As a stop for your caffeine and sugar fix, Kapihan shines as JSEC’s sole coffee joint for this school year. The Matteo Up-based stall boasts a distinctive variety of caffeinated beverages and crepes both sweet and savory.

Taste

Umaga, the stall’s bestselling drink, is a mild, creamy cold brew with liberal amounts of full-cream milk and enough caffeine to wake you up. Thanks to Kapihan’s signature coffee ice cubes, this milky concoction retains its rich flavor long after it’s served. Its generic latte taste is refined by the stall’s selection of syrups—hazelnut, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel—making each cup a unique sugary blend. Overall, Umaga gives a slightly sweet twist to its stronger counterparts on the menu: The Hapon and Gabi.

It may be best to stick to Kapihan’s caffeinated beverages, though. Tsoko, a blend of cacao powder, milk, vanilla, and chocolate syrup, has just the right level of sweetness, but hardly differs from any other cup of chocolate milk. Similarly, the Milo Dinosaur was a bit troublesome to consume, with the heap of Milo powder drowning out most of the milk with its contrasting bitterness.

Drinks aside, Kapihan also offers a range of delectable crepes. Among them, Saging perfects the balance between fruity and sweet, with ripe banana slices melding indulgently with sugary whipped cream and Nutella. For the more serious sugar enthusiast, the melt-in-your-mouth Krema would be the better pick for its decadent cookies-and-cream flavor. However, the S’mores crepe relies a bit too much on whipped cream that overpowers the graham and marshmallows, causing neither ingredient to stand out, unlike the other two crepes.

Nonetheless, Kapihan’s menu showstopper would definitely be its savory crepe line. Spam, a light crepe filled with fluffy scrambled eggs and juicy luncheon meat, warms the stomach like a good homemade breakfast. Spinach packs a healthy punch with its mix of vegetable flavors. Its citric cream cheese flavor and succulent mushrooms help neutralize the garlicky spinach. Lastly, Sausage combines slices of hungarian sausage with nori (i.e., seaweed) and Japanese mayo. This daring delight just works as the toasty nori brings out the smokiness of the sausage and the richness of the mayo.

Concept

Beyond its diverse menu, Kapihan takes the game a step further by promoting the country’s local coffee scene. Apart from the Filipino names of its products, the stall serves barako coffee, a variety uniquely grown in the Philippines. Kapihan also continues to bring new things to the table, including its coffee ice cubes and its unconventional selection of savory crepe ingredients. These innovations show just how the stall manages to stay true to its local roots while brewing outside the box. 

Value for money

Kapihan’s Php 80 to Php 90 price range for beverages is justified by their substantial serving size. The sweet crepes are also hefty desserts for the low price of Php 50, while the savory ones are heavy snacks at just Php 80. The drink and crepe combos range from Php 130 to Php 160, which are also relatively standard JSEC rates for combo meals. The stall certainly offers affordable options without sacrificing size and quality. 

Final verdict

Apart from coffee ice cubes and an accessible location, Kapihan hardly differs from other cafés along Katipunan. But its array of crepes certainly make up for this with uniquely filling combinations at student-friendly prices. Overall, Kapihan is a great go-to stall for a caffeine fix, a sweet treat, or a filling snack to get you through your next class.

Rating: 4/5

Editors’ Note: In the interest of fairness, Vantage writers only reviewed food that was offered by the stalls during their respective taste tests.

Photos by Paulina Singh