Quality coffee, meticulously crafted and maintained, for those who care about the coffee in their cups.

Shortly after I publish my bad bean woes , I get a message from a friend of mine, Ed, a chef who also owns a restaurant in Quezon City. He tells me about this young Filipino couple, Carlo and Jackie Lorenzana, who are the Philippine distributors of La Mill Coffee, an American artisanal coffee brand headquartered in Alhambra, California.

I’m already hungry to know more and absolutely giddy with the idea of tasting artisanal coffee. The La Mill Coffee website speaks serious business. Words like coffee “zealots,” family of coffee “savants,” and permutations of the word “obsession” are all over the place. It’s all a bit overwhelming but awe-inspiring too.

We’re meeting in an office, a small showroom littered with boxes containing beans and coffee and tea paraphernalia. The aroma of brewing coffee is so strong that it seeps out the office door. I don’t need the unit number to know I’m in the right place. When I finally meet Carlo and Jackie, I’m struck by their youthfulness – they’re positively crackling with energy and excitement about their product. Carlo’s family has been serving La Mill Coffee at their hotels in Subic and were spurred by the good reception. Encouraged to make it more available, the couple snagged the distributorship that officially launched last February. “La Mill only roasts upon order and everything is given special attention,” Carlo replies when I ask him what differentiates it from other coffees.

As I do my food-writer schtick with Carlo, Ed is beside me sipping an iced coffee that looks absolutely glorious on this sweltering day. Jackie is the quintessential host, asking me what I’d like to try. We begin with a specialty roast called Bliss Espresso (all P930/454 grams) that upon Jackie’s advice, I try in an espresso. The crema is enviable, a glistening caramel that’s so thick it’s viscous, sheltering its black jewel underneath. There’s also the Midnight Jazz that strikes me with its sparkling acidity, and the memorable complexity of the Royal Supreme Blend.

We’re also going to try an Organic Ethiopian Sidamo (P1,000/454 grams) the water for which Carlo is heating up in a steel Japanese pot with a slender, arching spout. Aside from the coffee and tea, Carlo and Jackie also sell a complete line of accessories ranging from kettles, brewers (everything from glass to mesh) French presses, and filters. I’m especially entranced by a coffee brewer especially designed for iced coffee – imagine that! – but I already have too many accoutrements back home. What I need are coffee beans.

We joke about staying wired all night because of all the coffee we’re imbibing this afternoon. “Oh, we’ve got tea for that!” Jackie declares. “We’ve got a nice one here called ‘No Signal’ that’s meant to soothe.” All of La Mill’s teas have whimsical, apt names descriptive of their qualities: Commune-a-Tea (all P470/15 sachets), Gossip Tea, Stamina, Gas Pedal, etc. Carlo brews a delicious Organic Passionberry and pours it for me on ice. Fruity and fragrant, it’s quite the revelation. This is nothing like Nestea, dear.

I’m especially grateful to Carlo and Jackie for making such high quality coffee available not to just to restaurants but also at retail for eager coffee consumers like myself. Their company is a total coffee specialist with services that include the sale of espresso machines, training programs, and beverage development.

La Mill Coffee
www.lamillcoffee.com
Exclusively distributed by abaca.com.ph Ventures Corp.
Email: [email protected]
0917.327 6676
(02) 703.5428

**All photos in this post, except for the espresso and coffee brewer, are courtesy of Carlo Lorenzana.