There are places in Metro Manila that are technically not that far away, but somehow they always end up feeling like they require a passport. Unfortunately, BF Homes is one of those places.
I actually grew up in the city, so this is admittedly a little embarrassing for me to say. But even I need a reason to go all the way down to one of the south’s most well-known neighborhoods. That can be a dinner reservation, a birthday, a friend who keeps insisting, or maybe a very specific craving.
Coffee, normally, doesn’t make that list because there are cafes everywhere—good ones too. If I want an Americano, I can always find one within a few kilometers of wherever I happen to be. So why would I voluntarily spend the time getting to BF Homes just to sit down with a cup of coffee?
That was the question I had in mind when I made my way to The Black Bean along J. Elizalde Avenue.
Things Go South for The Black Bean
The Black Bean, though, isn’t new to the coffee conversation. They originally established their roots in Makati, but the pandemic forced them to close up shop. It was in 2022 when they decided to open the aforementioned BF Homes branch.
That move south changed their proposition entirely. In Makati, a café can easily become part of your route—somewhere you stop on the way to work, between meetings, or while wandering around. In BF, at least for someone like me, The Black Bean feels less of a convenient stop and more of a destination.
And if I’m going to make the trip for a cafe, I want that cafe to give me a reason to feel like I didn’t just make a very elaborate coffee run. Fortunately, The Black Bean came prepared with a menu that makes ordering just one thing feel like a failure of imagination.
Coffee That’s Not Playing It Safe
I started with the Barista Special Apple Pie, which, as the name suggests, sounds less like coffee and more like something I should be eating with a fork.
Instead of a golden crust, though, it’s an aerocano made with the warm, sweet, and spiced profile of apples and cinnamon sugar. An aerocano is already a fun little trick: espresso and water transformed into something almost creamy through aeration, but this iteration takes that relatively straightforward variation and pushes it into dessert territory—which isn’t something to complain about.
Next up was their Matcha Strawberry Cream Latte, which arrived looking almost too pretty to drink with pastel pink cream on top, vibrant green matcha in the middle, and a bright pink strawberry-flavored layer at the bottom. Once mixed, the three layers blended together into a smooth, creamy drink that was both sweet and rich.
Then there was Cereal Dater, a playful espresso and oat milk drink that fully leans into dessert-like qualities with sweet foam and generous clusters of cornflakes on top. While it may sound ridiculous on paper, espresso and oat milk serve as sturdy foundations for a drink that’s clearly meant to be silly.
A Cafe Worth Going Out of Your Way For
At this point, I realized I had stopped measuring the experience with distance.
Maybe because The Black Bean offers the kind of menu that makes a visit feel more deliberate with drinks that I wouldn’t order during a quick coffee stop. An apple pie-inspired aerocano, a three-layered strawberry matcha, an espresso drink topped with cornflakes—there’s a sense of curiosity built into the menu that makes the visit feel less like a routine caffeine run.
For regulars in BF Homes, of course, that distance doesn’t exist. The cafe is simply part of the neighborhood, another familiar place to grab a drink or spend an afternoon. But for someone coming from outside the village, getting there takes a little more effort.
And that effort changes the way you experience a place, because when you go out of your way to get somewhere, you tend to linger a little longer, pay a little more attention, and hope that the place gives you something to remember.
While I can’t promise that the drive to BF Homes will be easy, The Black Bean does make the effort feel worthwhile with something that you won’t necessarily get from cafes just around the corner; giving a solid reason to make the trip in the first place.
And sometimes, that’s all you really need from a destination—not convenience, but a reason to go.
The Black Bean is located at ServeQuest OneEighty building, 180 J. Elizalde Avenue, corner Concha Cruz Dr, Parañaque. As well as a branch in Legazpi Village, Makati.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Black Bean is located at ServeQuest OneEighty building, 180 J. Elizalde Avenue, corner Concha Cruz Dr, Parañaque. They also have a branch in Legazpi Village, Makati.
The cafe offers creative drinks including the Barista Special Apple Pie, an Apple Pie-inspired aerocano; Matcha Strawberry Cream Latte; and Cereal Dater, an espresso and oat milk drink topped with sweet foam and cornflakes.
No. The Black Bean originally established its roots in Makati before closing during the pandemic and opening its BF Homes branch in 2022.
Its playful menu goes beyond conventional coffee drinks, incorporating dessert-inspired flavors and unexpected ingredients to make the cafe feel more like a destination than a quick coffee stop.
