Jonathan is what I would call the “reverse bartender.” He’ll listen to you. He’ll engage in small talk but in return he’ll serve you an upper. Jonathan Choi is the proprietor and head bean of Magnum Opus Fine Coffees, an artisan coffee shop located in the always-busy intersection between Aguirre Ave and Elizalde in BF Homes, Paranaque.
Jonathan recognized me from my days with the Hinge-Inquirer group doing a little (big-sized!) magazine known as m|PH. Yes I was famous before the Internet. JK!
In an article I wrote for 8list last week, I outlined the 8 reasons why ‘Magnum Opus’ is the definitive coffee geek’s haven in the south. for one, the Belgian Heartbreaker won me over:
I insisted on his personal take of a café mocha which was essentially an amalgamation of ristretto (quickly pulled espresso shot so it’s not watery), cream and molten Belgian chocolate all served in a short martini glass. The sum is a creamy, frothy tug of war between the jolt of an espresso shot and dark chocolate. This feeling is what the great Greek poet Horace refers to in his poem to Murena, ‘The Golden Mean.’
‘The Golden Mean’ was a Horatian ode that deconstructed the topic of ‘balance’ in the same way that the Dark and Light sides of ‘The Force’ must be kept in check.
On my first visit, Jonathan confirmed a suspicion about how I make coffee. I’ve postulated that my el-cheapo handpresso can pull a better shot of espresso than my relatively more expensive 16 bar espresso machine.
Tarry no further. Do have a read over at 8list.
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Magnum Opus Fine Coffees
115 Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes Parañaque.
+63939.920.0701
@magnumopusfc on Twitter and Instagram