Hello Hive!
As I sip my morning coffee, I am writing this post about a coffee shop in the tourist spot of Panagsama in Moalboal, Philippines. It had already made an appearance on the Hive as a setting in a few Rocket Fuel Coffee Morning Ramble Posts by @scubahead but today I will talk about how I've observed it evolve throughout the years and what's so special about it.
Smooth Cafe is a coffee shop based in the diving town of Moalboal. Their company mission is:
"To Smooth out your day with freshly roasted coffee, great quality food, delicious cakes, and refreshing drinks." - Smooth Cafe Moalboal
Throughout the years of visiting Panagsama even before we moved to Moalboal, I have witnessed how this cafe transformed into what it is today and how they continuously strive to improve.
They have smartly renovated their coffee shop a few months ago during the low season that was caused by the pandemic. They demolished the wall that was once blocking the view of their wide-open garden terrace, bar, and hostel reception.
Before its construction, this was how it looked circa 2018:
This was the wall that blocked the view before the renovation at that time.
This new facelift, in my opinion, is a brilliant move. It allowed the shop to increase its counter size and workstation, thus maximizing the space for more chairs and tables. It became even more inviting to any passerby and more efficient for staff to seamlessly manage and oversee the cafe.
Newly Renovated Space
Enough about design talk, so what's so special about Smooth Cafe?
Their coffee is one of the best in Panagsama.
They are made from the finest locally sourced coffee beans, mostly from the Cordillera Mountains, north of the Philippines. I frequently order their Hot Americano (Php 120) as well as the iced version. They have an espresso (Php 70), Doppio -their double espresso (Php120)
Hot Americano
Their Cold Brew is interesting and something I'd like to try during my next visit, coffee brewed for 12 hours at 28 degrees Celsius. Below is an iced americano which comes with a brownie
Iced Americano
They have an extensive Coffee Menu with Cafe Latte, Espresso Macchiato, Flat White, Moccachino to name a few.
It's a walking distance from Panagsama Beach and the dive center.
On the day I took this photo, I just completed my Nitrox training at Cebu Dive Centre. @ybanezkim26 was underwater with his scuba dive training at the time. I needed a quick coffee fix.
Locally Made Products and with locally sourced ingredients
The CacaoLab Bean to Bar Dark Chocolate are made here in Moalboal, Cebu from premium cacao beans on the island. The jars shown below are peanut butter spread, cashew butter, and the one on top is Cacao and Hazelnut Spread.
The cafe strives to empower the community by supporting local artists, farmers, and local businesses.
Delicious Pastries
Red Velvet Cheesecake Muffin
Cameron, being a fan of their regular cheesecake muffins, asked me for a favor that day to purchase them for him but they immediately ran out of stock. Apparently, it's quite popular.
They Serve Vegan Dishes
I celebrated my birthday here last year before the renovation and was able to try their Vegan Adobo Burger.
Great Branding and Merchandise
Locally made products are available for purchase including their own almond milk and macadamia milk.
Craft Beers and Homemade Kombucha, anyone?
There's more to them than coffee. Their coffee shop bar and restaurant remain open to serve craft beers and other cocktails until 11 PM.
It has been raining incessantly the last few days so a coffee afternoon there sounds like a great idea.
This is my first post in the new Cinnamon Cup Coffee Community. Please join and subscribe if you haven't yet.
Thank you for reading if you've reached this far. This post was not sponsored by the featured company in any way. What I have written is all based on my own personal experience and research.
"I want to create spaces that tastefully marry function and aesthetics. I want to immerse myself in beauty not only by tangible objects but also by the unseen." -
Curiosity and imagination lead to unexpected experiences. Interested in Nature, Places, anything French, International Cuisine, and Architecture + Interior Design. Co-founder of Architecture + Design Community. Feel free to follow her, re-blog, and upvote if you enjoy her content.
Hello Arni. I could literally stay in this place forever haha! Just serve me my favorite brews of iced mocha or hot cappuccino and I'll be powered up to go! Congrats @millycf1976 for the grand opening of your Cinnamon Cup Coffee Community on the Hive! More coffee, please! 😀
😊 Thank you SO much @storiesoferne. I'm enjoying this space as I learn my way around it. I'll put together an introduction soon.
Thank you for subscribing and I'm looking forward to virtual coffee meetups here :)
Hi Erne, if ever you visit Moalboal, we could hang out here. I think you'll like the atmosphere here. 😀
looks like this community is for me. I do a lot of coffee shop reviews from the exterior, interior to the coffee😃 and that cafe looks homey! most cafes here are either modern rustic or industrial theme.
Absolutely! I thought about you and mentioned you to @millycf1976 when she was conceptualizing this community.
Hello @macchiata! I think you're right!😊
Please feel free to engage, subscribe, reblog, vote and post all your coffee related articles:) It would be nice to have you on board!
Thank you @discoveringarni for your reference :)
I'm loving this community so far 😍
haha definitely! Even today I was talking about coffee. Me complaining about my brewing method
Oh yeah I think it would be nice if people who review coffee shop would also add the map in pinmapple. That would be nice.
I had the same thought about pinmapple, but I guess it's such a big community with active travel bloggers posting about such lovely destinations, that coffee shops are not part of their mission.
Maybe in the future I'll find a way to develop a central spot where people could tag coffee shops ...
Anyway, looking forward to your contributing articles :) and I'll check the link to your last post!
I normally pin my coffee shops there because that's the place that I visit everywhere I go and that's where I can travel these days. I live in the city and far from any entertainment than well, coffee shops. But yeah, that's just my preference. I think they don't mind pinning the post as I create my own travel destination log/ pinmapple profile. Though that would be better to have a database that only contains coffee shops.
Yes, I like the idea too😍
We'll see !
I think that's a great idea 😊
Amazing, Loved the vibe of the café extremely classic and cozy! Hope to visit there soon. Loved reading your post.
Thank you so much @sahiba-rana, I'm glad you liked it. 😀
Such a homey feeling in the pictures of the cafe that beech wood interior is giving a classic clean vibe. I love when cafes have their own merchandise that's always very creative and branding.
Seems like you enjoy their coffee more often.
Have a great day! 😃
Hello Praditya, thank you for your kind comment. We only have a few well-designed cafes in our area and this is one of them. It's nice to browse coffee shop merchandise.
I usually make my own coffee for economical reasons but whenever I want to specially treat myself or meet with a friend while I am in this part of our town, I go there. Wishing you a great day too!
The most salivating photo there us that of cupcake but then I read its red velvet, ouch, I am not a fan of red velvet cake. I don't like its melting effect in my mouth lol.
This place seems like a cool place especially after the rennovation, it kinda inviting.
So now you discovered a new community lol :)
I like their carrot cake and brownies. Maybe you'd like them? Their vegan falafel wraps are really good too. Yes, being a heavy coffee drinker, I couldn't resist posting in this community. 😄
Oh wow!
I thought coffee was a little bitter?
Many are coffee lovers. Many but not me 😁
I have non-coffee drinker friends, either you like tea more or juices?
Yeah I love juices more. I am not even a fan of tea either
Hello @discoveringarni Thank you for adding this awesome post about this little gem of a modern, urban coffee shop in the rural tourist town of Moalboal Cebu.
I've only had the pleasure of dining there once, and I found the menu selection and coffee to be quite a treat.
The Smooth Cafe is a great enhancement to the area for expats and locals, to get a taste of city life, in a casual and relaxing style.
Congrats on the new community! Will try their cold brew soon.
I still haven't tried their kombucha and craft beer. Great place for vegans and vegetarians.
Thank you!😊
It's a lovely atmosphere at the Cafe and an eye-opener that things can be done properly in Moalboal too :) (in terms of architecture especially).
Smooth! Do they have non-coffee selections? I'm not really into coffee so my choices are really limited when I go to a coffee shop. 😂
Ah yes, brought me back to the time you ordered Ginger Tea. Yes, they have different hot black and green tea, iced tea, cold-pressed juices, and fresh fruit juices. 😃
Nice! I guess I could live with that.
mmmmmm cheeeesecaaaaake
I'm quite intrigued by that cheesecake.
i am just addicted to cheesecake
Hello @discoveringarni Thank you for adding this awesome post about this little gem of a modern, urban coffee shop in the rural tourist town of Moalboal Cebu.
I've only had the pleasure of dining there once, and I found the menu selection and coffee to be quite a treat.
The Smooth Cafe is a great enhancement to the area for expats and locals, to get a taste of city life, in a casual and relaxing style.
What a beautiful place everything looks beautiful and the food even more delicious. I can see that you can have a great time there.
Thanks for sharing!
I truly wish the local tourism is able to sustain the business in our community so that places like these continue to thrive despite the closure of island borders. Thank you for your lovely comment Eugelys. Sending you lots of positive thoughts and wishes for a beautiful weekend!
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