Espresso Dreams: Back in the Dooms

In daydreams I go back to Negros Oriental – the hum of the waters in Valencia, the beaches of Siaton and Guihulngan, the vast foliage expanse of Bais and Tanjay, the rustic charm of Dumaguete City, the spectacular marine life of the famed Apo Island … and a whole lot more.

But what identifies a mere tourist from a true habitué is the je ne sais quoi of Doomsville, term of endearment for those who call Dumaguete City home, or at the very least, have an intense love affair with the city.

Doomsville is a pleasant brew of the old and the new, an intermingling of the quaint and the fashionable, a mélange of the naive and the urbane and once you enter its realm, you’ll forever be in its thrall. Another thing that made people silly about Dumaguete is the whole café culture.

The café landscape of Dumaguete runs along an age barrier. The high-end coffee shops, like Coco Amigos, Mamia’s and Don Atilano, have the older generation as clientele. Here, you can observe glamorous albeit near-senescent women sitting around chatting about their apo’s, their haciendas and generally, times past; and it caters to expats too.

The other café scene is for the younger set, and can be categorized into three. First you have coffee shops for the non-smoking and the less adventurous kind. Lee Cimballi, Dunkin’ Donuts and Cafe Antonio to name a few. Here you can see students studying hastily for their next-hour-exams, or just folks who fancy ‘people-sighting’.

Second is the daytime café, where college studes and young professionals trot busily in and out, drowning their somnolent carcasses with caffeine. They also use this chance to temporarily get their minds off academic stuff and deadlines, to sip barako’s, eat quesadillas, play cards, sit together to chat, or simply, just to chill out. (Sted’s and Dumaguete Travel among others)

The ritual continues throughout the day, and soon, even the observer, becomes an integral part of daily routine. And with the setting of the sun, the scene changes into the night café culture of bars and rum-mills, giving a boost to sundown fun in the city. By this time, coffee is usually accentuated by a dose of alcohol, and more often than not, with a pack of smokes. No, more packs of smokes. Thus begins a relaxing and extended night with friends.

My history as a coffee monster stems from this small, unpretentious coffee shop along Silliman Ave called Cafe Memento. And true to its name, wherever one goes, one carries with him the memories and the home-ness of Doomsville.