Tag Archives: coffee

Sep 12 2022

Dumaguete’s New Coffee Place by the Seaside

First, Starbucks finally came to our little town back in September 2019. A lot of my family here know that younger me said I would never live in a place like this that had no Starbucks. Of course, I did move here even without Starbucks, but at least I can check that off that list. And then after Starbucks, I started craving CBTL because of all the newsletters and promos they kept sending me which I ultimately couldn’t avail since we didn’t have that here.

So we reached this point: I’ve been meaning to write about my trip to Dumaguete’s first and only The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) branch, which I visited in early July. But like many things, they tend to be forgotten or pushed aside when other things come up.

As it turns out, CBTL Dumaguete opened sometime in May, about 2 months before my July visit. It’s located on Flores Avenue, just north of the Port of Dumaguete but a little before you reach the row of restaurants like Lab-as/Hayahay, Cafe Racer, and Lantaw. The place is about a 5-minute drive (less without traffic) from the downtown area and Rizal Boulevard. The front facade of the building that houses CBTL and other restaurants had been boarded up for months, though we did receive news on some Facebook pages that they were planning to open up that area for some time now. So it was a surprise when it actually finally did.

Leading to frontage

The front of the building is right by the highway, which is also right beside the sea. If you’re driving by and have no idea if you’ll drive past, you can’t miss it as the facade is colorful and eye-catching. You get a great view of the sea, and part of Cebu and Siquijor from here. You can easily take a pedicab here, or your own motorcycle/ car, but there is no front-side parking so you’ll have to enter a small road (facing the building it’s on the right side) leading to the back area where the parking is.

The building from the back/parking area, frontage looks similar
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Feb 19 2015

Them Starbucks Cravings

I’ve been visiting Starbucks a lot in the last 2-3 weeks, mostly getting coffee and eyeing some of their new tumblers and mugs care of the Valentines Day and Chinese New Year holidays. They have a lot of interesting new desserts, sandwiches, and drinks, among their holidays specials.

Here are some interesting products they have that I’ve been looking at, which will only be on their menu until Monday, February 23. Check out your nearest Starbucks branch if these beauties catch your eye as well~

Chestnut Praline Latte

Chesnut Praline Latte

I tried a sip of this from a friend’s drink, but I’m not too big a fan of Caramel-ish flavors so this drink wasn’t a winner in my book.

Raspberry Truffle MochaRaspberry Truffle Mocha

Had an order of this for their 2-stars promo last Feb 16-17, and I quite liked it. I’m not a huge fan of Raspberry, so I asked them to lessen the Raspberry but add on the Truffle flavor.

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Feb 13 2015

Photo: Brew Your Best

If you told me a few years ago that I would actually find something I would love at Coffee Bean, I would probably have scoffed at that statement. Then, and now, I am still a really huge Starbucks fan. It doesn’t mean though that I haven’t been willing to try something new – life should have some variety once in a while, why not have variety when it comes to coffee.

And to make this variety more seemingly permanent, I even got myself a Swirl Card, which I realized I should have gotten way back last year. But oh well, I finally have one, and yes….ESPRESSO YOURSELF.

By the way, coffee + chocolate, the best friggin combination ever. Seriously, try it.

Aug 7 2013

Starbucks Philippines: Starbucks Card

If you’re a Starbucks fanatic, or a coffee junkie, or both, Starbucks Philippines is now offering their Starbucks Card. A loyalty card that rewards customers who keep coming back.

For as low as P300, you can avail of a Starbucks Card at any Starbucks branch near you. This P300, which is the minimum amount needed to activate a card, already means you can avail of P300 for any Starbucks item. Basically, what you pay is what you get. Starbucks wants customers to feel relaxed and safe in their stores because the card works like cash. You no longer need to bring cash with you because the Starbucks card works like a prepaid card, and you can use the money inside (top up at any Starbucks branch – with either cash or card) to buy anything from snacks to beverages to tumblers. Initial top up is P300, following top-ups minimum is P100. The card is as good as cash.

Each card can hold up to P10,000 worth.

Starbucks Card-Coffee CupsCurrent (Available) Starbucks Card DesignsPrint

What’s great about the card?

  1. As long as there is money inside the card, your card will never expire. The only time it’ll expire is if you maintain a zero balance lasting 3 years. After that, your card’s number will be retired and your card cannot be topped up again. You’ll have to get a new one.
  2.  The card is as good as money. Instead of bringing around a bulky wallet to Starbucks, all you need to bring with you is the card. Imagine if you’re the person always assigned to get coffee at the office, and every single person gives you money to buy drinks. Imagine carrying all that cash (bills and coins) to Starbucks! With the Starbucks card, you won’t need to lug all that cash with you. Just use the card to pay for all the drinks.
  3. Your whole family, or whole office, can pool money into one account. Imagine if you’ll get one card per one person in your office, and each with one account. So many passwords to remember. What’s great about the Starbucks card is that you can have more than one card attached to one account. If for example you’re a mom and you want to give your kids/teens a chance to get Starbucks but don’t want them to carry the cash, just give them a card linked to your account and they can use that card to pay for their Starbucks drink or snack. The only downside is that you can’t limit how much cash any one card can use.
  4. Earn 1 Star for every Handcrafted  Beverage of any size, 250g of Whole Bean Coffee or 12-pack Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew purchased with the card.
  5. Once you’ve registered your account at www.starbucks.ph/card, you can track how much money you have left in your account, how many stars you’ve earned, and up to 90 days of the card’s history. Track how much coffee you’ve bought, how active the people linked to your account are with their Starbucks card, etc.
  6. You get a free drink redeemable within 60 days from the date you registered your card
  7. You get a free slice of cake (for your birthday) redeemable within 60 days, but redeemable only after purchasing a drink.
  8. Use the stars you’ve accumulated! For every 10 Whole Bean Stars, you can avail of any 250g of Whole Bean Coffee. For every 10 Starbucks VIA® Stars, you can avail of any 12-pack Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew. And for every 12 Beverage Stars, get any Grande Handcrafted Beverage. 
  9. If you happen to lose or misplace your card, you can log on to your account online and have the card cancelled. Your account will still maintain the balance inside your card (as it’s linked to the account) but will keep the current stats (cash, stars) starting only from the time you reported it missing.
  10. Different seasons, different designs. Watch out for them when they come out! Collectible cards galore!

Launch Material-Turn Your Visits Into Rewards

 

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