Boracay's Real Coffee and Tea Cafe for Calamansi Muffins

Eating certain food triggers fond scenes of things past. Strawberries remind me of the wild varieties we used to pick on our way to school during our brief stay in Irian Jaya (now West Papua), Indonesia. Yesterday my office-mate brought back from her travel what appeared to be ordinary muffins, but tasted unmistakably of calamansi (citrofortunella microcarpa, also known as calamondin or acid orange). That instant I was transported to Boracay's Real Coffee and Tea cafe, a small unpretentious dining spot tucked in a corner of Station 1, a few steps away from the madding crowd.

Calamansi muffin is the cafe's signature offering. It's quite tart, so I pair it with tea. The last time I was there, I chanced upon the owner, American Nadine Rosaia, who was quite the charmer--very warm, and she was wearing pink sparkly shoes. She said she has been serving coffee for 15 years, back in the day when Boracay was less harried. That day, December 27 of last year, marked the cafe's anniversary, and she still remembers pouring drinks to her first three customers. She let us (me and a couple who were engaged) in on the ingredients of her special coffee brew, saying she sources her ingredients from all over the world.

I can't wait to return.

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