The province of Batangas has long been known for its exceptional strong brewed coffee known as the “Kapeng Barako”. That would make Batangueños more likely to be coffee drinkers than not, I presume. However, here in the city proper of Batangas, we’ve roughly got a few good ones which can really be considered as real coffee-brewing havens. Sort of ironic, don’t’ya think?

Anyhow, to my delight, I discovered a fresh sanctuary for caffeine-loving people which is located just around the community – a few blocks away from our ancestral (Lola Adelaida’s) home and a tread away from my work place – Jovita Café. Yay!

Despite this place being a newbie in the city (which recently opened last December 8, 2014), it’s pretty much hoarding its reputation at a high pace, and I bet it’s through their excellent service (always!),  the good ambiance, good food and GREAT coffee at the best prices.

OH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOOD FOOD!

Jovita Café serves a variety of breakfast, lunch, dinner meals that you can choose from. They got sandwiches, pasta, salads, cakes, starters, waffles, pancakes, and the list goes on! So far, here’s some of what I’ve tried:

Pancakes

I have a heart for pancakes since I am a breakfast person. I like to enjoy the first meal of the day much more than lunch and dinner itself. Now, this pancake, might seem like just an ordinary pancake but when you cut through – hello, Oreo cookies! You get this for PHP 60.00. Awesome.

Bolognese Pasta with Sausage

This one I love way too much. JUST WAY TOO MUCH. Loving its load of tasty meat bits, generous dash of (parmesan?) cheese, and the sausage cooked to perfection. Oh, love! I gotta say, for PHP 140.00, it’s more than what a single person can handle. Plenty! Hope it stays this way FOREVER!

Pesto Pasta with Bacon Roll

Now this here is also to ache for. Once again, with a generous serving of pasta sopping in basil, nuts, and olive oil (dunno exactly all of the ingredients used tho) topped with a piece of rolled bacon; an intense taste bud experience.

Baguette Pizza

This one’s brilliant and to some extent gives me a sense of nostalgia. When my sisters and I were younger, my mom would always surprise us with a pasalubong resembling to this pizza (which could be bought at a Bakery Stall at Citimart in Rizal Avenue at that time), only it had thinner bread and was longer than this.

This, though, is an awesome version. Just like a good ol’ classic pizza topped with green bell pepper, melted cheese, mushrooms and other delicious whatnots (help me out here, hehe) but with a fairly crunchy twist of the baguette bread sliced in half. It’s like having two slices of pizza. Thumbs up!

Blueberry Cupcake

Although I’m not much of a sweet-tooth, this cupcake here is also a delightful treat. They have an assortment of cakes and other pastries that you might want to try, too.

JOVITA COFFEE EXPERIENCE

Yes, strong brewed coffee spells Batangas City, but today where life tends to be on a fast pace, a lot of us don’t have that extra time to brew good coffee and just settle for something instant instead. Good thing here, Jovite Café makes good brews on the spot.

The downside is that I’ve been having the same coffee ever since I discovered this place but that’s just because every cup was worth having that even if this wasn’t on their menu (what they had was White Mocha) they were very generous enough to arrange one for a slightly fickle-minded customer like me –Café Mocha at PHP70.00. And aren’t these just the cutest latte arts?

 

Then just today, since it was a very hot afternoon, I couldn’t put up with a hot beverage so I opted for something cold on their JFrappe list; I had the Java Chips at PHP75.00. This one’s a mouthful of summer relief, pleasurable and wasn’t too sweet which is a plus for me.

 

And if these don’t make your mouth water enough, then you have to experience the whole place for yourself.

JOVITA CREW

Now these are the members of the gang who make it all happen. Being a regular customer myself, I can attest to how they represent the good traits of a true-blue Pinoy Batangueño – dedicated, hardworking and hospitable. To be exact: they do open doors for you, patiently wait on your order as you unsystematically (or even at a snail’s pace) decide on what you’re gonna have and, no, they DON’T roll their eyes at you (I’ve seen such scenario at some food chain before, t’was appetite-suppressing), they gladly answer your queries (well, o’course, as long as it’s relevant), provide you whatever you need (again, as long as it’s relevant) and even perk up your day by granting your special beverage requests.

*(sigh) All I can say is that this place makes a one less lonely Batangueña feel a lot more at home.