Blenz Canadian Coffee Shop opened in June or July of this year at the Solaris One building along dela Rosa Street in Makati City. The barista at this cafe said they also have a branch in SM Megamall and another one in the Mall of Asia (or “MOA” as many here call it). I also walked passed by the Megamall branch one Sunday when I had a dinner engagement with my godfather and co-birthday celebrant Jun Bernardo; it’s on the second floor in the middle of buildings A and B.

Blenz was an alternative to Starbucks when I was living in Richmond, BC. They have good, premium loose leaf tea selections that they sold by the cup or by the bag. Unfortunately, the bag isn’t available in the Philippines. They also boast of handcrafted espresso beverages. I remember a Blenz cafe at the Fisherman’s Warf in Steveston, BC though it’s not shown on their website. I love going to the warf and Blenz is nicely located near it, a little bit on the left side of it. This is the only place I’d buy fresh shrimps and fish for me to cook for the many family dinners.

Though Starbucks has always been a staple cafe for me since time a memorial, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf as the bustling place for free wi-fi, I think I’ve found an alternative to Coffee Bean. This Blenz branch is only a 15 minute walk from where I live. It is neat, music isn’t that loud and there aren’t much people talking to the top of their voices because the others are doing the same thing. All the chairs are cushioned, unlike the two places I mentioned where the wooden chairs would make your bottom hurt after even just a ten minute sit. The coffee tables are nicely positioned so it doesn’t crowd people too much. Outside, there are about a dozen tables for the smokers.

The one thing that’s glaring are the dozens of electrical outlets waiting for laptop and notbook users to plug their wares when the batteries of their internet contraptions are dying. It’s like every wall has these electrical provisions, which is a good sign for people like me who still hasn’t jumped the 6-cell battery wagon for notebooks and netbooks. For any purchase, you get the WEP key to their free wi-fi access. Latency is a good 200ms with hardly any timeouts. Hmmm… do I now shift from Coffee Bean to Blenz?

I noticed that a few people who ordered while I was there writing this piece is a 65 Peso Cheese Roll the size of a 6-inch sub sandwich, looking like it was baked when served. I’ll make sure to order that next time. The only food I tasted was their ham and cheese sandwich – nothing fantastic but good enough for a breakfast meal.

I talked to the building guard and he said there’s free parking for Blenz customers at the back of the building, going in the driveway and banging a right at the backstreet. I haven’t yet brought a car to this place (obviously) but that’s a good thing to know.

Blenz will always be a permanent footprint in my personal history. I spent many evenings with my pianist-friend and choir musical director Lennie Cristobal talking about life and such. Sometimes, I’d spend it with another BC friend Victor Ganados or the three of us would eventually get together. When I’d go for my usual shrimp and fish buying spree, I’d make sure to stay half an hour at Blenz in the Fisherman’s Warf. It may not compare to my good experiences with Starbucks where business and pleasure mixed together; Blenz was purely for pleasure of banter with two good friends or some alone time.

Meet me at Blenz? Surely! It’s open from 6am until 2am M-F, and 12am Saturdays.