2 weeks Ago By John Sitchon
CEBU, Philippines – When you mix coffee and self-care, you get Everyday Coffee and Tea. Nestled in the heart of the Queen City of the South, this comfy Cebu cafe provides customers with massage therapy services, an Instagram-worthy photobox, and a curated art gallery. The coffee shop is found along MC Briones Street, between the Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum and the National Museum of the Philippines-Cebu, making it a must-visit stop when going on a downtown museum tour.
ART GALLERY. The art gallery inside the cafe features the works of visual artist and architect Daryl Balmoria-Garcia. Photo by John Sitchon/Rappler PHOTOBOX.
The photobox inside the cafe lets customers take magazine cover-like photos. Photo by John Sitchon/Rappler Everyday Coffee and Tea is well-known for its rich selection of sweets and confections, ranging from homemade gelato and fruit-based drinks to croissants and croffles (criossant waffles ). For P294, you can enjoy their Strawberry Croissant, which is filled with fresh strawberries and a generous portion of cream.
If you’re there to work on a project, the cafe provides internet connection and rentable workspaces with consumable rates starting at P1,500. Of course, if you’re winding down from working, you can try out their pressure point massage for P499 that comes with a complimentary cafe latte or cucumber lemonade drink and doughnut. THERAPISTS.
According to the business owners, the massage therapists employed by the cafe are experts from Talisay City. Photo by John Sitchon/Rappler The Lopezes Most coffee shops in Cebu offer unique takes on their patrons’ beloved beverages and food but this particular cafe has positioned itself to be more than the average and aesthetically-pleasing establishment catering to the local coffeeholic community. As Everyday Coffee and Tea owner Carlo Alex Lopez explained during a media launch, the store aims to be more than the traditional cafe and was designed for the market’s needs.
“I want something special, something with an ambience for the family. Whatever we serve on the menu was not planned but according to what the market is asking,” the business owner said. Lopez is a family man himself with two kids and a supportive wife and business partner, Michelle.
The couple founded coffee-and-tea-brands Uncle Brew and Sebu Cha Philippines together and other small businesses before establishing the cafe in January 2023. “Everything we did right in those previous businesses, we did for this cafe,” Lopez said. He added that one of those “right” things is supporting the Philippine farming community.
The cafe sources all their Arabica coffee beans from farmers in Sultan Kudarat in Soccsksargen. LOPEZES. Michelle and Carlo Lopez were former seafarers before becoming successful business owners.
Photo from Carlo Alex Lopez’s Facebook page Support the community Michelle shared that their major breakthrough in the coffee industry started from helping a friend in need. She explained that during the pandemic, the couple provided their friend, who had recently lost his job, with supplies to start a business. Through sheer determination, their friend was able to earn well enough for relatives to start asking him if they could do the same.
“So that’s how our franchise business began with Sebu Cha,” Michelle told reporters. Since then, the Lopezes have devoted themselves to helping those in need. Besides helping local farmers, the cafe also hires out-of-school youth and parents working hard for their children’s education.
The art gallery inside the cafe is also a fundraiser for student scholarships, with featuring the works of visual artist and architect Daryl Balmoria-Garcia. HOMAGE. Photos of the Mindanaoan coffee farmers that the Lopezes work with are displayed inside the cafe for everyday customers to appreciate.
Photo by John Sitchon/Rappler – Rappler.com.
