It was the most coffee I had ever consumed in my life!

So there I was, a non-coffee drinker in a coffee flight, and for a moment there I felt ridiculously giddy happy. I am at the launch of Plain Sight’s Oma Gesha, and after a glass of iced mocha and three tasting cups of these absolutely exquisite brews, I told myself, maybe I should be drinking coffee! Mwahahaha

First a disclaimer: My son-in-law, Sean Lee, is the founder of Plain Sight and my daughter Erika helps him run it. Our family has always been supportive of their launches and collaborations, but this is one of the few times that my daughter specifically asked me to come. I was curious.

Now a confession: This is the first time that I paid attention to a coffee presentation. So it was reassuring to hear Sean say, “Don’t overthink. It’s coffee.”

Apparently, this particular prized coffee comes from Gesha in Ethiopia, with Oma featuring notes of jasmine, peach, rose, orange zest, and pineapple. At P1,490 for 80 grams, this is expensive coffee. Naturally, I wanted to know: How does expensive coffee taste?

Fortunately, they brought in three guest brewers, all experts in their own right, to give three different interpretations of the Oma Gesha.

Ryan Uy used the Origami to bring out the Oma’s tea-like floral notes. Marion Pepico used the Aeropress for a brew with hints of orange zest and pineapple. Aey dela Cruz used the CT62 for a deeper, dark-berry brew with a taste of peach.

I loved watching the rituals of the brewers—the way they smelled the coffee beans, measured them, and prepared everything with care. Marion ground the beans manually. Aey brought her own water. Ryan poured in a slow, circular motion.

There was care and intentionality in every movement, and you could see how each brewer was trying to make something different out of the same coffee.

And the taste?

This was my first coffee flight, and trying to seek clarity in each brew was an interesting exercise. Of the three, Ryan’s was the most obvious to me. The floral notes in his tea-like concoction were apparent in appearance and taste.

I found the two other brews more full-bodied, but I had a harder time identifying the individual notes. A former colleague from the publishing industry, who now runs his own coffee culture shop, easily picked out the pineapple in Marion’s and peach in Aey’s.

Me? It was my first flight, I was out of my depth.

But not to worry. The coffee was good, the company even better, and I ended up spending my Sunday morning with a deeper appreciation for coffee and perhaps an inclination to drink more.

I came curious, left caffeinated, and quite possibly converted.