APPETITE TALES: "Going Loony for Luna Cafe"

Taguig City Representative and Film/TV director Lino Cayetano pays homage to Pinoy food and coffee through his passion for his business—Luna Specialty Coffee!

In the world of film-making, it is almost unheard of that the role of “taga-timpla ng kape” would be given to someone as highly-respected as the director—but not anymore! I was fortunate to have Direk Lino himself make and serve me coffee (specifically, the Piccolo latte) as his way to warmly welcome me to his sweet hidden spot in NAC Tower along the 32^nd Street of Bonifacio Global City.  And by the way, if you are a coffee aficionado like Direk and I, check out this place where they serve the best brews which you will surely go crazy for. Promise.

Direk Lino offers me a seat in the counter as he enters and starts putting on the barista’s apron, “I am a huge fan of coffee,” he says grabbing two clean petite glasses from a shelf of many then turning to me with a big smile, “I consider myself very addicted to coffee and of course, consuming it. Alam mo naman sa [TV or film] production, normal ang puyatan kumbaga parang kulang na lang gawin mo ng tubig ang kape eh. Hahaha!”

“Before we put up Luna, I had a stint in Slice which is a bakery owned by my sister [Senator Pia Cayetano], which is just along Bonifacio High Street,” Direk Lino recalls as he grabs a handful of coffee beans from a small bag by the counter. “Slice was like dessert heaven and it was as if all kinds of pastries existed there. Of course, where there are desserts, there is—coffee!  So because of Slice, I saw the coffee-making process and I got interested. I said ‘I want to know more about this!’ ”

Behind Luna Specialty Coffee shop is the strong partnership between Direk and four dedicated business partners, who are big coffee drinkers as well. “We first thought, since we all love coffee, let’s take coffee classes and then open a coffee shop. Tapos an idea just suddenly inspired us to go out of the mainstream and create a coffee shop that is very Filipino in a classy way.”

“It took us about, more or less, a year to figure that out,” Direk Lino explains as he pours the readily prepared coffee into two petite glasses. “In the back of my mind, I want a Pinoy brand that does not need to show much on the media advertising or gimmicks, but rather, is focused on the innovation of the recipe and the taste – the quality. We do have a small market and we just spend all our efforts making sure that when one comes in and gets a taste of what Luna has to offer, yung experience niya magiging sobrang remarkable sa kanya that he or she would encourage others to come and try it too. Word-of-mouth pa rin ang pinaka-credible way of promoting, I think.”

Before we were about to continue the conversation, Direk Lino politely cuts in to serve me the coffee he prepared, “This is our hot Piccolo Latte in mocha [P120]. Try it!” It was a single ristretto shot layered with a small amount of creamy steamed milk. As we finished consuming what seemed to be like a “mini café latte,” with its balanced coffee to milk ratio at the perfect temperature we felt satisfied—but without the feeling of being bloated. “For busy people or people who can’t finish a full-sized latte, piccolo is a great way for them to start their day,” Direk Lino explains. 

“When it comes to coffee, we are very specific about proportions—acidity, flavor, body ng coffee. Sa commercialized coffee shops kasi di ba yung frappe nila minsan sobrang tamis, di mo na malasahan yung kape. Or kung hindi matamis, sobrang pait naman na hindi mo talaga fully enjoy,” Direk Lino explains.

As an example, Direk Lino offered me the best-selling Candycchino (P140) which comes in two Pinoy candy flavors: White Rabbit and Curly Tops. We chose to taste the White Rabbit Candyccino and much to our taste buds’ surprise, the drink wasn’t the typical frappe, but rather it maintains the flavor of real coffee with the ‘candy flavor’ swooping in as a pleasant aftertaste in every sip.

“Here’s the pride of Luna,” Direk Lino then leads us to watch Kenneth, their barista, prepare their signature product named Luna Brew, which is a Brazilian blend of beans, hand-dripped (also known as drip-brewing in the ‘advanced coffee connoisseur terminologies’). It is prepared by the method of pouring temperature-controlled water over freshly ground coffee beans. The coffee drips from a paper filter onto a cup that lessens acidity but the taste is surely bold enough to give you THAT jolt you look for in a cup of coffee.  

We all know that there are just so many coffee shops in town in the likes of Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, Coffee Bean, Figaro, and more, but just when you think that Luna comes in just like another kid in —think again. Aside from the high quality taste of the coffee and dishes developed by Luna, the experience inside the cafe brings you back to the Filipino roots and heritage, “See the red bricks, the wooden furniture and all the wall designs and lights?” Direk Lino points out his hand around the place, “Those were all inspired by Juan Luna’s house in Ilocos. And since I already mentioned it, we named our business after Juan Luna. And, Antonio Luna. Also, my father’s middle name is also Luna.”

In developing their brand (Luna Specialty Coffee) and all the products therein (mainly the recipe and menu), Direk Lino together with Dexter Estacio, his friend and business partner with a background in advertising, used a special formula derived from the historical Luna brothers Juan and Antonio, “Aside from both of them being Ilocanos and Ilustrados (just like the Ilustrados-inspired look and feel of Luna) Si Juan Luna, he’s a painter and a sculptor right? So one of the important characteristics we must have is creativity. Of course, we wanted to stand out from others. We also want to whip up dishes na hindi mo matitikman the same way sa ibang lugar. We aim for originality when it comes to the taste of our products, but still maintaining the Filipino promise.” One of the five partners Chef Dino Dizon worked on infusing Filipino flavors in the food that they feel should be paired with their hand drip coffee. 

“Another essential quality is consistency. It is really important. Like you can’t suddenly make one great corned beef tapa now and then the next one, hindi na ganoon kasarap as the earlier one. Di pwedeng iba-iba ang pagkakagawa,” Direk Lino adds, “Also in consistency we stick to what Luna stands for, we make sure that in every new product, new design or new idea we have, it has to be correlated with one another. For example, somebody told us, na since we’re a coffee shop, we have to also have cupcakes and fudge bars and all that. Kami naman when we thought of it, we said ‘No, that’s not Luna,’ so what we did is we added our All Day Pinoy Breakfast.

Despite their business being in the starting up level, Direk Lino with his four other partners have big dreams to break through internationally and make Filipino cuisine known and appreciated by the world, “Not only Luna, but also other Filipino restaurants. We’re not really competing with them, parang we support pa nga each other eh. Looking at our neighboring Filipino-owned restaurants, makikita mo talaga that we can stand side by side with international ones—there’s Army Navy, Recovery Food, Yellow Cab and more! There’s just so much potential within Filipino entrepreneurs.”

Whether it’s serving the people with great laws, helpful community projects, entertaining and inspiring television shows, or a great coffee time, Direk Lino makes sure he gives it his 100% excellence and dedication. “It’s all about the end-result. At the end of the day, it’s all about the finished product. Because yung process, ‘di naman nakikita ng customer yan eh. Hindi mo naman pwedeng i-reason out sa customer na ‘Walang onions kasi ‘di nag-deliver ng supply ng onions sa palengke kaninang umaga eh.’ Kahit sa production, ‘di pwedeng ‘Ay kasi na-late siya nang gising kaya di namin na-shoot yung scene na ‘to.’ Kaya I can be really strict or meticulous talaga when it comes to what I serve the people. Of course, I want them to have the best.”

And, here in Luna? Yes, you’ll surely be served nothing but the best! 

(This is a condensed version of my article published in IS 2013)