It was three p.m. when Raymond went to my desk. We had an agreement over the weekend to visit another third wave coffee shop because why not discover another hidden gem in Legazpi?
I heard about Bad Cafe from Sugar—I think one of her of friends is part-owner of the place. I remember she talked about the place more than once that name got stuck in my brain. But then my memory always has the ability to retain this kind of information.
This cafe is also in Legazpi, tucked away along the same street as that hidden bar where I attended an event for the company. Raymond appeared to be an expert navigator, so I relied on him to bring us to the right place. Again, this is a third wave coffee shop and it was another opportunity to be all nerdy about coffee but I wanted to try something new so I went for dirty horchata because I never tried that before.
“Para siyang premium am na may kape,” I remembered saying, but unsure if it was out loud or just to myself. And I kid you not, that is how it really tasted to me. That starchy nutrient-rich water leftover from boiling rice mixed with skimmed milk, sugar and coffee. Yes, that’s essentially how it tasted to me—wonderful and warm and soothing and just sweet enough to tide me over until dinner.
Pretty much like my childhood.
The additional shot of espresso though, gave it an upgrade. The earthy bitterness of the coffee cuts through the sweetness of the starchy rice milk. It wasn’t grand if we are talking about the flavor profile itself. But its familiarity took me to places, like back in my childhood bedroom window waiting for the rain to stop so I could finally play outside at four in the afternoon.
So anyway, when we were about to leave, it rained. Like actually rained. Not just a drizzle, but a full-blown effin’ showerfall! That kind of rain that would drench us all over and soak the innermost part of our soul. That rain.
So we stayed, as if we had another choice. Took some pictures. Talked about why I call the takeout strawless lid a sippy cup. In my defense, it really looked like a toddler sippy cup. Then we talked for a little bit more despite me stressing about being already on overbreak.
Finally, we went out, hailed a cab and paid sixty bucks to be able to go back to the office without looking like we are gonna be on sick leave the following workday.
When we arrived at the office building some five minutes later, the rain had stopped.
It was a good experience though. We just have to bring umbrellas next time.
