A Dream of Coffee and Sage

Within a burgeoning local café scene, Sage Day Coffee in Pampanga brings with it a deep dedication to the craft of coffee and the fruition of a decade-long dream.

by Ysmael Suarez
January 3, 2023

This is an excerpt from Art+ Magazine Issue 88. To read the full story, get the latest issue available on collectibles by artplus, Shopee, and on select stores of National Bookstore and Fully Booked.

The next time you find yourself driving down MacArthur Highway in San Fernando, Pampanga, whether you’re in search for some holiday grub or extra parols, keep a look-out for a sage green facade sticking out amongst the gray concrete buildings that string the highway.

This leafy-hued corner is Sage Day Coffee, a new café that has distinguished itself as a local purveyor of quality coffee. Owned by long-time college friends Jessica Panganiban and Jamie Chu Choc, the café has been open for only half a year but is already brewing quite a name for itself. I paid a visit to the duo to talk about their coffee journey, Kapampangan tastes, and how the café’s name came to be.

A Welcoming Abode

Sage Day Coffee welcomes customers with its eager and colorful ambience, with an open-style coffee bar where you can see all their equipment and tools in display—from cutely designed to-go cups and ceramic mugs to the dazzling La Marzocco machine and grinders. This layout puts coffee making at centerstage, so much so that you can even take a seat at the bar if you’re curious to watch their baristas work.

The space is bright, thanks to their mostly glass storefront, sunlight beams in from morning to late noon. Not that the interiors need the added vibrance, with a mix of wood and white wall detailing, along with a vivid terracotta accent wall, the space evokes a serene yet playful character.

A Revisited Dream

For its founders, the café is the fulfillment of a decade-long ambition. “It’s been our dream since college,” Chu Choc shares on opening the café. Avid coffee lovers since they were students, the pair started their interest in coffee spending an excessive time studying and hanging out in cafés in Manila—as most college students do.

Brewed for the Local Palate

Sage Day Coffee brews its drinks with Yardstick blends, mainly their Golden Ticket blend. This comes as a full circle moment for the founders, as it was visiting Yardstick back in college that widened their perspective and deepened their knowledge of coffee brewing.

One of their signature drinks, the Coco Latte, was inspired by one of Jessica’s local vacation trips. The use of coconut jam brings a rich sweetness to the drink, one that isn’t overwhelming to the espresso’s taste. The Honey Lavender Latte, a personal favorite of mine, uses lavender-infused honey as its sweet component, giving the drink a mellow floral taste.