There's nothing like sipping a cup of coffee, brewed with love, right after an epic bike ride with your friends.

Tucked away inside BF Resort in Las Piñas is Grouphug, an alfresco and bike-friendly speciality café that doesn't only serve good coffee and pastries, but also good vibes. It's run by members of Karpos Multimedia, your friendly neighbourhood events production company behind Wanderland, Karpos Live, and some of the most unforgettable concerts in the Metro. 

Like a lot of people in the music scene, the folks over at Karpos also faced challenges when the global pandemic hit. They looked into other ventures and pursued a longtime dream of putting up their own cozy coffee shop near home. It's done them wonders to say the least, drawing in creatives and cyclists (you can get a 10% discount off your drinks if you come on a bike!) from all over to get a breather and good ol' cup of Joe.

Bandwagon caught up with Grouphug's John and Issa Uy and Gia Palamos to talk about their comfy little nook down south, how they got started, must-try options, and plans for future events.

As you can tell, we really love it at Grouphug! What do you think makes it so special?

Issa: We really appreciate the kind words! I think in entirety, what makes it special is the approach we’ve taken in creating a coffee shop experience. On the onset, we’ve really made it a point to cultivate a warm, inviting space for people to hang out and try specialty coffee without the shadow of intimidation. It’s also a space where a lot of our interests come together.

Kids in the music scene know your family as the people behind Karpos Multimedia. Tell us, how did you make that shift from events to brewing coffee?

John: Among many others, the live events industry was badly hit during the height of COVID so naturally, the family had to divert into other ventures as well (Karpos Multimedia being a family business). Personally, mine just so happened to be a spontaneous, yet timely, fulfilment of my wife’s longtime dream.

Issa: It’s one of those stories where God just really aligned everything and it was just a matter of making that leap to simply start because the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. One of the main reasons we were able to do this is because of our partner and now Head of Coffee, Gia Palamos. She’s a dear friend and a seasoned coffee barista and roaster that truly completed the trio.

Have you always been passionate about coffee?

Issa: I think I got more into it during my freelancing days because I never had a permanent office space. I used to frequent coffee shops a lot so I really grew an interest in creating a space of our own.

One of the places we regularly visited was Exchange Alley Coffee House in Molito, Alabang. Our partner, Gia, used to be their longtime Head Roaster there and she’s really one of the people who got me into specialty coffee.

What is a must-try at Grouphug?

Gia: For coffee lovers, start with a Handshake (a sampler of a single shot of espresso, and a single shot with steamed milk). We change our partner roaster every quarter so it’s nice to sample the current offering available.

For bikers, cool down with a Pit Stop (espresso, tonic water, lemon). For non-coffee, try the High Five (Kurimu Kinako Vanilla ice cream, single origin chocolate).

Any plans on offering plant-based milk, vegetarian/vegan options, and meals in the future?

Gia: Milk alternatives, yes! It’s definitely in the pipeline.

Issa: We operate with limited kitchen space at the moment but we do hope to expand our food menu. Hopefully sooner than later!

(UPDATE 20/07): Grouphug now offers oat milk as substitute in their drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

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What kind of music is on the playlist over at Grouphug?

Issa: Many kinds! Our team loves changing it up depending on the time of day, the weather, or whoever’s on shift.

It can get pretty random—Mac Miller, Taylor Swift, Flu, NCT 127, Lizzy McAlpine, Joni Mitchell, PJ Morton, IU, Leon Bridges, Khruangbin, Red Velvet, FKJ, August Wahh… Truly too many to mention.

We also enjoy some classic hip-hop and R&B during closing.

Are there plans to hold live shows at Grouphug in the future?

Issa: We’re slowly inching towards that by inviting some vinyl DJs for our upcoming pocket events. Last time we had Abdel Aziz over and it was a really good time! We’d definitely love to mount more live gigs soon.

As we're nearing the middle of the year, what are your plans for the next half of 2022?

Gia: We plan to continue introducing and bringing in more coffee roasters in the neighborhood and are currently looking into offering more items on the menu that will encourage people to get into specialty coffee even more (i.e. pourovers!)

Grouphug is located at Hanmaq Food Plaza, J.B. Tan Corner E. Kalaw Street BF Resort Village, Las Piñas. They are also on Grab.