While I was shopping at the Royal Subic supermarket at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, I noticed various brands of imported fine grind gourmet coffee on one of the shelves. One that I specifically remember is "Melitta Fair Trade Organic Gourmet Coffee". It's not cheap, with the "Sun & Moon" blend being $8.50 for 10 ounces/283 grams. Still, I had a desire to drink something besides the instant coffee I've been drinking. Since I don't have a coffee maker, I set out to find one.

Appliance Stores that DO NOT carry Coffee Makers

After visiting a few small appliance stores and two major appliance stores, I've almost come to the conclusion that Olongapo City is the instant coffee capital of the world. I only found two brands of coffee makers in the two major appliance stores and only a couple of choices of models. One brand is "American Home" and the other brand name is an oriental name that I couldn't pronounce and I can't remember.

The American Home automatic drip coffee makers resembled other coffee makers I've seen and even owned while living in the US. When I got home, I did a Google search for these coffee makers and guess what? I couldn't find them anywhere. The closest I could come was "American Home Appliances" in the American Home building in Quezon City (metro Manila), Philippines. My guess is that it's a locally produced brand and that the "American" part of the name is a misnomer, probably intentional.

Other Options

The American Home coffee makers are cheap. The only one I liked at the "Savers" store costs a mere 600 pesos (about USD $13.00). It will suffice until I can get a better one. It has a "built-in" coffee filter, so at least I don't have to buy any paper filters for it. I won't be buying it until June, however, because I'm strapped for cash until then.

One of my neighbors, whose family recently moved from California, told me that they brought their coffee maker with them because they knew they couldn't find any locally. He's a disabled ex-military guy, just like another neighbor of mine. They're both Filipino, however, so it's not like I'm being surrounded by other Americans even if both of them served with the US military.

My wife is returning to the US this month for a few months (less than a year). My oldest son's family (including our grandson) lives there and my son's paying for the tickets. Anyway, my wife always sends at least one "balikbayan box" every time she's in the US. This time, she'll be buying a better coffee maker.

One other alternative is to take a trip to Manila to find what I need or want. Because I absolutely refuse to go to Manila unless I'm going for some other reason (such as a trip to the American Embassy) and I seriously doubt I'll be doing that within the next year, Manila is not an option.

As soon as I have a coffee maker, and some gourmet coffee, I'll start writing about the gourmet coffee and let you know how it tastes. Of course, I'll be comparing it to the standard brands like Folgers and Maxwell House only at the beginning.

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