Are you a coffee lover? A tea lover? I love them both! That's why when my friend shared this with me, I didn't hesitate to sign up.
Last Nov. 27, I attended CBTL Sessions at their Trinoma Branch. It was their first coffee and tea workshop and I was glad I was able to get a spot despite being on the waitlist.
The event was from 2pm-5pm. I came in around 2:20pm, they were giving free coffee and a paper bag of goodies. We were asked to wait for the others and by 3, the event started.
First part of the workshop was an introduction of coffee and tea, second part was showing how to use their coffee machine.
It was fun trying out their different coffee and tea flavors. They showed us how to make an espresso, cappuccino, cafe latte, chai tea latte, and green tea latte. At the end of the session we were asked to make our own concoction and have it judge by their panels. Sadly, I wasn't able to have my coffee up for judging because I was a bit shy (one trait I should work on this year =p - then again, I did go to this event by myself so that's something? Haha.) Anyway, here is a photo of the drinks that the other attendees made.
Above was the machine that we used. You'd also be happy to know that each capsule contains actual tea leaves and crushed coffee beans. I tried making a cat - turned - bunny for my drink. I hoped that the taste was cute as the design but it was...not. Hahahaha.
And here's their video shoot for the event.
https://www.facebook.com/coffeebeanphilippines/videos/10153861974792094/?theater
It was a great experience!
CBTL Philippines - Facebook Page
Last Nov. 27, I attended CBTL Sessions at their Trinoma Branch. It was their first coffee and tea workshop and I was glad I was able to get a spot despite being on the waitlist.
The event was from 2pm-5pm. I came in around 2:20pm, they were giving free coffee and a paper bag of goodies. We were asked to wait for the others and by 3, the event started.
First part of the workshop was an introduction of coffee and tea, second part was showing how to use their coffee machine.
It was fun trying out their different coffee and tea flavors. They showed us how to make an espresso, cappuccino, cafe latte, chai tea latte, and green tea latte. At the end of the session we were asked to make our own concoction and have it judge by their panels. Sadly, I wasn't able to have my coffee up for judging because I was a bit shy (one trait I should work on this year =p - then again, I did go to this event by myself so that's something? Haha.) Anyway, here is a photo of the drinks that the other attendees made.
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| From CBTL Facebook Page |
Above was the machine that we used. You'd also be happy to know that each capsule contains actual tea leaves and crushed coffee beans. I tried making a cat - turned - bunny for my drink. I hoped that the taste was cute as the design but it was...not. Hahahaha.
And here's their video shoot for the event.
https://www.facebook.com/coffeebeanphilippines/videos/10153861974792094/?theater
It was a great experience!
CBTL Philippines - Facebook Page
Last Sept. 16 - 20, 2015 (This post is too delayed, I know. >< ) was another Manila Book Fair at SMX. This is the time of the year where book nerds gather to feed their book addiction. With 25%+ off in almost all books, what more could you ask for?!
There were the usual big book stores like National Book Store and Fully Booked, textbooks publishers such as Adarna and Christian Bookstore - OMF and magazine publishers. Kids books were everywhere and recipe books here and there.
Although I was tempted to buy a lot of fiction books and art books - I tried to restrain myself. Gotta save, girl! Haha I did purchase a watch book for my dad and a few inspirational and recipe book for myself. I tend to buy these types of books (excluding the recipe books - just bought them because they were cheap =P) during book fairs because I would most probably read them more than once. As much as I love fiction books, I won't re-read them if I still remember the story..which in my case, takes a while. And non-fiction books are harder for me to read if they are in e-book formats.
Here are the books I bought from MBF.
I love books. Fiction, self-help, inspirational, art - I love reading them. But I don't have that much time to read fiction books now than I had before. I can only squeeze in an hour or two, 2-3 times a week for reading books. That said, here are the books that I'm currently reading and just finished.
I finished reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project last month. She had quite a lot of tips/guidelines in starting your own Happiness Project. You can also start small first and gradually add things to your list. She calls them resolutions as opposed to goals...and as New Year's just around the corner...if you find yourself thinking of wanting to be happier than you are at the moment, you can start planning your Happiness Project now. You'll find that some of them are easier to do and some, harder. Be aware too that most changes will be changes that focuses on you. You don't change other's character, try to influence them by changing how you handle things, how you see things, how you act and speak. Change what needs changing, but don't forget to be you.
I'm currently reading, "The Life-changing of Tidying Up" and "All the Places to Go". I'm also thinking of posting at Nanorimo.
Nanorimo or National Novel Writing Month, happens every November of each year. People from around the world can sign up and write a novel for a month! The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
If you're interested to write your own novel, Nanorimo would be a good challenge to try! Do share us your story if you have already started or if you're thinking of starting! Write! Make magic~ xD
There were the usual big book stores like National Book Store and Fully Booked, textbooks publishers such as Adarna and Christian Bookstore - OMF and magazine publishers. Kids books were everywhere and recipe books here and there.
Although I was tempted to buy a lot of fiction books and art books - I tried to restrain myself. Gotta save, girl! Haha I did purchase a watch book for my dad and a few inspirational and recipe book for myself. I tend to buy these types of books (excluding the recipe books - just bought them because they were cheap =P) during book fairs because I would most probably read them more than once. As much as I love fiction books, I won't re-read them if I still remember the story..which in my case, takes a while. And non-fiction books are harder for me to read if they are in e-book formats.
Here are the books I bought from MBF.
I love books. Fiction, self-help, inspirational, art - I love reading them. But I don't have that much time to read fiction books now than I had before. I can only squeeze in an hour or two, 2-3 times a week for reading books. That said, here are the books that I'm currently reading and just finished.
I finished reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project last month. She had quite a lot of tips/guidelines in starting your own Happiness Project. You can also start small first and gradually add things to your list. She calls them resolutions as opposed to goals...and as New Year's just around the corner...if you find yourself thinking of wanting to be happier than you are at the moment, you can start planning your Happiness Project now. You'll find that some of them are easier to do and some, harder. Be aware too that most changes will be changes that focuses on you. You don't change other's character, try to influence them by changing how you handle things, how you see things, how you act and speak. Change what needs changing, but don't forget to be you.
I'm currently reading, "The Life-changing of Tidying Up" and "All the Places to Go". I'm also thinking of posting at Nanorimo.
Nanorimo or National Novel Writing Month, happens every November of each year. People from around the world can sign up and write a novel for a month! The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
If you're interested to write your own novel, Nanorimo would be a good challenge to try! Do share us your story if you have already started or if you're thinking of starting! Write! Make magic~ xD
St . Marc Cafe, brought by Ben Chan from Japan, is a Japanese Dessert Cafe best known for their signature chocolate croissant, Choco Cro. If you're from the North, you'd be happy to know that their SM North Edsa branch is now open! The cafe is located at the main building, upper ground floor beside Maisen.
I was too full to order the chocolate croissant so I went ahead and ordered their most simple shaved ice dessert, Kintoki Milk (P230), which consists of a scoop of azuki beans (anko - sweet bean paste) , condensed milk and vanilla ice cream. I would normally opt for the coffee, matcha, chocolate variants (Yes, I love my caffeine! Haha), but I wanted to let my mom try it out as well. End result for the 3 dessert spoon? 2 were left pristine clean because I finished the whole cup by myself! Not my fault since my mom took a while going to the grocery and my dad didn't like cold desserts.. = more for me! hahaha.
It was a bit too sweet for me though, but for those that like their sugar and can't sleep at night because of caffeine, you might like this one. =]
My dad tried their Cappuccino, and loved it. So do I (I took a sip as well. =p).
I'd love to try their Matcha Latte and Choco Cro next time I visit.
They also offer savory pastries, rice meals, and pastas.
The ambiance of the place is really nice, they have these cute little teacup lights, but the main selling point was their display case. Everything looked awfully good and sweet and you can't stop staring at them! I even had a hard time choosing which one I wanted to order because everything just looked so good. =D
Price is a bit pricey, but not surprising as they are being sold as a specialty cafe indulgence. You can always share an order with a friend or loved one..or better yet, buy 2 and try both! xD
Have you tried their desserts and pastries? Which ones are your favorites? Can't ignore some recommended flavors~ =3
Facebook: St. Marc Cafe Philippines

I've been reading blog posts from Bitsdiaries for a while now. Her posts are very informative, especially so for acne-related posts. And I was so glad to see that she's having a giveaway for the Pore Care Kit shown above! She also has a review based on her mom's experience with it. Do check it out here if you're also interested in joining!
Giveaway ends on November 16th. Fingers crossed!





