Cafeography
Manila

Specialty coffee cafés in Manila

Roasters and brew bars from Legazpi Village to Kapitolyo and Katipunan.

Photo: Denniz Futalan, Pexels License

Manila's specialty coffee began under a spiral staircase. Sly Samonte, Raymond So and Peter Ong opened Craft Coffee Workshop in New Manila in 2012, roasting on a 4 kg Yang Chia machine and brewing by AeroPress, Chemex and Kalita Wave; Jonathan Cho opened Magnum Opus Fine Coffees that December, inspired by it.1 Craft's head barista, Aldrin, won the country's first AeroPress competition in early 2014.1

The Makati CBD has the most specialty cafés, followed by Poblacion & Rockwell and Mandaluyong. Several carry a roastery in their name, from Primal Brew Coffee + Roastery on Jimenez Street to Chapter Coffee Roastery & Cafe on Jupiter Street and Sibs Coffee Roasters on Barangka Drive.

Local tip: At H Proper, order a 2024 Philippine competition lot: ₱290–310 a serving in 2025, against ₱660 and up for the Panama Geshas on the same menu.4

Where these cafés are: Makati CBD (4), Poblacion & Rockwell (3), Mandaluyong (3), Ortigas & Kapitolyo (2), Cubao, New Manila & Blue Ridge (2), San Juan & Greenhills (1), San Antonio & Palanan (1), Bonifacio Global City (1), Pasay & the Bay Area (1).

At a glance

18Cafés listed
6With opening hours
06:30Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
San Juan & Greenhills

Chapter Coffee Roastery & Cafe

  • 365 P. Guevarra Street
  • Daily 08:00–21:00
  • Takeaway
  • Air-con
  • Indoor seating
  • Card payment
  • Wheelchair access
  • Toilets
  • Smoke-free indoors
  • Specialty
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Four Philippine cafés on a world list

When The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops published its first ranking on February 18, 2025, after Coffee Fest in Madrid, four Philippine cafés made it.2 Yardstick placed highest, at 18th. El Unión Coffee, from San Juan, La Union, came 61st and has a branch in Taguig; Single Origin was 83rd; and Crema & Cream Coffee Roasters, on Timog Avenue in Quezon City, was 86th.2

Habitual Coffee, in Salcedo Village, built its name in competition, winning the 2015 Philippine AeroPress Championship and finishing third at the world championship that year; its menu is built on single-origin espressos.3

What a Gesha costs in Makati

H Proper Coffee Roasters' mid-2025 menu at Ayala Triangle Gardens shows the top of the market. Its founder, Harley Keith Yu, wrote that the café carried 50 coffees, expected to reach 80, and serves only coffee scoring 80 points or more.4 Panama Geshas from Ninety Plus cost ₱1,050 to ₱8,800 a serving, lots from Finca Deborah ₱760 to ₱940 and from Iris Estate ₱660 to ₱800.4

Philippine coffees on the same menu cost much less. Lots from the 2024 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition, including Arnel Morales's first-placed natural catimor from Davao del Sur and George Dapliyan's washed typica and bourbon from Mountain Province, cost ₱290–310 a serving.4

Where the roasters are

In Legazpi Village, Koh Cafe + Roasters is at 104 Rada Street, open 10:00–22:00, and H Proper Coffee Roasters at Ayala Triangle Gardens opens at 06:30 daily. In Kapitolyo, Epic Coffee Roastery is on East Capitol Drive, and Blue Wonder Coffee and Bean Roastery is on the second floor of the MK Kitchen building on Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue.

In San Juan, Chapter Coffee Roastery & Cafe, at 365 P. Guevarra Street, opens 08:00–21:00 daily, takes cards and is wheelchair accessible. Up Katipunan Avenue, Roast is at 142 and TIPUN - Specialty Coffee at 202, and in Mandaluyong, Pocofino Coffee Lab is at 581 Wack-wack Road.

Brew-bar hours and beans to take home

Among the bars that close at night, H Proper opens earliest, at 06:30, and Common Man Coffee Roasters, the Singapore brand Jollibee brought to Ayala Triangle Gardens, runs 07:00–22:00.5 Sibs Coffee Roasters on Barangka Drive never closes and has Wi-Fi.

For beans, Escolta Coffee Company roasts in the First United Building in Binondo. In 2022 it was open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00–17:00, and sold 200 g bags from ₱470.6

Sources

  1. Following The Craft Coffee Revolution in Manila, Sprudge (Lacy Wood, October 7, 2014), accessed October 2026
  2. Kape Tayo! 4 PH Coffee Shops Made It to the World's Best 100 for 2025, The Beat Asia (February 20, 2025), accessed October 2026
  3. The best coffee shops in Manila, Hypebae (Pauline De Leon, September 4, 2019), accessed October 2026
  4. The Roast, Issue No. 3, June 2025 (Ayala Triangle Gardens menu), H Proper Coffee Roasters, accessed October 2026
  5. Jollibee to open Common Man Coffee Roasters in the Philippines this year, World Coffee Portal (November 10, 2023), accessed October 2026
  6. Neighborhood Brew: a Manila coffee crawl, Grid Magazine (Patricia Villoria, from the 2022 Made in Manila issue), accessed October 2026
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By area: Poblacion & Rockwell Makati CBD Bonifacio Global City Ortigas & Kapitolyo

FAQ

Specialty coffee in Manila: questions

How much does a Gesha pour-over cost at a specialty café in Manila?

On H Proper Coffee Roasters' mid-2025 menu at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati, Panama Geshas cost from ₱660 a serving for Iris Estate lots to ₱8,800 for the dearest Ninety Plus lot. Philippine coffees from the 2024 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition, from Davao del Sur and Mountain Province, cost ₱290–310.

Which Manila coffee shops are on The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops list?

On the first list, published in February 2025, Yardstick Coffee placed 18th and Single Origin 83rd. El Unión Coffee, which has a Taguig branch, came 61st, and Crema & Cream Coffee Roasters on Timog Avenue in Quezon City 86th.

When did specialty coffee start in Manila?

Sprudge traced it to 2012, when Sly Samonte, Raymond So and Peter Ong opened Craft Coffee Workshop in New Manila, roasting in-house and brewing by AeroPress, Chemex and Kalita Wave. Magnum Opus Fine Coffees followed in December 2012, and Craft's head barista won the first Philippine AeroPress competition in early 2014.

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