Tokyo's famed Omotesando Koffee has finally opened its first Philippine café, brought in by celebrated fashion maverick Jappy Gonzalez
As early as 2020, whispers of Omotesando Koffee’s first-ever Philippine branch spread about town. Adored by coffee lovers around the world, the Tokyo-born café has expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, and London, renowned for its detail-obsessed approach to coffee and the minimalist design that accentuates its philosophy. After much thrill and anticipation, the Japanese coffee concept finally opened the doors to its first Manila outlet on Christmas Eve last 2021, located at Power Plant Mall.
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“Coffee, like wine, is an area where there is a distinct difference in quality and appreciation,” remarks Jappy Gonzalez, the visionary founder and director of H&F Retail Concepts. Celebrated bringing the biggest names in fashion to the Philippines like Balenciaga, Off-White, and Comme des Garçons, the stylish disruptor has also forayed into the world of F&B in 2015 with Laduree and now, Omotesando Koffee.
Gonzalez first fell in love with the Japanese brand through Koffee Mameya, Omotesendo’s bean specialist sister company. “I was able to experience Koffee Mameya (which loosely translates to “dispensary”) firsthand, and it was revelatory. Koffee Mameya took coffee to another level,” he recalls. A coffee connoisseur himself, Gonzalez was struck by “the intuitively curated collection of blends and the high level of presentation, generously infused with the Japanese culture of grace and perfection.” He continues, “it felt to me that the experience was crafted an individual with great commitment and reverence to his craft.”
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By offering a coffee experience perfected to the exacting standards of Omotesando, Gonzalez hopes to nurture this deep appreciation for coffee in the Philippine market. Striving to be “100 per cent authentic to the brand’s values,” he shares “the beans are sourced from where it's grown best. Omotesando Koffee offers only two blends, and both are formulated in Tokyo.” These blends come alive in a concise but thoughtful collection of drinks, fit for both the purist and the nonconformist. From the clean, hand drip ‘koffees’ to the luscious iced mochaccino with chocolate syrup and cloud-like whipped cream, there's something for every coffee enthusiast to buzz about. Gonzalez also teased an upcoming food menu “based off a traditional Japanese coffee house menu—basically a short order of staples like beef curry, tonkatsu sando, egg sando, and the famous Kashi, Omotesando’s signature dessert (a brioche-like French toast in the form of a cube).”
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However, Gonzalez asserts that there is so much more to Omotesando than “great blends, carefully balanced notes, great presentation, and service.” Waxing poetically, he explains: “There’s something more to impart here than that. It’s the visceral appreciation of the entirety and honesty of the product and experience of an artisan. This can only come from great dedication and passion from the brand’s founder, Eiichi Kunitomo.”
Put simply, the Omotesando experience goes beyond just great beans and well-crafted beverages, though these are certainly central to its identity, too. As is the case with all great artisans in any field, their acute attention to detail and commitment to perfection does not result from a desire to tick all the boxes—rather, they flourish from an honest-to-goodness devotion to their craft: beautiful, delicious coffee.
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Omotesando Koffee is now available via Pickup.PH. Click here to place your order now!
