Guilt-free Coffee Indulgence
by Ria Fernandez, Southern Living, July/August 2008

I have yet to meet someone who does nor head straight to the pastry counter soon after entering a café. The exquisite tea sandwiches, the decadent cakes, the oversized muffins and rolls – how can one resist?

It was truly a delight to see all pastries properly labeled (including their number of calories) in Bona Coffee Company, the newest café in town. No more feeling guilty for women who are perpetually on a diet. Enjoy your favorite coffee and muffin in a low-fat, low-calorie, and sugar-free variety. The skinny mocha latte, for example is 180 calories with only six grams of fat – reasonably half the calories and fat content of its counterpart in other cafés. And take the BoNa official cinnamon bun. It’s all off 171 calories and seven grams of fat as compared to a regular cinnamon roll which can easily set you back by 813 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 55 grams of sugar! Amazingly, BoNa’s coffee, frappuccino, and smoothie selections, as well as its food menu, are just as extensive, colorful, and flavorful.

Bohemian Nation’s BoNa Coffee is proudly home grown by southern couple Luis and Candace Gonzalez. Well-traveled and enthusiastic coffee lovers as well as health buffs, the Gonzalezes wanted to create a local venue for this growing lifestyle. So they put together their favorite coffee houses in Trieste, Nairobi, Paris, Seattle, and Vancouver, and created BoNa Coffee Company using only 100% Philippine coffee beans from Benguet to Bukidnon. “Our coffee is excellent. It is fresh roasted daily. Our walk-in customers walk out believers. It’s rich, full-bodied, never bitter, and has warm caramel undertones,” enthused Betty Romero, BoNa’s marketing communications head.

The earthy and bohemian feel of the place coupled with the aroma of BoNa coffee and the fragrance of bran and cinnamon are enough to make you forget the stresses of the day. The seating layout, lighting, and the acoustics are so well thought of, conversations in the next table remain private. And for those who intend to have some quiet time with their laptops, the café is Wi-Fi ready at no extra charge!

Indeed, Bona Coffee Company did create a good following since it opened its first coffee house in BF Homes in 2006. Fast forward to 2008 with a bigger and brighter BoNa Coffee house in Westgate and like proud and expectant parents, Luis and Candace look forward to two more branches before the year ends.

As I bid farewell to the café’s good staff, I couldn’t help but whisper a grateful “thanks” for this sweet, quilt-free coffee experience.