Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, Bea Soriano-Dee and Nico Bolzico Usher In A New Generation Of At-Home Baristas

Being stuck at home during the quarantine has made people do things they never imagined they would. By staying home, they have discovered and perfected skills that turned them into a chef, baker, plant parent, and more. But aside from these discoveries, they have found out that they could also be their own barista with the perfect cup of coffee made at a touch of a button.  

To help more people level up their coffee-making skills at home, Nespresso held its first-ever At-Home Virtual Café to launch the Be Your Own Barista campaign, aiming to inspire coffee lovers to indulge in Nespresso moments through easy café-quality coffee. The event was hosted by Chico Garcia along with other at-home baristas, such as entrepreneur, Nico Bolzico, co-founder of Sunnies Studios, Bea Soriano-Dee, and private dining chef and restaurateur, Happy Ongpauco-Tiu.

Patrick Pesengco, the Chairman and Managing Director of Novateur Coffee Concepts Inc., opened the launch by sharing that “Nespresso aims to delight our customers by providing premium coffee experiences and a drop of extraordinary everyday, like today. This is what the Nespresso lifestyle is all about—sharing special, authentic moments everyday.”

How They Enjoy Their Cup of Nespresso At Home

Nico Bolzico

Whether enjoying alone time or creating new memories to cherish with the family, each day is something anyone can look forward to with the perfect cup of coffee. Nico shared, “I get a sort of peace,” when inserting coffee capsules into his Nespresso machine, which he fondly calls “Rebecca.”  Hearing the sound the machine creates while looking after his daughter Thylane gives him a sense of calm.  “Quarantine allowed me to spend time with my daughter.  If I were to choose a year for a pandemic, it would be this year.  If this had not happened, I would have missed so many moments with my daughter,” he revealed.  

Knowing that many are anxious these days, Nico shared his personal method of keeping calm and focused, “In the balcony, I’ll take 15 minutes every day to sit outside, imagine that I am in my farm, and meditate.  Of course, it’s with coffee.  That happens through the day, and if I have my coffee, it’s relaxing,” he said.  Along with this, Nico advocates for structuring your day and keeping a well-zoned living space in order to keep the work-life balance in a quarantine situation where most activities are now taking place at home. 

Still, he sees the positive in these trying times.  Nico shares, “[We] remind ourselves that we are the lucky ones.  We have a roof [over our heads], we have food. The baby is 7 months and a half, and everyday, she would do different things.  She’s really the most important thing in my life.”

Bea Soriano-Dee

Like Nico and the rest of us, Bea is also experiencing most of her activities at home, but  slow living is what Bea enjoys these days. She shared, “Prior to this pandemic, my life was full of traffic.  But now, I get to fully enjoy the day  I get to enjoy the morning, sit down in a quiet place and focus on what my day would be like.”  

She has established a home routine which includes an activity that she makes sure she includes: reading books.  “I love reading books.  I have to learn something everyday, and every good book deserves a good cup of coffee,” she shares.  Currently, she is reading Ways of Seeing by John Berger, which discusses the various ways of looking at art.  

An accomplished entrepreneur behind the Sunnies brand, Bea underscored the importance of discipline in keeping a consistent area where you can work.  “[Create] a space that helps you create the mindset.  For example, for me, I know that when I’m at my small desk, I need to work.  That helps me keep focused,” she shares.  

Her Nespresso Lattisima Touch is a gadget that helps her enjoy breaks between all the demands at home these days.  “With the pandemic, I’ve gone out of the home twice.  I love milk-based coffee so much.  When I heard of the Nespresso Lattisima Touch, I was like, ‘Yay!  I can finally get that café-quality coffee in the house without having to leave the house.’  I super love the well-designed machine, and I love that it can do all sorts of things.  I have already asked them if we can put it in the Sunnies office in every corner,” she revealed.  

Despite the woes experienced by many during this time, Bea shared that it has given her the opportunity to appreciate so much in life.  “I’m a working mom, so I don’t really see my kids.  Now, I see them and I see how they interact with classmates and friends.  We never got to dine together.  Now, we have breakfast, lunch dinner together.  That, to me, is really the value of quarantine.”

Happy Ongpauco-Tiu

Happy, who takes care of her family and businesses, gets a much-needed energy boost from her Nespresso coffee, and shared, “I am busier now.  I have four kids.  Four boys.  It’s crazy!  In the morning, I need my coffee right away just to wake me up.  In the morning, I have my coffee right away.  I manage my business from home, and manage my family of four boys plus my husband.  I am definitely busier now than before.”    

Just like Nico and Bea, Happy makes sure that she takes breaks in order to keep her numerous responsibilities balanced.  She also stressed the importance of creating a dedicated space for work and for relaxation.  “It’s all about creating your space...   I have this area in my home, I have a coffee area.  Pre-COVID, when I used to meet people in cafes, for some reason, the aroma would stress me out immediately.  But within the context of home, it has changed so much.  I don’t have to go in a café anymore.  I can just go to my coffee cart and have my coffee,” she said.

There's A Nespresso Machine For Every Preference

Supporting this, Melissa Roque-Valdez, Marketing Head of Novateur Concepts, Inc., shared the inspiration behind the brand “to enable anyone to create the perfect cup of coffee at home conveniently and consistently.” This is made possible by Nespresso through a wide variety of smart and stylish machines and hand selected coffees from the finest 1-2% of the world coffee beans that can suit any preference:

Despite the challenge of getting barista-style coffee from coffee shops during the quarantine, Nespresso has solved cafe-quality coffee cravings at a touch of a button.

Thankfully, getting a Nespresso machine is just as easy as crafting the perfect cup of coffee. Head over to nespresso.ph, the Nespresso Boutique at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, or any of its pop-up stores around the metro today until August 20 to avail of the 30% savings on machines. Customers can also enjoy 0% installment up to 6 months via credit card and get a complimentary Aeroccino 3 with a purchase of 30 Nespresso coffee sleeves during the 3-Day Ultimate Weekend from August 28 to 30, 2020. Finally, as part of the promotion, those who will purchase a Nespresso machine along with coffee sleeves will also get a chance to bring home premium gifts.  

With innovatively stylish machines, you can create your very own #NespressoMoments and #BeYourOwnBarista today with the highest quality coffee that suits every taste.