When Makati turned into a playground for curious caffeine chasers

Let’s be real, coffee festivals tend to be an endurance test for coffee lovers eager to immerse themselves in the broader scene. You arrive intending to have one cup, discover 20 things you have never heard of, and leave several hours later wondering whether your bloodstream is now technically coffee. So think twice if you’re only there to exhibit your performative tendencies.

Coffee Plz 2026 leaned into that curiosity, returning to Ayala Malls Circuit in Makati with a larger mix of Philippine and international roasters, matcha makers, bakeries and equipment brands.

Now on its second edition, the festival carried the theme “A Festival for the Curious,” an idea made fairly easy to understand once visitors began moving between booths and sampling drinks. The 2026 lineup included participants from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, alongside local names such as Bodega Coffee Roasters, Escolta Coffee Company, Good Cup Coffee and Yardstick Coffee.

Its tasting-token system allowed visitors to purchase 30- to 50-milliliter servings for P100, making it possible to try several coffees without acquiring the kind of full-cup collection that eventually requires its own carrying case.

The festival occupied the Activity Center and Breezeway, with sections devoted to equipment, international participants, matcha and Philippine roasters. The Philippine National AeroPress Championship was also held during the weekend, while talks, music and DJs supplied the necessary evidence that coffee people are capable of remaining awake for three consecutive days.

Matcha had a noticeably larger presence this year. Merchants including 16 Matcha, Jacque and Matcha, Matcha Tokyo, The Matcha Co. and Yōka Matcha joined the lineup, which gave visitors an alternative to the increasingly elaborate ways in which coffee can be consumed.

Jacque and Matcha also worked with Maya on a Signature Drink served at the Maya booth. Maya Black, the festival’s co-presenter, offered cardholders up to 10X Maya Miles on qualified purchases at participating merchants, while Maya Wallet Cardholders could receive 1 percent cashback under the event promotion.

The Maya booth also offered a Coffee Tasting Stub for a Signature Maya Drink made with either Jacque and Matcha matcha or Yardstick coffee.

Beyond the booths and promotional mechanics, the three-day gathering had the agreeable disorder of a good food market: people wandering, comparing notes, changing their minds and returning to something they had spotted earlier.

A festival like this does not require everyone to become a coffee expert. Sometimes the achievement is simply discovering a drink you did not know you wanted, buying a bag of beans you cannot yet pronounce, and going home sufficiently caffeinated to reconsider your life choices.