Trying Out the Cafés and Restos of the Country’s Coffee Capital

We had known for several years that Amadeo town in Cavite has been christened as the Philippines’ Coffee Capital. This despite the fact other regions are more famous for their coffee such as Batangas and Benguet. Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao also has a much larger land area devoted to planting coffee and supplies almost 35% of the country’s dried coffee and green coffee beans (although that is a whole province compared to Amadeo which is one of the smallest towns in Cavite).

Regardless, Amadeo’s elevation (330 – 570 meters above sea level) and fertile soil combine to make it very conducive to coffee production. More than ten years ago, Amadeo was just a quaint town adjacent to Tagaytay whose main claim to fame in the tourism world was small Balite Falls. But urbanization, road-widening, the construction of new by-pass roads such as the Cavite East-West Road along with its proximity to Tagaytay have pushed development in the town to new heights.

As a result, a number of cafés and coffee-themed restaurants have sprouted up along Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Ave., the main road running through town, and along adjacent streets. These have combined to give the main road a “Coffee Avenue” feel. During weekends when the cafes and restaurants in Tagaytay are packed and parking is a problem, the dining places on this avenue offer a convenient alternative. Here are some of them:

Cafe Amadeo Development Cooperative

This is where we usually get our coffee beans, grounded coffee and other native products, especially their pahimis blend of Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa, and Liberica, our favorite coffee for some time now. This brew has a pleasant flavor and enticing aroma, its name coming from the Pahimis or Thanksgiving festival of Amadeo. The Cafe Amadeo Development Cooperative also has a sit-down café where visitors can savor their coffee – which includes the famous/infamous civet cat coffee – along with local kakanin or various versions of glutinous rice cakes. They are one of the oldest cafés in town, having been in Amadeo since 2002.

Villa Breads & Coffee

This is a coffee shop that only opened during the pandemic at the Petron gas station along Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Ave. They moved recently to a bigger location along the same road. They specialize in floss breads and they serve unlimited coffee (for a mind-boggling P55!). Their floss buns and rolls come in various flavors and are a must-try. They also serve a variety of other breads, pastries, and cakes and even pasta.

Note: the ensaymada shown in the photos above has its origin from the ensaïmada of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, Spain. As a former Spanish colony, the Philippines incorporated several elements of Spanish and Central American cuisine and adapted it into dishes designed for the local palette.

Ricardo’s Coffee + Classic Cuisine

Also located along Crisanto M. De Los Retes Ave., Ricardo’s occupies a sizable area containing both indoor and outdoor al fresco dining, with the latter able to accommodate up to 50 diners at a time. The outdoor dining is set in a large and verdant garden – they even sell plants here including several bonsai trees. Inside, the ambiance is accentuated by several works of art by local artists. You can relax and enjoy your meals surrounded by paintings.

Ricardo’s serves an eclectic mix of Italian, Spanish and Filipino (specifically Southern Tagalog) favorites. They serve big breakfast meals (Filipino) as well as a variety of baked goodies to go with your coffee. We came here for lunch and opted for their Mesclun Salad, Aglio Olio Pasta, and Margherita Pizza. We asked them to exclude the mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheese from the pizza to which they obliged; the pizza still tasted great even without the cheese. The Mesclun Salad was excellent, with Ricardo’s growing many of the ingredients right at their own backyard.

Cocinado con el Corazon Restaurant at JBT Agri-Farm (Taniman ni Jesus)

This open-air restaurant serves Italian and Spanish dishes using several of the ingredients directly from their farm. JBT stands for Jesus B. Tibayan, the original owner of the farm who passed away two years ago. His children, the present owners of the farm, started the restaurant during the pandemic. The restaurant sits in a spacious and verdant garden with both indoor and outdoor dining set-ups. It is situated on the Dagatan-Halang Road parallel to Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Ave.

There are a number of vegetarian dishes here, one of the reasons we chose this place for lunch a couple of days ago. We went for their Sopa de Vegetable Española Ahumadas con Kale (a vegetable soup), the Ensalada de Papa Verde (green potato salad) and their Vegetarian Pizza. We are not that familiar with the first 2 Spanish orders and we asked them to replace the creamy dressing with something better suited for a plant-based diet but we thought both dishes were quite good. We also asked them to exclude cheese from the pizza which evoked somewhat of a shock from the waitress but they gave in to our request. Maybe we’re not used anymore to eating pizza with cheese – something that will surprise anyone else – but we thought the pizza was still excellent.

CaKe’s Coffee and Tea

Having the same owners as the resort’s where Balite Falls is located, CaKe’s Coffee and Tea is another of the cafes along Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Ave. It might be one of the smaller cafes in town (it sits on a 250-square meter lot), but more than makes up for it with a cute and cozy indoor setting, a warm and friendly staff and excellent coffee.

Besides coffee and tea, this café also serves a collection of cakes and pastries. If you’re hungry you can go for their pasta and Filipino silog breakfast offerings. We were in for a surprise when we learned they also serve laksa, one of our favorite Southeast Asian dishes.

Kafe Belardo

The last café on this list has been open since 2010 although they originally started selling and distributing coffee beans only. The café opened eight years later. We came here after our visit to CaKe’s Coffee and Tea, intending to buy ground coffee. In particular, we were curious about their Matutum Coffee which comes from Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato in Mindanao. Unfortunately, they only serve this coffee as a drink and it is not included in the lineup of ground coffee and coffee beans they are selling. Having already had a great deal of coffee by the time we got here, we just bought their house blend of ground coffee and vowed to get back to savor their Matutum Coffee at a later time.

The crew at CaKe’s Coffee and Tea

There are actually more cafes at Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Avenue and Dagatan-Halang Road that we have yet to try. Here are a few more on our bucket list:

Biker’s Yard Café, Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Avenue

High Five Café, Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Avenue

Balai Amadeo, Crisanto M. De Los Reyes Avenue

Co-Love Café, Dagatan-Halang Road (near Cocinado con el Corazon Restaurant)