Posted by Buffy and Naina (@ambivertcoffee) did not let multiple setbacks get in the way of them pursuing their passion in food and beverage. Buffy started Ambivert Coffee with a few partners via a small coffee cart at a restaurant in 2017. “However the restaurant we were in had to close down. I decided to revive it with Naina in 2019, and moved to a furniture shop in Makati early this year. We reopened our coffee cart two weeks before the lockdown, and we had to halt operations again,” shared Buffy. Unfortunately the furniture shop also decided to close down, as operations were affected by the pandemic.
“During ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), I would post online about the food and drinks we made, and people kept asking us if they were for sale. Since our physical store is not accessible, we decided to adapt to an online coffee delivery service that we operate from our home,” said Buffy. They started selling on Carousell in April and are looking at pivoting to a business model that focuses on selling coffee online.
Besides the usual black and white coffee, they have created nine drinks on their menu that includes their signature beverage “Think Biko”, their take on a beloved Filipino rice cake dessert. “We use horchata as our rice base, adding some coconut cream, coffee, milk, brown sugar, and to finish it off, a sprinkle of homemade latik (toasted coconut milk curd) as garnish,” said Buffy who makes the drinks, while Naina focuses on baking. They are expanding their menu to include pastries such as eclairs.
Being eco-conscious is still close to their heart, and the duo tries to be conscious as they operate an online delivery business. Buffy shares, “packaging has been a challenge! I chose to use glass over plastic, because I want people to be able to reuse our bottles for multiple purposes.”
Carousell Press 