Nov 5

Nov 5 It's A Match: An Exclusive Coffee and Dessert Pairing with Australia's Coffee King Phillip Di Bella

METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES. Coffeeholics and procaffeinators, are you ready to hear my good news? Well, if it hasn't reached you yet, the famed Di Bella Coffee of Australia has now arrived in our local shores through a partnership with The Cravings Group (TCG) and is now ready to tickle the fancy and taste buds of the Filipino people! I bet everyone who is familiar with the brand is now jumping for joy, but for those who do not have any clue about it, allow me to give you a little background for you to know what the commotion is all about.

The story starts with a young man named Phillip. Phillip has this deep passion for coffee. Together with a gallon of entrepreneurial spirit. he then started a small coffee-roasting establishment in the suburbs of Brisbane where he grew up. The company was named Di Bella coffee, which was aptly obtained from his family name. Giving his heart to his venture, working through the night and going door-to-door to get clients by day, Phillip quickly picked up the attention of local cafes both with his devotion and passion for his product and the idea about giving its customers' the best coffee in the world. Not long did this dedication had been converted to success as Di Bella Coffee gained local and national recognition as a coffee company of choice.

While Di Bella Coffee is offering the whole of Australia some aromatic and smooth coffee and is carving its own success story, The Cravings Group on the other hand is also creating their own successes here in the Philippines. Since 1988, TCG was able to expand its scope to more restaurants which include Cravings, C2 Classic Cuisine, Oceana, Lombardi's, Casa Roces, The Coffee Beanery (TCB), Lucia, Jeepney, Jalapeño and Wicked. Other than this, they also established Center of Culinary Arts, Asian School of Hospitality Arts and Epicurious. It was fate that brought the two together. It was during a trip to Australia that the president and CEO of The Cravings Group, Ms. Annie Guerrero and Ms. Badjie Trinidad, became acquainted with Phillip's coffee and just like any other, it was an instant love at first sip kind of thing. Finally TCG had found the perfect match to their delicious and famed cakes.

The first meeting progressed to the getting-to-know stage and it developed further into dates and into more exclusive ones as they discovered that they have the same ideals and roots and dreams. After many months of spending time uncovering details about each other, the inevitable has finally arrived. A partnership was created and I was so happy to witness the coming-together and union of this match made in heaven. The announcement of the union happened in Epicurious, a one-stop gourmet lifestyle store in Shangri-la Plaza's East Wing. Media, bloggers and celebrities were invited to witness the said coming-together of TCG and Di Bella Coffee.

A lot of people were already there when I stepped inside the establishment to take part in the event. More than the crowd was I drawn towards the food buffet table that displayed all sorts of sweets and savory treats that I could ever imagine! From clown cakes, quiches, pizzas, cake pops, tarts and pretzels, they all have it and more! And I am pretty sure I wasn't able to taste all of them as much as I wanted to! Nonetheless, those that I had picked up were all so good but among all desserts that the team of Chef Christine Paredes prepared, it was the cake pops, pretzels, chocolate bites and popcorn mess that I came back for again and again. If you found yourself drooling while looking at the photos of the wonderful treats above (which I bet some of you did!), you may visit Wicked in Shangri-la Plaza to taste more of these lovely delights!

After cramming in those lovely desserts on our plate, we immediately lined up to get likewise our coffee fix. Unlike my new-found blogger friend, Icia Ramirez, who had already tasted Di Bella during her trip to Australia a year ago, it was actually my first time to try their coffee. Drinking in the parting words of Phillip Di Bella during his speech, I made sure to try drinking their coffee without the sugar, which I honestly admit was my first time to do so. They were preparing three variants of coffee for the event, specifically Latte, Cappuccino and Americano, and I asked for some Latte first to kick off the night. God, was it the best coffee I have ever tasted so far! I adhered with Phillip's advice, by the way, to not put any sugar or creamer in it and I still found the coffee so creamy and so smooth that I was set to try another one after I finish the Latte. I was actually closing my eyes and savouring the goodness of it every time I took a sip. My golly, it was that gooood and this is coming from someone who is not a fan of the bitterness of coffee.

As promised, I got and tried another coffee variant they were offering and I decided to be bolder in my choice so I got the Americano the next time around. Wow, I was actually progressing much faster than expected! Again, the taste of the coffee was so smooth that I was actually contemplating on getting another one if not for the palpitations and ultra-alertness I was already experiencing after downing the second cup. But God was Di Bella Coffee worthy of any palpitations and insomnia! I now understand the addiction people have towards coffee!

Anyway, I ended up not having the third variant as my body is telling me that I have already reached my caffeine threshold for the day. It was actually a hard decision to make as I really wanted to taste all of their coffee. Nonetheless, there was no regret about not having to try their Cappuccino as I know that I would be able to get my coffee fix now, whenever I want, in all of Cravings Group restaurant chains - Cravings, Epicurious, Lucia Ristorante, Lombardi's, C2 Classic Cuisine, B&P, The Blackboard by Chef Michel and The Coffee Beanery (TCB) outlest nationwide. If you are into brewing your own cuppa, Di Bella coffee beans are now up on the shelf under Epicurious' BREW section.

The jar with pasta was actually presented soaked in a thermal bath. I got one for myself but lost it while I was talking with the other guests. Good thing Ms. Redge was so nice to give me hers as I was able to taste how great it was! Yey for accommo… — The jar with pasta was actually presented soaked in a thermal bath. I got one for myself but lost it while I was talking with the other guests. Good thing Ms. Redge was so nice to give me hers as I was able to taste how great it was! Yey for accommodating organizers like her!

Flatter My Senses was invited by the Cravings Group and Di Bella Coffee through Moist Communicates to grace the event. However, all opinions written here about the desserts, coffee and the overall experience are my own.