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No Membership Required: This Antipolo "Coffee Club" Welcomes Coffee Nerds, Casual Drinkers Alike
There's a drink for everyone here, whether you like it coffee- or milk-forward.
by Pao Vergara
Published on Jul 14, 2025
Easter Coffee Club
D’Olive at Eastland Heights, Alder Street, 1870, Antipolo City
Contact: 0918-911-6042
Instagram: www.instagram.com/eastercoffeeclub
Open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Monday to Thursday); 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Friday to Sunday)
(SPOT.ph) How far would you travel for a cup of coffee or a sandwich?
Cogeo, Antipolo, a residential district built on rolling hills at the Sierra Madre foothills, is around 30 kilometers from the heart of Manila and overlooks the metropolis as well as Laguna de Bay.
The area is known for hot springs resorts, tree sanctuaries, and similar nature-based retreats. Since Spanish times, enterprising Filipinos have established food businesses to cater to both pilgrims and picnic-goers to the area.
Today, many of these establishments serve both families on a weekend detox and biker groups seeking shade, refreshment, nourishment, and the conversation and bonding it all enables.
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The view overlooking this cozy "coffee club" on Alder Street, Antipolo. Photo by Pao Vergara.
The locals are lucky to have good food, and perhaps luckier to have their locale known for standout places, such as Easter Coffee Club near Marcos High-way, close to the entrance of Sun Valley estates. “And then there are places that, well, have a nice view,” quips co-founder and chef Edward (Ed) Bugia, making room for a pregnant silence followed by a roomful of laughter.
It’s a meme at this point: Coffee shops are a dime a dozen at highlands, not necessarily because the terrain is suitable to grow coffee but because having a nice veranda over a nice view can be a draw unto itself. Such a meme highlights how some simply want to cash-in on “view tourism” at the expense of food quality.
Spaces like Easter Coffee Club hope to change that.
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The store front. Photo from Facebook/Easter Coffee Club.
Easter Coffee Club in Antipolo
The recently opened coffee shop is brought our way by quite the trio: veteran chef Ed Bugia of Pino/Pipino, Bean and Yolk, and Flipside Burgers fame; his wife, marketing maven Trixie Esguerra; and coffee director Andi Trinidad whose projects include ABKD and Narrative Coffee Company under her belt.
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Coffee director Andi Trinidad (right), in her element. Photo by Pao Vergara.
“We wanted to invite coffee nerds,” shares Bugia, “but we also didn’t want to intimidate casual drinkers. That’s why instead of a café, we’re a club. Everyone’s welcome.” Esguerra adds that Easter also tries to source major ingredients from local producers. Trinidad meanwhile, shares that they hope to see connoisseurs giving sweet, sweet Spanish lattes a chance and casual drinkers eventually trying the more “intense” forms of coffee.
The Hills Are Alive With the Hum of Grinders
It was a rainy afternoon when SPOT.ph visited. Notice how after the first, earnest rainfall dividing the dry and rainy season, the timbre in the air changes? There’s more humidity, yes, but there’s also much relief from the worst of the dry season. It’s over, the drizzle seems to say; you can go cozy now. And it's the kind of atmosphere that invites drinking coffee and other hot drinks.
I went for the Cortado (P185/hot; all coffees are served 8 ounces), a Spanish classic coffee not found in many Philippine coffee shop menus likely owing to its 50-50 ratio of espresso to milk, which can be taxing to the shop’s bean supply and too strong for some palates.
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Cortado. Photo by Pao Vergara.
The house blend used comes courtesy of Trails & Traces, a Marikina-based roastery also supplying specialty coffee shops around the Metro. It's a medium roast that leans to the chocolatey (in contrast to citrusy), and has a bold mouthfeel and floral notes at the tops and sides of one’s palate—great stuff in a cortado as it's complemented by the full milk finish. There are also limited-edition roasts that visitors can choose from.
My drink paired well with the toasted, savory, and tangy Tamago Sando (P225) with ham, cheese, and egg tinged with vinegar and soy sauce—just the thing to balance its dominantly eggy profile, for that Japanese kick that’s come to define tamago sushi and omelettes. Alternatively, those looking for Filipino comfort will find it in the Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich (P265), which spotlights homemade chorizo, egg, and greens all sandwiched in a brioche bun.
Meanwhile, if you want rice as your carbohydrate, you’ll clean the plate down to the last grain with Easter’s take on Chicken Shawarma Rice (P295) where the chicken has a notably tallow-like glaze which adds an extra savory dimension. This is balanced out by the turmeric rice, homemade toum and chili sauce, and sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce.
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Some of Easter Coffee Club's food offerings, a standout of which is the Chicken Shawarma Rice (middle). Photo by Pao Vergara.
While the rain retreated into a drizzle, the mountain air kept the place balmy, and thus we couldn’t miss the “Cup Noodles” Ramen with Pork Belly Chashu (P425). Yes, the menu has quotation marks as the dish is served on a ceramic bowl with a cup noodle brand’s design. The broth here is actually a homemade interpretation of the handy, savory Asian comfort soup, with Easter’s version based on shoyu ramen which interestingly manages to capture—and elevate—the experience of cup noodles.
There's a very generous serving of the pork belly here—one wonders how Chef Ed managed to (re)create the distinctly “packaged” taste of packaged cup noodles from scratch! A Vegetarian version (P325) with mushrooms is also available; the only real cup noodle ingredient used here however are the noodles.
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“Cup Noodles” Ramen with Pork Belly Chashu. Photo by Pao Vergara.
Choose from their desserts to round out the meal. You can't go wrong with the Ricotta Toast with Roasted Strawberries (P245) sourced directly from Cordillera farmers—one of the ways they put into practice their goal of reducing wastage from the oversupplies that regularly hit the region’s farmers.
There was still coffee left, and this paired extremely satisfyingly with their Antipolo Suman Balls (P245). Once again, the suman is sourced from local producers, likely from the long-time hawkers surrounding the pilgrim-drawing Antipolo cathedral. It’s a distinct, classic flavor enriched by Chef Ed’s garnishes.
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Antipolo Suman Balls. Photo by Pao Vergara.
Easter: A New Beginning
It was during her first solo trip abroad in 2016 in Taiwan that Trinidad discovered the joys not only of specialty coffee—a genre of coffee that shares resonances with the slow-food movement, prioritizing quality over speed—but of the coffee shop experience as a whole.
Today, drawing from her Taiwan trip, she’s reading Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality, and its tenets, coupled with her experiences in the “many holes-in-the-wall cafes in one of the safest travel destinations in the world” form the ethos behind Easter Coffee Club.
“When you overhear a child [at] a table say she wants ice cream, imagine it being served even before the parents raise their hands," Trinidad muses. "That’s the goal. That’s what I experienced in Taiwan. Even when the barista was a world champion, they didn’t act high-and-mighty.”
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The coffee shop is named so as it opened on Easter this year. Photo by Pao Vergara.
As the pandemic settled in 2020, Trinidad had to close a coffee shop she poured her heart into. In mid-2024, while catching up with Chef Ed—Trinidad attended an entrepreneurship seminar of his, years back—the latter wondered aloud if Trinidad wanted to try again.
If the coffee was brewed and ready, so was the milk, steamed and frothy, yin and yang ready to blend, forming a distinct whole. Meanwhile, Esguerra had long-designed a bunny logo and brand bible and realized that it was the perfect motif for the shop being brewed by her husband and good friend. Thus on Easter 2025, Easter Coffee Club was born.
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Easter Coffee Club merch, featuring a bunny character designed by Esguerra. Photo by Pao Vergara.
It was a new beginning for the trio, and its seems they want to share that sense of “third spaces, community, the human touch, and starting anew” with their customers, whatever their level of coffee exposure. There’s no gatekeeping here, only a gate (or espresso machine) wide open.
Today, Trinidad notes how the pandemic ushered in a new market of bean-saavy homebrewers: “Back then, it was only baristas joining brewing tournaments, these days, there are a lot of new faces and it turns out they’re largely hobbyists!”
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Trinidad notes how the pandemic ushered in a new market of bean-saavy homebrewers. Photo by Pao Vergara.
As a coffee director, she doesn’t feel like it’s competition though. “The market’s maturing,” she smiles, “many share that they brew their first cup at home while they prefer to have their second, third cup at the cafes that inspire them.”
Because of that, Trinidad makes sure to have regular one-on-one meetings with the club’s staff to discuss better ways to meet and serve an increasingly educated and curious clientele.
With Easter Coffee Club’s eclectic fusion of Asian and Western-inspired dishes and specialty coffee, I can’t wait to return to try the rest of the menu and yes, I’d take the half-marathon drive (or bike ride, even) knowing treats like these await at the halfway point, set to nourish me for the homestretch ride.
I never paid much attention to sugared, casual coffees, as I preferred to get my sugar fix from full-on dessert, but maybe Easter Coffee Club might change all of that, making for a new beginning even for this wizened caffeine head.
(UPDATE: July 15, 2025, 12:43 p.m.): Easter Coffee Club has reached out to clarify that Andi Trinidad is with ABKD, not Deuces Coffee as was originally mentioned.
Pao grew up trying different cuisines and dishes thanks to grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles who cooked and served what they ate as kids from the provinces instead of what they thought kids should like. Pao came of age discovering the works and advocacies of OGs like Anthony Bourdain, Doreen Fernandez, Fernando Zialcita, Ige Ramos, and Ambeth Ocampo, to name a few. He hopes to play his part in continuing the mission.
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