everyday musings....

Caffe Firenzo

Driving around Davao on the first night of 2009 led us to this place. I've been wanting to try this coffee shop out since I saw their branch in Damosa IT Park. They serve Lavazza Beans which is a good come-on for people who know their coffee. So there, and coffee on a rainy night sounds good, don't you think?

They have lots of choices from espressos to coffee, tea, desserts and food. They serve all day breakfast sets, paninis and pizza too! But since we were already full, we just opted for tea and coffee and a slice of cheesecake to share.

Now, this is where the disappointment starts. First up, they could not issue an Official Receipt because they claim that their POS system is down. They should not use that as an excuse because by BIR regulations, they should have a paper reciept that they can use just in case things go wrong with their electronic systems. But we let that pass. Hey, it's the new year and I don't want to start the year arguing with the counter person just because they could not issue an OR.

So, we settled ourselves on one of the tables in their smoking area. The wait for the order did not take too long. The cheesecake arrives first. Before I placed my order for this cake, I asked the counter person if the cheesecake was a baked cheesecake kind and he told me yes it was. But the moment I dug my fork into the cake, I knew that it was not. It was a gelatin-based cheesecake :( Not that I abhor that kind of cheesecake, it's just that I prefer the mouth feel and the richness of the baked cheesecake over the refrigerated ones. But the taste of it was its saving grace. You can definitely taste the pronounced espresso flavor in the cake. So in the end, I was happy with the cake.

The Cafe Mocha with extra shot or Peppermint syrup arrives next.

Nice latte art and plus points for the china that they served it in. Unfortunately, they served me a lukewarm coffee:( Taste was ok. I was looking for the peppermint kick which unfortunately again is not there. But overall, the coffee taste was good. If only they served it hot enough.

Mike ordered Hot Green Tea Latte. It was served in a tall white mug. It didn't have the milk foam that should have been there if it was indeed a latte or else it should have been called Green Tea with a shot of milk. Just like the Cafe Mocha, it was also served lukewarm :( Not hot enough to warm you up on a cold rainy night.

The place was nice. Lots of couches to hang out. Lighting was good, not too dark and not too bright either. As with most coffee shops in the city, they have free WiFi access for their customers. I'm not sure though if they have electrical outlets wherein you can plug your laptop just in case your batteries run out. They are open from 9AM to 12MN on weekdays and 9AM to 2AM on weekends, Sundays 9AM to 11PM.

I don't know what went wrong with our drinks and why it was already lukewarm when it was served. Maybe it was sitting on the counter for a while before it was brought to us, or maybe the water that they used was not hot enough, or maybe their barista was not paying attention while making our drinks or he/she was not in the mood because he/she was working on new year's day. For whatever reason, I really will never know. I just hope that the next time we decide to have coffee at their shop, we will be served with a hot steaming mug of coffee or tea enough to warm us on a cold rainy night.