It's Getting Better All the Time

* Last week, our Cafe Antonio baristas, Neil, Ramhil and myself, along with our friend Al Labadan II, went to the World Food Expo 2009 at the World Trade Center to watch the student-level barista competition. We also bought some coffee and tasted the free espressos at the booths. It was a good experience for all of us. I really wanted to show my baristas different kinds of espresso machines, taste different espressos, and watch pro and amateur baristas at work. It's all part of their training as baristas atthe cafe. And the WOFEX fieldtrip really got us inspired to work even harder and perfect our craft. We also met some coffee people who gave us their calling cards. I hope to get in touch with them soon. Special shoutout to Wilma Serrano and the Equilibrium guys, thanks for the tickets and thanks for your support!

* Before the WOFEX trip, we really didn't know what to do because with the baristas gone, no one will work at the cafe, and it's a Friday, our best day of the week. We didn't want to close for the sake of the trip. It's a good thing, our former barista, Bessy (probably the most serious student/trainee I ever had) was available for Friday. She doesn't work at the cafe anymore, but still she agreed to fill our shoes on that day, even though it's her birthday week. We really appreciated your help! Bessy, Joyceann, and Manong were able to serve 97 customers that day generating 9,000 pesos in gross sales. That's our highest Friday sales this year! We're really glad that everything worked out just fine. We had our trip and still we were able to open the cafe with the help of our volunteers.

* Again and again, we would like to say thank you very much to our customers, both new and die-hard fans. We're very happy to say that each week keeps surpassing the previous week's performance. And because of your support we were able to print the 16 oz plastic cups we are using now. Our 12 oz hot paper cups are coming soon, and they have printed Cafe Antonio cardboard sleeves, thanks to Primatech Paper Soulutions. Slowly but surely we are trying to improve our products for you guys. Our barista training is in "adik-mode", we would like to serve perfect shots of espresso every time and make coffee art every time we pour milk into your cappuccino or latte. The best is yet to come, thank you very much! We're looking forward to a better week. God bless us all and continue praying for our young crew!

It's a Brand New Month, Let the Games Begin!

* Last week was simply terrific. Highest weekly gross sales and highest total number of customers since anniversary week! Friday was showtime at its finest. Even Ramhil got exhausted from making sandwiches and pasta. That was quite a challenge! Now we can pay the bills and still have enough for a week's worth of gas, hehe. Our hats off to the happy community of Los Banos. Thanks, thanks, and thanks! Bongga ka day!

* New FoM for August! The CHOCNUT FROTHICCINO! Actually it's not really new, it was last year's August FoM too. For some of you it's new. In this drink you get to enjoy 4 pieces of Chocnut in three different ways. Two are blended with the drink, giving the drink its Choc-nutty taste (plus other magical stuff and pixie dust of course), one is chopped into chunks and stirred, and the last one is diced and sprinkled on top of the whipped cream! Definitely a treat for those who love Chocnut. Order one this week, it's certainly a classic! Plus, it's also one of the cheapest and easiest FoM's to make. Unlike the assembly line effort put into last month's Blueberry Cheesecake Blended Cream.

* NEW MERCH!!! Available at http://www.cafeantoniostore.multiply.com. The new t-shirt features the Cafe Antonio Coffee logo with the word "Los Banos" at the bottom. Classic gold and black color combo. We will only produce 10 this week. If we run out of stocks just request your order. Only 250 pesos each.

As for the mugs, we have two new designs from Azzul Grapika. One is the Cafe Antonio Elbi - Laguna map-themed paint splatter mug, and the other one is the Neil Rebua Cafe Antonio Elbi Barista Fan Mug. Only 5 mugs per design are available this week. Php 200 each.

* Our paper cups are on its way this August! Our hot coffee will finally be available in 12oz cups when you order it to-go! Thanks to Primatech Paper Solutions for making it all possible for us.

* See you at the cafe! God bless us all!

Towards the End of an Amazing Month of July

(L-R): Our Navigator friends from the US, Matthew Robert Rowe, Drew Lukes, and Trent Hannack, with my main man Glenn "Glen Dawg" Barria, each brought home a piece of Cafe Antonio Coffee. Thanks guys, we will see you on Facebook! (http://facebook.com/cafeantonioelbi). God bless you guys on your student ministry!

* After a few blog entries, July's finally coming to an end. It's already August on Saturday. July has always been a defining month for us. It's the time of year that Joyce and I turn a year older. And now we're 23, I wonder what would happen at this time of our lives? More challenges, definitely, of course that's always a given. But we pray that there would be more blessings ahead for us and the cafe that we love so much.

* Last week I realized that there's so much work to be done. Although the cafe performed very well last week in terms of sales (it's been the highest since May). And we thank God and our very loyal customers for that. We also thank our new customers for trying us out, we've been seeing a lot of new faces lately. I hope you guys would come back and bring your friends. Anyway, I'm still trying to work out some things to improve our products. We'll be telling you what those things are when we've done them already. We wouldn't want to disappoint you. Just pray that everything will work out well for us. As always (thankfully!), our bag of tricks is always full. Just be patient!

* The month gave me a lot of time to think. There was a time I was sad, feeling down and out, feeling empty and unproductive. There was also a time when I was just plain happy about what I'm doing. I really am happy to be your barista every Friday (showtime!) and Saturday. Talking to people making sure they get what they want, like the time when I talked to our customers, Terry and Duncan, about their affogato and stuff. The time when Ise taught me how to make the white chocolate iced americano. Ramhil and I drink 2 glasses of those almost everyday. There were also moments when everything felt like a hassle to me, sometimes I just don't want to think stuff over. And there were also moments when I had to get my old, crusty, Brent notebook and scribble things down to assure me that I have done something productive. It's just crazy. But I'm thankful.

* On August we will be releasing our new batch of shirts and mugs designed by Azzul Grapika. Check it out at the cafe or visit http://www.cafeantoniostore.multiply.com

* The month of August will also be featuring its FoM (Flavor of the Month): the ChocNut Frothiccino. It's a blended espresso beverage that tastes exactly like the classic Pinoy chocolate treat. It also has ChocNut chunks on top of the whipped cream. So watch our for it!

* That's it for now, please add us up at Facebook, Multiply, MySpace, Friendster, and Twitter. God bless us all!

We Got Older But We're Still Young!

Snippets of Last Week's Activities & Festivities

* Joyce just turned 23 last Saturday, which is amazing because we were just 21 years old (we were turning 22 that year) when we started the cafe at Elbi. Oh how time flies... Congrats and God bless Joyce!



* We would like to say thank you and goodbye to our new friends Lindsey Powell and Alissa Goodding -- the Cafe White Mocha Girls -- of the Navigators. They've been our loyal customers during their stay here in the Philippines. Almost everyday, they will arrive very early, several minutes before opening time, and then they'd have coffee at our shop at most two times a day! We would see them having Bible Study in the afternoon with UPLB students and spending time with the UPLB Navigators in the evening. The night before they left, we gave them a bag of Houseblend Coffee Beans, a PBJ poster, and a coffee mug. Says Alissa, " Your coffee is so far the best I ever tasted!" Well thanks guys! "Best" is such a big word, but wow, thanks for your opinion! We will miss you and we will always remember you and the support you have given the cafe. May God bless you and your student ministry with the Navs!




* We had a storm last week. The wind was very strong and it was raining hard. I woke up early one morning (Thursday, I think) and thought that we may have to close for the day if the rain would continue to pour that hard. It subsided and somehow, some sort of miracle just happened, the cafe was full the whole day. Hot coffee was served like water. It was great practice for latte art for Ramhil and I. Elbinizens, you guys are the bomb! Nakakaantok na nga, hassle pa lumabas, sarap matulog o mag Facebook, pero pumunta parin kayo sa Canton, adik! Galeng! We praise God for these blessings that we receive.



* Ise, our barista friend from Starbucks, taught me how to make an Iced White Chocolate Americano last Saturday. She told me a customer of theirs taught her how to do that. I thought that was very cool. So from now on I'll have an alternative to my daily dose of Double Americano. Thanks Ise!

* This has got nothing to do with the cafe but I would just like to share, hehe. Our graphic artist, Jeg, told me about a teriyaki recipe that involves breaded porkchop. I think that's just plain genius. I really appreciated my time talking about recipes and food with Jeg, can't wait to cook with him and try out his recipes.

* I just grew fond at the concept of people teaching me how to do things again, especially when it involves food and drinks. AND advertising. Thanks to Sherwin again for stimulating my mind again and challenging us to do more stuff for the cafe. Very healthy because being dull, stagnant, and complacent kills me.

* We have a new housekeeper at the cafe! Well, she's not exactly new, she was supposed to be our first one but she's back after 3 housekeepers left. Welcome back Ate Mila! I hope you would stay longer than the others. Cleaning in the morning and working at night is just plain wrong, it doesn't get any "wronger-rer" than that. I mean, you don't get to sleep anymore, you rest in between packets of time. The concept of morning, noon, and nigttime no longer exists. You wake up on the same day 3 times, weird weird weird. Anyway, I'm glad that's over. Moving on!

* The week looks very promising, we just paid our rent and we're ready for another six rounds of cafe life. Some people just enjoy doing the things they do, even if the pay's not that good, or now matter how repetitive things get, sometimes things just have to get done. We have come to accept that and it's very comforting to think that we have a role, no matter how small or big it is, in the lives of many. I love being a barista, it's my life and it will continue to be my passion. With that, we assure you guys that every drink we serve is a reflection of what we stand for, what we believe in, and what we love to do! Yeah!

* Be a Follower! Follow us on Twitter and read my live tweets everyday from 4 pm to 1 am. http://www.twitter.com/cafeantonioelbi

Some News and Notes

* For those of you who have been following us on Twitter for the past few weeks, you know what's been happening. If you're not yet a follower just create an account, it's very easy; you can also follow us on your mobile phone. http://www.twitter.com/cafeantonioelbi.

* July's feels really weird. We had the multicab accident, the pathetic bday dinner with Manong and Arnel, the showtime Fridays (3 weeks in a row!), the a(h1n1), the NBA transactions, Neil Rebua quotes from Zadl, Twitter, Opera Mini, Mobile Facebook, the July rain, cooking lunch and dinner at home while listening to a radio station you don't know (like a mom does), etc. Yes, I don't get the picture, really. It's like being sticky and dry at the same time. Stress, routine, redundancy, unpredictability, hassle-bility. Life in a nutshell.

* The Facebook Quiz that I posted yesterday has already been answered by 20 people. Just claim your prize at the cafe this week. Your prize is the result of the quiz, so it's either a choco chip cookie, oatmeal raisin cookie, a Bibingkinitan (http://www.bibingkinitan.com), a cinnamon roll, or a Blue Crush. Your prize is no longer valid next week.

* There will be another Facebook Quiz next week. It involves something called 1000 pesos. So be prepared and start reading the blogs in any Cafe Antonio website, especially Blogger (http://cafeantonioelbi.blogspot.com).

* Our FoM for July doesn't have coffee in it. It's the first and only FoM that isn't espresso-based. The drink is really difficult to make and I'm really proud of it because it doesn't have any blueberry syrup or sauce (except for the blueberry preserves) in it as a base but it still tastes like blueberry. It's still available, order it today!

* Thanks to all our customers, we have lots of new ones last week. It seems like every new person that comes in adds us up on Facebook. We have friend requests everyday. Kudos to hardcore followers on Twitter too.

* Signage lights are okay. At last we have lights, it has been dark up there for the past few weeks. It's really swell to see that yellow glow once again from across the street.

* We have never really formally introduced and welcomed our new cook, Joyceann Damian. Like Joyce, she's been my batchmate since elementary at MSMSI. Actually she sat in front of me back in Grade 5. She's replaced Bessy Espina, our junior barista/cook, who has been concentrating on her studies since she'll be graduating this semester. Thanks for the good times Bessy and welcome to the crew Joyceann!

* Given that, I have taken barista duty on Fridays and Saturdays, showtime days. Neil and Ramhil have been alternating as cook and barista.

* Well that's about it, it's already 11 am, I still have to deliver my laundry at Orange. Got up early, I was supposed to sell the Kia Carnival this morning. But it was moved this afternoon, no worries.

* Okay, see you this week! God bless!

What a Birthday Week!

July 1 - Dinner with friends (Mon, Jenni, Joyceann, Chino, Fidel, Paolo G., and JD) at Faustina's soft opening. Great food, you should visit it! Thanks Caio!

Happy Bday Jabez 2009
July 2 - My 23rd birthday! (click the link to watch the video)


July 4 - Accident at Tayuman with Manong, Zadl, Joyceann, and Yell. Got home at noon, went to work at 3pm. Hardcore!


July 5 - Birthday dinner with family and Manong & Zadl at Faustina's. Thanks again!

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CAFE STUFF

FoM for July - Blueberry Cheesecake Blended Cream (Php 140)

Answer our Facebook Quiz and get a chance to win a free pasta, frothiccino, and tuna melt! Visit http://www.facebook.com/cafeantonioelbi

http://apps.facebook.com/quizdoyouknowme/take_quiz.jsp?q=15043407&key=8EYW

Still Available - Bibingkinitan Freshly Baked Mini Bibingkas (Php 25 each/Php 150 per box)

"WE SATiSFi WITH NO WiFi" shirts are no longer available. Watch out for new shirts on August! (http://www.cafeantoniostore.multiply.com)

Follow Us on Twitter!

Ads are very expensive. That's why we're taking advantage of our generation's greatest resource: the Internet. Check out our sites:

Find out what the Canton crew's talking about inside (or even outside) the cafe during and after store hours. Jabez will update you on important and not so relevant cafe news and tidbits. Visit us at http://www.twitter.com/cafeantonioelbi.

We've also got our Facebook page name, tell your friends to visit us at http://www.facebook.com/cafeantonioelbi.

For the more recent fans of Canton (and to those new to the cafe's online universe), you can find more about our history, trials, and misadventures at the following sites:

MySpace: myspace.com/cafeantonioelbi
Listen to two of my favorite bands, Erin, and The Weepies (you can hear their songs played at the cafe).

Friendster: friendster.com/cafeantonioelbi
Although we have a larger fan-base at Facebook, we still have a lot of friends on Friendster.

Multiply:
Unofficially the Philippines' "New eBay".
1.) Official - cafeantonioelbi.multiply.com
Grab tons of photos of you and your friends at the cafe from this site. You can also follow the blogs and download the Cafe Antonio jingle (male and female versions) at the homepage.

2.) Online Store - cafeantoniostore.multiply.com
The store is open to all fans of Cafe Antonio in the country. Just order from this site. New merchandise will be coming soon. Complete release of items will be on August.

YouTube: youtube.com/cafeantonioelbi
Believe us when we tell you that we're the only food establishment in ELBI that uses rehearsed dance routines for our commercials. Check out the videos for "Shaken" and "White Strawberry Frothiccino".

Blogger: cafeantonioelbi.blogspot.com
This is our official website.

Welcome Freshies!

The Canton Gang with San Pablo City Vice-Mayor Martin Ilagan (2nd from left)

Ruralites wearing their "WiFi" shirts to get free drinks

Last week was kinda fun for us. The pace was picking up, we introduced new products, plus we met new customers. Also last week, we got our printed cups, not the paper cups, but hopefully we'll get those by July.

Okay, just a quick update for those who haven't been to Canton lately: our FoM for June is the Peanut Butter and Jelly (PBJ) Frajelli, it's our first frajelli FoM but it has whipped cream, double servings of jelly and the works. It's bongga embodied in a 16oz cup. And it's only 130 pesos. Watch the video below.



You know Bibingkinitan? Those are the mini bibingkas you see at the malls (www.bibingkinitan.com), we're selling them per piece for 25 pesos. You can also order it by box. Our initial stock came from ATC, the succeeding stocks will be coming from SM Sta. Rosa.

Also starting this June, we already have our SUGARFREE frothiccinos. We're using Torani's Sugarfree Chocolate sauce plus we've tweaked our sugarfree recipe a bit, so you'll enjoy more of the coffee if you don't like your drinks too sweet. Available in mocha, black forest, choco-peppermint, choco-macadamia, and cookies and cream. You can also try our sugarfree Antonio's Hot Choco (goes great with Bibingkinitan), Cafe Mocha, and Chocolate Milkshake.

A bit of an update for our online store at Multiply (www.cafeantoniostore.multiply.com), we will be releasing new designs soon for the school year, so watch out for it!

And lastly, we hope you'll enjoy taking out our new printed cups. It's kinda cool seeing someone drinking a Cafe Antonio Frothiccino walking along Grove or around campus, with the flashing logo and all, hehe, neat.

That will do it for today guys, hope to see you soon. And a shoutout to all Ruralites out there, any batch, we're so thankful for your support! It's so nice to see Ruralites of different ages come together in one place. God bless everyone!

GET FREE DRINKS WHEN YOU WEAR A SHIRT

Here's our first promo for you guys this school year:

Wear any CAFE ANTONIO T-SHIRT to the cafe and you'll get any drink you want for free!
Just wear a CAFE ANTONIO T-SHIRT once a month to the cafe and you can get any drink you like, including our Flavor of the Month! Promo is valid for 1 year (12 months) starting this JUNE.

We're running out of shirts, so better hurry up. We only make 10 shirts per design, once it's gone, it's gone!

Watch out for new t-shirts soon!

Suck on It!

Try our Flavor of the Month (FoM) for June: the Peanut Butter & Jelly Frajelli!



Watch the video!