Melbourne to Makati: Toby’s Estate Coffee Hits the Spot!
Melbourne to Makati: Toby’s Estate Coffee Hits the Spot!
Unlike in Melbourne, it has taken me quite some time to find that cup of latte here in Manila that hits the spot just where I need it on a Monday morning. Let’s face it: my cafe-hopping around Makati CBD within the past year hasn’t given me anything to write home about – that is, until a little birdie told me that Toby’s Estate, which originated in Melbourne, set up shop smack bang in Salcedo Village!
My heart almost skipped a beat when I stepped into Toby’s Estate and smelled the beans. Ok ok, this scale of cafe is a tad on the grandiose side compared to the ones we see in Melbourne, but it does have a full kitchen to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. My mind is already racing on how many work meetings and lunches I must bring here this week! The, decor, furniture, ambience and, more importantly, the sound and smell of coffee grinding made my knees wobble with delight. I was falling in love by the second.
If you didn’t know, Melbourne is the coffee capital of Australia. The beautiful cobblestoned laneways in Melbourne’s CBD is filled with cozy cafes all roasting and serving different homegrown beans from around the country. You are really spoilt for choice there. The best thing is that each coffee shop in Melbourne serves its own character of coffee, and the charm you experience from every cup is a story in itself.
However, when you find your one true cup of love or your one handsome barista (ahem, whichever comes first), your cafe-hopping grinds to a halt. You get hooked! That is, until the next awesome pop-up cafe (or barista) comes along. We Aussies love our coffee, yet we are always willing to check out the next best thing. Coffee – it’s a cut-throat industry.
So, I am hoping with baited breath that I get hooked – fish, line and sinker – to Toby’s Estate in Salcedo Village. For 140 pesos a cup, the price is not cheap. This is what I pay for coffee in Sydney, Australia. However, I’m sure coffee lovers out there will agree: if it’s worth it, we pay for it. I loved Toby back home in Oz, so I have high expectations for him in Manila. Coffee art or not – doesn’t bother me. I’m all about the temperature and taste of the coffee.
At first sip, it was slightly too hot and a touch bitter (sad face), so I gave it a few minutes and tried again…. A sigh of relief and content hit my belly, and a smile crossed my lips. In all fairness, my first latte was in a take-out cup. When I had another flat white dine-in, it was pure perfection. I will be back tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after next for my caffeine fix!
Toby’s Estate Salcedo Village, you have won my coffee heart for now. You are the best coffee that has happened to me near my office. Please be mine until the next new cafe hits town and steals my love away…
P.S. I have yet to taste the food and will save that for another article.
Toby’s Estate
125 L.P. Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati
Opening hours: Mon -Thurs, 7am-10pm / Fri & Sat, 8am-12am / Sun, 8am-10pm
