Filipinos are avid coffee drinkers. They flock coffee shops for chatting, meeting new people, enjoying the scenery and drinking a good cup of coffee. Coffee shops are not just stores, but emblems of a good coffee experience. Amidst the many coffee shops all over the country, here are the top ten Philippine coffee shops that have served as a favorite hangout and coffee drinking place for Filipinos.

• Starbucks

In Metro Manila alone, Starbucks has about 135 branches and continues to grow stronger as the dominating coffee shop in the country. They have become a household name and have experienced a boom that remains to be the standard for most of the other coffee shops that followed after their success.

• Gloria Jean’s

Personalized service, fun coffee flavors and strategic locations (as one of the awarded foreign franchises in the country) make Gloria Jean’s stay at the top of its game as one of the country’s best coffee shops. The store atmosphere is also excellent and they maintain a loyal following. The Chocolate Macadamia Coffee is a local favorite.

• Figaro

This Philippine-based company is known for keeping up with their customers, more recently for their health conscious market. They are able to be at par with other foreign coffee shop franchises and maintain their name as one of the respected coffee shops in the Philippines.

• Bo’s Coffee

Bo’s Coffee Club is a very high-end coffee shop that has services and product tailored to suit the needs of high society coffee drinkers. They maintain excellent service and product done in good taste, literally and figuratively.

• Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has a very clean ambience, innovative coffee mixes and really good customer service. This makes them one of the frequented places for coffee and chilling out. Flavorful, reasonably priced and scenic, the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf stores continue to draw in the coffee-loving crowds.

• Seattle’s Best Coffee

The smooth taste of Seattle’s Best Coffee has appealed to Filipino taste buds. Their smooth and flavor-filled coffees are often partnered with equally sumptuous meals that engage the taste buds. Their pastries and pasta are equally delicious and keeps customers coming back for more.

• Café de Lipa

It started out as a local café in Batangas that catered to its customers who already have a heritage and liking for the famous kapeng barako. After almost two years (exactly 21 months) of successful business in the local branch, they branched out to the mainstream market in Manila and became one of the most frequently visited (and consequently, blogged) coffee shops in the Philippines. They have branches in SM Mall of Asia and Market, Market.

• UCC Café Plaza

The Euro-Japanese fused food, free wi-fi internet, and various café concepts makes the UCC Café Plaza a very trusty hangout place for Filipinos. They have several branches in the country and eight other Asian countries. They have a very simple layout but favorable quality.

• McCafe of McDonalds

McCafe has gained a following for the quality of their coffee, although not for the ambience as a hangout spot for the elite. They are often found in most of the McDonald’s branches, making them the most accessible among other coffee shops in the country.

• Café Capreal

They are the only coffee shop in the country that has sugar free products--ideal for diabetic coffee lovers who still don’t want to give up on coffee. They have reasonable prices although they only have a single branch in Retiro.