A Colored Photobook and A Long Playing Record

* Since waking up this morning (thank you Vince), I have been thinking of a way to effectively communicate our experiences these past two weeks, or, uh, one and a half weeks. Sorry we were so busy, I couldn't find or make time to blog. So this is the time! It's time...to make a photo blog! Haha, pang tamad! I'll put captions, don't worry.

Thursday, September 23 - Latte Art Jam

* In this photo, you can see that we did not include Neil's eyes, you might get hypnotized. The guy on the right (faaar right) is our coach and good friend, Lanz. He's in Singapore now, starting a new barista career at a new shop. He'll be working there for two years! Thanks Lanz, I hope you enjoy your stay there with Mam Vanessa. On his left is Kent, he's a bartender who tried to use his skills at the barista jam. He did quite well for a first-timer! We jammed from 12 noon to 4 in the afternoon, practicing latte art and pulling shots like there's no tomorrow! Neil, developed a temporary latte phobia after the activity. Congrats to Kuya Jeg for making his first rosetta leaf design! 

Friday, September 24 - Slumbooks from Witty Will Save the World

* Wow, looks like everybody on campus will be holding one of these on the second sem! We didn't expect to get 30 plus orders of the uber cool-let slumbook/notebook in just a few days! Next batch will be available, hmm, maybe next week. We will start gathering pre-orders this week. Remember, pay as you receive!

Friday, September 24 - Barako Concoctions Competition at the 1st Batangas Food and Beverage Exposition

* Thanks to Joyce's friend, Melodz Melo of La Salle-Lipa, I had the chance to judge my first competition! Yey! I brought along Mon and Neil with me, semi-formal attire and all, pogi-barista-image. And what a competition it was! There was dancing and cartwheelin' and all, I didn't expect that from a coffee-related contest. It was a treat, I drank 8 different blends of Barako-based drinks. Didn't drink coffee for three days after that. I shared the judges' table with barista trainers from Dairymoor of Tanaun and Cafe de Lipa. I hope we'll be there again to judge next year!

Saturday, September 25 - Cafe Antonio Sessions VII: Female Artists Tribute Night

* This gig has been the highlight of Facebook feeds for a week. It was epic. It was our first time to showcase these many bands at the cafe and what a line up it was! There was multi-vocal band, 9 in. ni Neil; acoustic emo duo (the bitter brothers) Juniper Face the Corner; indie princess, Gabes Torres; crowd favorite OPM army, Satori; and main acts, kings and queen of acoustic anthems, LIME (formerly Soundhole from our KA days); and rising OPM anthem machines, Yield Avenue! All the artists did their homework and really made a huge effort to cover songs from any female artist. The energy was so high that night and it was definitely a sign for us all to continue these series of gigs and make it a special event every time. 

September 27, Monday - Interview at Bialetti Foods Corp. at Wack Wack Village

* As part of his legacy to us, Lanz referred us to a part-time job as barista trainers at Bialetti Foods Corp. Neil and I went there and met the owners and tried out their machine. We're really excited to teach and share what we have learned over the years to new, aspiring baristas.

September 27, Monday - Impromptu Latte Art Jam with Barista from Denmark

* Our new customer and fan, Chef Derrick (Derek? I really don't know how to spell his name) brought his friend, Sophie, at the cafe. She told us she used to work as a barista back home, but haven't pulled a shot or poured latte art for a long time. And because we are kind and very accommodating to fellow baristas, we gave her the stage and she did put on a show! Our baristas joined in and we had a little jam session right there at the bar. Mr. Chef was the receiver of the lattes, gulping down 5 of them. Hope you guys visit us again soon!

September 30, Thursday - Pop's 64th Birthday

* Our Pop, my father, celebrated his birthday at the cafe! Well almost. We we're waiting for my sisters and my mom to arrive at the cafe. We didn't know that we had to bring the cafe food to my sister's apartment. Too bad, the crew didn't get free drinks! Hehe!

October 1, Friday - 4th Philippine Grand Barista Cup Finals at SM Mega Mall

* It all came down to this final day! Ramhil, Neil, and I arrived early so we tagged along with Sir Joefel and tested the espresso machine they were going to use at the finals. Pinoy Barista members were also there to join in the fun and test the hi-tech grinder and the Expobar machine. It was like a reunion for us, the same faces were there. From the PBC elims last August to the GBC orientation, semis, barista jams, and finals, the Pinoy Barista people are starting to form a strong bond in just 2 months! We didn't finish the contest, we left after Chester's run. We didn't to get watch Pinoy Barista member and barista competition veteran, Zaldy, because we were going to be late for the John Mayer concert at MOA. But congrats to the champion, Zaldy! I hope you'll make it to the Asian Barista Cup! Congrats also to Chester, your ampalaya concoction was great! To UCC, congrats too, your performance never fails to amaze us! To the Visayas and Mindanao champs, great job too! Special shout out to Sir Gerry, Joefel, Paul, Joel, Arlene, Elena, Chester, Ian of Bo's, Andy Boy, Marlon of Chocolate Fire (!), James, Sir Ernie, and Sir Ian from Singapore. Til' we meet again guys! Yung t-shirts, sa sunod na activity nalang! 300 each!

October 1, Friday - John Mayer Concert at SM Mall of Asia

* This was the wettest concert ever! What an experience. John Mayer is a cultural icon of our generation, we didn't care if we were dancing in the rain or the people behind us kept telling us that we were too noisy. Duh, it's a concert, duh. Well, the rain really did enhance the concert experience, it made it more special. Plus, we got to stay at a hotel with free food after the concert, thanks to our friend Julius' mom. 

October 2, Saturday - Cafe Antonio Sessions VIII: Segatron

* It was a gig like no other. Segatron, a fun-loving, rock-electronica, dance-party time, "party-core", "fag-core" (according to them) band, graced Cafe Antonio Sessions with a sonic set that brought in a legion of fans at the cafe making it our most successful gig so far (based on attendance and sales). What's great about the gig is that Sega and his bandmates arrived early, at 6:30 pm! That was impressive. They performed our favorite song on one of our playlists at the cafe, Miss Eye Catcher. The gig was opened by Juniper Face the Corner. Catch more of Segatron on Cafe Antonio Sessions X on November 13. CDs will be available at the cafe soon. 

THIS WEEK AT CANTON:

* It's October! It's time for the much anticipated Brownie Fudge Frothiccino or BFF! Woohoo! And on October 9, we are inviting you guys to attend Cafe Antonio Session IX: John Mayer Make Up Concert, for those who missed the real concert. Featuring LIME and Gabes Torres, 8 pm at the cafe. See you! Hope you enjoyed our photos.