To UCC is to believe

From its origins in Europe to its modern fetishization in Japan, the siphon (coffee) brewer is as legendary as it is fun to have. Using high-heat, glass-based, double-carafe contraptions and a gas heater, brewing coffee from this machine is definitely far from ordinary.

Sadly, it’s now a rare treat as siphon brewing fell out of favor when espresso rose to rule the coffee-drinking world. In fact, when the coffee craze began here in the Philippines in the late ’90s, everyone (a slew of American coffee brands) got into espresso. Thank goodness, entrepreneur Hubert U. Young went against the tide — of whooshing espresso machines  — and introduced not just the Japanese-style coffeemaking (siphon) but also a Japanese brand to Americanized Pinoys — the Ueshima Coffee Company, popularly known as UCC.

 â€œI’ve always wanted to bring a foreign coffee brand here in the country, but it wasn’t until importation laws were liberalized in late ’90s that the coffee craze began,” Hubert relates. But unlike other businessmen who capitalized on American coffee brands, Hubert went in a different direction, rather country, that is: Japan.

“UCC Café is the coffee place I’d frequent during my trips to Hong Kong and Japan during the early ’90s. I was impressed with the quality and aroma of their coffee, and the way they prepare it (siphon method) is a different story. I saw the potential of the brand back then and I knew it would click here in the Philippines,” enthuses Hubert, who is a pioneer in bringing Asian food brands to our shores. He’s the managing director of Aji-No-Chinmi-Co. Inc., the same company which brought Crepes & Cream, Sakae Sushi, Aoyama Café, and Yamato-Pan to the country.

Bean there, Done That

In the mood for tofu: Mapo tofu rice meal with tofu cubes and ground pork smothered in a not so spicy sauce

Needless to say, coffee runs in Hubert’s blood. His proven expertise in coffee — the crop and manufacturing — can be traced back to the mid-’80s when he was working with Hills Brothers Coffee in San Francisco. And so, if UCC coffee exceeded Hubert’s standards, then Pinoy coffee lovers are in for a treat with its exotic blends — Blue Mountain, Kilimanjaro, and Sumiyaki. The coffee beans UCC uses come from the coffee belt in Central America. UCC Japan has buying offices all over. Once the beans are bought, the green beans are then shipped to Japan where these are roasted, blended, and packaged. That’s the reason why UCC is more expensive than the competing brands.

“We were selling for P110 a cup when Starbucks at the time was like P50,” says Hubert, who hastily thought of a gimmick to get the coffee-drinking crowd to take a sip of UCC.

“Since Filipinos love to eat breakfast, we took advantage of that and eventually owned the breakfast market by giving our loyal patrons free coffee for every order of the breakfast items,” shares Hubert.

It didn’t take long before the market started to appreciate what good coffee really is, and with UCC’s hotel lobby ambience, customers (consisting of suit-and-tie-types meeting over coffee) got hooked on UCC in no time.

But UCC is not just all about the happy cup. Aji-No-Chinmi-Co. Inc. positioned the local version beyond its coffee product origins and added a full menu to cater to food-loving Filipinos.

“The original UCC menu is very limited, but we added to it because Filipinos always look for something to munch on while enjoying their coffee,” shares Hubert.

Soon, the UCC kitchen started churning delish Japanese dishes with a twist. The adobo flakes spaghetti, lengua spaghetti, callos spaghetti, and seafood soup spaghetti tickled the Pinoy palate and got them to sit down and enjoy the full UCC experience with a cup of their favorite blend.

The omelet rice and curry rice are certified bestsellers. “At first, it was difficult for diners to try our curry rice because they thought it was too spicy. But once they tried it, it was love at first bite,” notes Hubert.
For dessert, don’t miss the halo-halo cake. The ube takes the form of the chiffon cake and icing. Sandwiched between the layers are leche flan, mung beans, macapuno, and caramelized banana. Served on the side is the nangkasuy ice cream topped with cornflakes. The halo-halo cake goes well with a cup of the Sumiyaki blend. The charcoal-roasted coffee smells good and has a strong body.

Coffee and the Citi

To thank their loyal diners, Hubert has partnered with Citibank in its Citi Dining Privileges program, which gives Citibank cardholders perks at select dining places like UCC.

Ongoing until March 31, cardholders can have the UCC cake of the day and eat it, too, with a free cup of UCC Special Blend with a minimum purchase of P2,000.

Citibank senior vice president Rio L. Mayuga is one of the loyal patrons of UCC Terrace Café. In fact, she gamely enumerated almost all of the best-selling breakfast items on the extensive menu during the interview. And her eyes glowed with the mere mention of the mixed berries French toast — toast cubes with strawberry ice cream and luscious blueberry topped with cream and drizzled with strawberry sauce.

“Our customer data show that UCC Terrace Café is one of the restaurants Citibank cardholders frequent, so this promo is relevant to them,” Mayuga explains.

What Citibank and UCC Café want to achieve in this partnership is for loyal patrons of UCC to frequent the resto, and that those who have not tried UCC will come because the Citibank Dining Privileges is simply too good to resist.

In fact, aside from free coffee, Citi cardholders also get to enjoy 25-percent off on the main dishes on weekends, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., starting tomorrow, Jan. 18 until March 31.

“The promo is applicable in all UCC branches. Aside from giving Citibank cardholders discounts and freebies, we also offer the Best Deal Guarantee. If our cardholders find a better offer from other credit card providers at participating outlets, we’re willing to make up the difference,” adds Mayuga.

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UCC now has 22 branches in the country, with three more to open this year.

The Citibank UCC 25 percent discount promo is applicable on regular priced dishes. Discount is not valid in conjunction with other discounts, promos, service charge, merchandise, coffee, dessert, breakfast and set meals.