Kape tayo with Kape Tamu!
Coffee is essential. Everyone knows that — especially Danielle Cunanan, the person behind Kape Tamu. Spending nine years in the corporate world, she pursued different industries. However, despite the experiences she had gone through, her love for coffee was the only thing that remained constant.
Kape tayo with Kape Tamu!
Building Kape Tamu in a period of uncertainty.
According to Danielle, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a lot of changes in plans of her own and her family’s.
“Although I had a stable income from my employment, the need for additional cash flow became evident. Aside from that, the work-from-home setup gave me the leeway to actually look into different income-generating opportunities. With an empty commercial space available here in our condo, I grabbed the chance to rent it out and put up a business. And of course, there is no better product than coffee.”
The name, on the other hand, came around when she started thinking about the shop’s identity. She wanted it to be unique but inviting.
“It was my Kapampangan sister-in-law who coined the name “Kape Tamu.” It translates to “kape tayo” in Tagalog, or “let’s have coffee” in English. And, it really sat well with me as it is literally an invitation to my customers to have coffee, which is what I really wanted to convey.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired a lot of people to start up their businesses. Just like many others, it affected her decision in opening Kape Tamu.
“It was really the pandemic that triggered this venture into the coffee industry. Four years ago, I bought my own condo unit in Taguig. It has been a goal of mine to have my own property in my 20s. However, because of the recent events that brought uncertainty to me and my family’s financial stability, I made the difficult decision to let the property go. I only got 50% of my initial investment as a refund, which became my capital in starting Kape Tamu.”
Having one’s own business would mean that Danielle would have to face struggles of her own.
At the time, she had to juggle her full-time job while simultaneously manning the coffee shop on her own.
“Considering I was the only one manning the store, it was physically and mentally taxing on my part. By the end of January of this year, I decided to leave my corporate job to focus solely on Kape Tamu.”
Of course, that wasn’t the end of her struggles. As she ventured into the coffee industry, Danielle had to learn so much to let Kape Tamu prosper.
“Aside from that, learning about the coffee industry was also a challenge but the journey is actually a lot of fun. I only drink my coffee black. So, when I was developing my menu, I had to try different flavored coffee drinks from different shops to have a basic idea of what they taste like. It also did not help that I am acidic and lactose intolerant. So, there were a lot of days when I could not function properly due to the reaction of my body from trying out different recipes.”
Aside from developing coffee flavors, she also experienced a whole lot of pressure in making Kape Tamu thrive.
“There is also the persistent pressure of seeing other start-up coffee shops doing well. Considering I am the only one making the big decisions on where to steer Kape Tamu’s direction, it was easy to drown in the industry’s ever-changing trend. In the first several months, I felt stretched too thin on the things I wanted Kape Tamu to bring to the table. Throughout this journey, I have learned and am still learning, to really just take things one step at a time, and see other shops as inspiration, rather than competition.”
Kape Tamu and its unique flavors.
The coffee shop initially had only seven on their menu. Recently, they sent over four flavors that came from those original ones. These four flavors include Raspberry Mocha Latte, Spiced Dolce Cinnamon Latte, Golden Latte, and Cafe Latte. The shop releases additional temporary flavors depending on the season.
Cafe Latte has been a part of their standard menu ever since the store opened.
“It is one of the most basic and reliable coffee recipes. However, we take pride in our Cafe Latte as it is milky without diluting the taste of coffee.”
Raspberry Mocha Latte started off as Valentine’s Drink. However, it became a fixed menu item due to customer demands.
“The Raspberry Mocha Latte has a perfect combination of tangy (from the raspberry flavor), sweetness (from the chocolate), and creamy bitterness of coffee and milk. It was, and still is, a crowd favorite.”
Spiced Dolce Cinnamon and Golden Lattes are the coffee shop’s autumn offerings to coffee and non-coffee drinkers.
“Although our country doesn’t have the said season, we wanted to bring to the table something comfy and refreshing to match the ever-changing weather.”
“Spiced Dolce Cinnamon Latte is our coffee-based drink blended with the household “Autumn” flavors such as cinnamon, vanilla, and maple. It is sweet, and earthy, while still championing the nutty flavor of the coffee.”
“Golden Latte is our non-coffee drink that is basically a milk drink infused with different spices like turmeric and cinnamon. Both of which are actually known for their antioxidant health benefits.”
Of course, Danielle gives out a tip for those who would want to try these two flavors.
“Personal tip, these two flavors are best taken hot. However, our customers can also try to be experimental by having our Golden Latte iced with an additional shot of espresso – it’s really good.”
Despite the unique flavors from their menu, Danielle has a favorite.
“My go-to coffee drink is simply Iced Americano. Every time I visit a coffee shop, I only drink Iced Americano as it gives me refreshment while tasting the coffee without any added flavors. However, as a business owner, I am opening myself up to the flavored coffee market – which I actually find very interesting and fun.”
Of course, her favorites also change according to the season.
“Due to our ever-changing seasonal menu, my favorite drink in Kape Tamu also changes depending on the season. During the summer, we offered Black Citron Ade, which was our take on the orange espresso trend. Who would have thought that the tangy taste of lemon would go well with the nutty bitter flavor of coffee? It was all the more fun to have since we blended those flavors with soda water, for that extra pop.”
“For our Autumn drinks, it’s actually a tie between Spiced Dolce Cinnamon and Golden Lattes. I love cinnamon. I love it so much I actually add cinnamon powder to my black coffee when I’m feeling experimental. So these two drinks actually give me that sense of warmth and homey brought by the cinnamon flavor. These two relax me every time I drink it.”
Kape Tamu is an environmentally-friendly coffee shop.
As you’ve seen in my articles, I support anything that encourages sustainability. When Danielle sent over the fall drinks, I saw a passage on the bag that Kape Tamu’s new bottled coffee line remains a part of their conscious effort to be an environmentally-friendly coffee shop.
“Aside from providing support to our local coffee farmers by using locally farmed beans, we are also an eco-conscious shop. Last February, we decided to shift from using the typical plastic and paper cups (lined with plastic lining) to 100% plant-based compostable cups. We sacrificed having Instagrammable drinks (since it’s easy to post photos of IG-worthy drinks by using transparent plastic cups) and decided to use compostable but opaque cups.”
Danielle said that the decision became easy on her part. She has always believed that we, as people, can help assuage climate change with our small efforts.
”Kape Tamu may be small now. But, I am hoping that I can also inspire other coffee shops to make the change. These small collective efforts can have a massive impact on our environment. Aside from that, the store also provides discounts to our customers when they bring their own reusable cups/tumblers upon ordering. Although yes, our cups are now compostable, it is still a single-use resource that I personally like to minimize as much as possible.”
“The bottled coffee line, on the other hand, is part of our answer to the growing demand for bottled drinks. It is convenient and easy to deliver, especially since our store is located inside a residential property. We are still in the search of an environmental alternative that can provide the same convenience plastic bottle gives. Since we have yet to find that alternative, we can only encourage our customers to reuse and recycle our plastic bottles.”
Since Kape Tamu is inside a residential property, Kape Tamu isn’t as visible to the public compared to other coffee shops. Right now, they have joined weekend markets and planned to tape new niche markets to introduce their drinks, too.
For more information about Kape Tamu, follow their Instagram account from this link. So, what are you guys waiting for? Order now!
