Top 10 Famous Coffee Shops in the Philippines

Our countdown of famous coffee shops in the Philippines starts with a tie in 10th place between The Coffee Project and Manila’s Best Coffee.

Coffee Project is Manuel Villar’s foray into the coffee shop business, the former senator being a coffee connoisseur. It was first opened in 2014, and this famous coffee shop in the Philippines has currently has 50 branches, with plans to add more branches by the end of the year. Despite being a relatively new player, this famous coffee shop in the Philippines has become known for its specialty coffee and Instagram-worthy interiors.

One option of famous coffee shops in the Philippines for those who want a homegrown coffee experience is to go to Manila’s Best Coffee. The coffee beans of this famous cafe in the Philippines are not grown in Manila but are sourced from different provinces like Baguio, Batangas, Laguna, and Benguet.

Customers can choose coffee-based or non-coffee-based drinks at this famous coffee shop in the Philippines. Some have unique flavors, and some have locally sounding names like caramel otap, chocolate lakatan, and spicy chocolate labuyo. However, the best-selling drinks of this famous coffee shop in the Philippines are blended java chips and hot crimson velvet macchiato. This one of the mentioned famous coffee shops in the Philippines also serves local delicacies besides baked goods.

The Dreamland Arts & Crafts Café made it to the ninth spot on our list of popular coffee shops in the Philippines. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines is ideal for artistic people or those who want to relax in an inspiring space. This famous cafe in the Philippines, a bohemian-inspired joint, a part restaurant and part creative outlet. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines serves hot and cold drinks, including barakong Batangueño and tsokolateng Batangueña. For food, they have appetizers, rice meals, and pasta.

Unlike most famous cafes in the Philippines, Dreamland does not have Wi-Fi to encourage guests to talk to each other, read a book, play the guitar, write a poem, or do other online detox activities. Dreamland Café, one of the famous coffee shops in the Philippines that has branches in Lipa City and Tagaytay City.

March 2023 Update: Lipa City and Tagaytay City branches are permanently closed.

A three-way tie among J. Co Donuts, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and UCC Coffee, made it to our list of famous coffee shops in the Philippines.

This famous cafe in the Philippines was established in 2005; Indonesian brand J.CO Donuts has established several branches in the Philippines’ main cities and provinces: Bacolod City, Baguio City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Davao City, General Santos City, Iloilo City, Cavite, Pampanga, and Metro Manila. J. Coffee, being one of the famous coffee shops in the Philippines, J.CO’s line of coffee products, uses Italian, Sulawesi, and Sumatra blends. It may primarily be a donut shop, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a decent selection of coffee on its menu. This one of the popular coffee shops in the Philippines’ specialty is their Jcoccino, which has Italian espresso, milk, and foam and comes in hot and cold variants.

This famous coffee shop in the Philippines also has a selection of sweet or fruit-based frappes. Other hot drinks include Americano, classic brewed coffee, espresso, and macchiato.

The next famous cafe in the Philippines is Seattle’s Best Coffee, which started as an ice cream and coffee shop in Seattle, Washington, in the 1970s. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines, was acquired by Starbucks in 2010 and has over 135 outlets worldwide. Though not as upscale as its parent company, Seattle’s Best still has a good variety of coffee on its menu. Those who want classic flavors can choose from Americano, cappuccino, latte, or hot mocha drinks. Aside from coffee, they also serve breakfast, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and pastries. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines is most known for its trademarked Ice Blended Javakula.

Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. was founded in 1951 by the father of coffee in Japan, Tadao Ueshima. UCC Coffee brings the number one coffee brand in Japan to Filipino consumers making it one of the famous cafes in the Philippines. But it wasn’t until April 2014 that this one of the known famous coffee shops in the Philippines, the businessman Hubert Young would bring UCC to the Philippines.

Food at UCC has Western flavors but with Japanese influences. This famous cafe in the Philippines serves breakfast fare, sandwiches, salads, entrees, pasta dishes, and desserts.

Another famous foreign and included in our famous coffee shops in the Philippines is Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL). This famous cafe in the Philippines also known as The Bean, the brand was created in California in 1963 by Herbert B. Hyman. The house specialty at Coffee Bean is their Original Ice Blended Coffee drinks, touted as the world’s first cold blended coffee drink, which uses smooth processed ice.

Today this famous coffee shop in the Philippines, uses the same technique in their tea and fruit smoothies. CBTL carries espresso, coffee, latte, non-coffee drinks, and coffee-free products. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines has breakfast meals, sandwiches, pasta, salads, and pastries to go with their drinks.

“All their branches are cozy, suited for guests who want to work or study.” – Karen

Bo’s Coffee is the sixth spot on our list of famous coffee shops in the Philippines. Bo’s Coffee is a well-known local player in the coffee industry. This famous cafe in the Philippines’ founder Steve Benitez started the chain in 1996 in Cebu City, and it has since grown to 91 outlets all over the Philippines. Bo’s shines the spotlight on famous coffee shops in the Philippines with Coffee Origins blends named after the places they source their coffee from Sagada, Benguet, Mt. Kitanglad, Mt. Apo, and Mt. Matutum. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines serves espresso, Americano, cappuccino, mocha, latte, iced blended coffee, and non-coffee blended beverages. These can be served poured over or brewed through a French press.

Making an entry at number five in our list of top coffee shops in the Philippines is Tim Hortons. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines is named after hockey star Tim Horton, who sold burgers before switching to coffee and donuts. Last 2017, Canadian coffee-and-donut chain Tim Hortons opened in Manila.

One of the highlights of the menu at this famous cafe in the Philippines is their Original Blend coffee. “Double-double,” or coffee with two shots of cream and sugar, is a popular way to order this drink. Listed as one of the famous coffee shops in the Philippines, Tim Hortons also has tea, hot and cold beverages, breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, wraps, soups, sides, snacks, and baked goods.

“The shop offers unlimited wifi connection for customers.” – Sol

“Katsu burger, Japanese desserts, cappuccino :)” – Yago

In our fourth spot on our list of tfamous coffee shops in the Philippines is a Japanese specialty bakery and patisserie, St. Marc Café. The cafe combines delectable desserts with premium coffee in a casual ambiance. The pilot store opened in Singapore in 2012, and in 2014, entrepreneur Ben Chan brought the franchise to the country. This famous cafe in the Philippines has 16 outlets in Southeast Asia, including one in Metro Manila, Philippines. While this famous coffee shop in the Philippines may be known for their choco cro, they also have a sizable drinks menu with their sweet treats. One of these is the quintessentially Japanese matcha latte. Vietnamese coffee and cappuccino have also been proven hits with their customers.

Yet another doughnut and coffeehouse chain makes it to our famous coffee shops in the Philippines, with Krispy Kreme at number three. Vernon Rudolph, founder of this popular coffee shop in the Philippines opened Krispy Kreme in 1937, making it the oldest chain. While their main product is doughnuts, they also have a line of coffee-based drinks to satisfy any caffeine junkie’s cravings. This famous coffee shop in the Philippines has its signature coffee which they recommend pairing with their Original Glazed doughnut. Other beverages included on the menu of this famous cafe in the Philippines are Kaffe Kreme, Americano, cappuccino, latte, caramel latte, and mocha which come in hot or iced varieties. Aside from doughnuts, this famous coffee shop in the Philippines carries baked goods such as pull-apart, kruffins, and cheese puffs.

“A relaxing, colorful place to hang out with friends, with perfectly brewed coffee.” – Love

The American doughnut and coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts proves that great coffee does not need to be expensive; they took the second spot on our list of famous coffee shops in the Philippines. Founded in the 1950s by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, Dunkin is one of the largest international coffee and baked goods shops. Dunkin’ came to the Philippines in 1981 with an outlet in Makati.

This famous cafe in the Philippines has over 800 outlets nationwide, earning them the moniker “Pasalubong ng Bayan.” Aside from coffee, this famous coffee shop in the Philippines have a variety of hot and cold beverages to complement their sweet treats. They also serve savory snacks like bunwich and croissants.

Taking the top spot in our famous coffee shops in the Philippines is the American coffee chain Starbucks. The company was founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1971 by three partners who met as students. This popular coffee shop in the Philippines, in 1987, Howard Schultz acquired Starbucks, and since then, it has grown into a global empire with 23,768 locations worldwide.

This famous coffee shop in the Philippines offers espresso beverages, brewed coffee, hot chocolate beverages, and tea lattes. Their menu comprises an array of breakfast meals, salads, sandwiches, desserts, baked goods, cakes, and pastries. However, this famous cafe in the Philippines is most famous for its trademarked Frappuccino blended beverages, which can be customized in as many as 36,000 ways.

What’s your favorite famous coffee shops in the Philippines that didn’t make it to the list? Share it with us!

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