egg. It was a first time for me to try this salad with sous vide egg. It’s a French term for a culinary technique wherein the food is sealed in airtight plastic bags then immersed in water and slow-cooked at a longer time. It was very delicious and the egg mixed well with the salad dressing.

The Bacon Spinach Pizza was sweet and tangy because of its sauce with fresh Spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella and smoked Bacon, It’s thin crust oven-baked pizza that’s good for two to three persons. Definitely different from other pizzas I’ve tried so far!

Their Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a comfort food that will fill you to the brim as it’s served with rich tomato soup, potato chips and vinaigrette salad with mixed lettuce and cherry tomatoes. It’s definitely cheap for its price and the grilled cheese was simply divine!

We also tried their Craft Soda which was Lime & Basil (Php100). Surprisingly it was thirst quenchingly good as the flavors give you a fresh taste. It’s served with chili on top but no worries it’s not hot for people who don’t like spicy food or drinks.

Apart from serving good coffee and food, they also hold classes for coffee aficionados such as Barista Boot Camp, Intensive Barista Training, Tasting Like a Pro and Roasting Class. If you’re around the neighborhood and want to try a good third wave coffee shop that’s not crowded, I suggest trying out Coffee Empire. They also have a branch at Venice Piazza, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

For more info about Coffee Empire, visit their websites at:

Website: Coffee Empire

Facebook: Coffee Empire