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UST alumna celebrates Filipino coffee culture through ‘Barista Manileña’
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The Varsitarian
AFTER nearly a decade in Singapore’s hospitality industry, UST alumna Lourish Irene Bonete returned to the Philippines with a vision of opening a café that celebrates Filipino coffee, hospitality and culture — a vision that became “Barista Manileña.”
While cafés featuring Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean concepts were common, she rarely encountered one centered on Filipino coffee and flavors.
“Walang representation ’yung Filipino café, which is nakakalungkot,” she said.
(There was no representation of Filipino cafés, which was saddening.
That idea became the foundation of Barista Manileña, where locally sourced coffee beans and Filipino flavors such as ube take center stage alongside interiors inspired by contemporary Filipino design.