If there’s anything that perfectly encapsulates life these days, it’s that photo.
The past few months have been a blur of non-stop work, zero weekends whatsoever, and a lot of coffee. I highly doubt it’s the ideal lifestyle for someone who survived COVID just roughly a hundred days ago, but it turns out having a full-time job and running a magazine at the same time means you’re basically signing off your rights to take a break.
(Send help.)
That’s not to say it’s all bad. Work keeps me productive and challenged, while the stories on g.spot give me purpose and fulfillment. I’ve always liked being busy, thrive in it even, but it’s inevitable to eventually get to a point when you just want the whole world to slow down for a minute.
Since the opportunity to have a few days off has yet to present itself, I’ve been trying to carve out fragments of time in an attempt to maintain my sanity (spoiler alert: not always successful). One of the things I cherish is coffee time. While I could only wish to be lucky if I get to enjoy my drink in peace or without doing anything, the idle time I’m preparing some at home with a drip bag or my Keurig or lining up at a café actually quiets my mind before I take on the rest of the day. It sounds a bit sad to write it out, but it really can get quite soothing, the calm before the storm.
A place I keep coming back to is Mucho Café. It’s on my way to two offices I frequent, and they also have drive-thru and cashless payments, so it’s a convenient and pandemic-friendly stop to make for a dose of caffeine before work.
Photos taken in February 2021. Prices may have changed.
Their bestseller is the Horchata, a Mexican specialty drink made out of rice milk, sweetener, and topped with cinnamon. “Since the climate and culture in Cebu are similar to that of Mexico, we’ve decided to serve a drink that would best fit our refreshment needs,” my friend Anna Maglasang explained to me. “Mucho Horchata is unique because of the experience customers would get — as you’ve noticed, we usually talk to people first on how to best enjoy the drink — and the ambiance that we try to achieve at the shack.”
I keep coming back for the Dirty Horchata, specifically. Horchata is made “dirty” with a shot of espresso for that much-needed caffeine mix.
I’ve also ventured into their cold brews and recently tried out the White Cold Brew. It’s thick but not overly so, with just the right amount of sweetness — though I expect their Vanilla and Caramel varieties will definitely be sweeter. One of the things I love about Mucho is they have the option for plant-based milk which is something that I, a newly-minted lactose intolerant, really appreciate.
Mucho Café is a venture by Anna, along with her partners Nevin and Nikk Bigornia. They decided to open the place, lovingly called “the shack” because coffee is something that all three of them enjoy.
Attention to detail. Mucho Café’s Anna Maglasang adding some flowers to a Valentine’s Day order.
It really is hard to resist dropping by Mucho Café when I’m in the area, especially since it conveniently has a drive-thru where I can easily pick up my order. On the rare occasions I have time to linger, its location offers a lot of parking spaces.
Recently, Mucho Café has ventured into making drip coffee bags, which are my current home coffee obsessions especially when I’m too lazy to fire up the Keurig. Hopefully, these become a hit enough for them to be mainstays on the menu because great coffee needs to be served wherever you may be — very Mucho so.
