el-union-coffee-la-union
|

Coffee Shop Review: El Union Coffee, La Union, Philippines

ByMarjorie Gavan Published on Updated on

ℹ️ El Union Coffee quick information

📍Address: MacArthur National Highway, Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union Philippines
🕑 Store hours: Open daily except Wednesdays, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm 
💰 Price range: USD 1.75-3.15 (PHP 100-180)
🍴What to order: Cold brew iced mocha, grilled cheese

El Union Coffee is a coffee shop and roaster, and it’s been around since 2013. It’s popular with tourists as it is known for its specialty coffee, friendly baristas, and laid-back beach vibe. It’s one of the best coffee shops I’ve been to in the country, so I made sure to take my friends there when I returned to the province.

📍El Union Coffee location

El Union Coffee is located in San Juan, La Union. You may take any bus that plies the Manila-La Union route to get there from Manila.

When I traveled solo to La Union, I went to the Partas bus terminal in Pasay (note that they also have a terminal in Cubao).

Take the bus that goes to San Fernando, La Union. The fare rate ranges from USD 10 to 15 (PHP 600-850). The travel time takes about 5 to 7 hours, depending on the traffic situation.

Once you get there, you can take a tricycle to El Union Coffee.

💻 El Union Coffee Wifi

El Union Coffee has WiFi.

🔌 El Union Coffee electrical outlets

There are a few electrical outlets in this coffee shop.

🥯 El Union Coffee food

Grilled cheese

Price: USD 3.15 (PHP 180)

el-union-coffee-la-union-grilled-cheese

I ordered grilled cheese and had a moment of confusion when I saw the Sriracha sauce on the plate. Why would anyone put this red hot sauce in a cheese sandwich? But if they put it there, there must be a good reason, so I just went ahead and tried it to see if they were onto something. To my surprise, it works! I’m not sure how, but the sriracha did something to enhance the taste of the sandwich, and I finished the whole thing in no time.

☕ El Union Coffee drinks

Dirty horchata

Price: USD 2.80 (PHP 160)

el-union-coffee-la-union-dirty-horchata

Horchata is a cold drink with rice milk, cinnamon, almond essence, and vanilla extract. They call it dirty horchata when it has espresso. I ordered dirty horchata for USD 2.80 (PHP 160), hoping that it wouldn’t disappoint; it didn’t. 

There is something unique to the taste of this drink that separates it from any of the iced coffee drinks that I had before. It was nice but could use more espresso. Somehow the rice milk dulled the coffee flavor. But it was refreshing, just what I needed that hot afternoon.

Cold brew mocha

Price: USD 2.97 (PHP 170)

el-union-coffee-la-union-iced-mocha

My favorite cold drink from El Union Coffee is the cold brew mocha. I had the milk replaced with oat milk, so I paid an additional USD 0.70 (PHP 40). It was so perfect for La Union’s humid weather. The taste of chocolate was prominent yet didn’t overpower the espresso flavor. Now that’s what you call a refreshing drink.

Flat white

Price: USD 2.45 (USD 140)

el-union-coffee-la-union-flat-white

I had to try their version of my favorite go-to drink, flat white, and it was good. It was smooth and creamy; definitely one of the best flat whites I’ve had.

🥘 El Union Coffee menu

Click the accordions below to see the menu. Note that prices may change without prior notice. USD conversion is based on the currency exchange rate on Sep 6, 2022.

Cold brew latte – $ 2.80 (PHP 160)

Horchata – $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Dirty horchata – $ 2.80 (PHP 160)

Dirty white – $ 2.63 (PHP 150)

Cold brew mocha – $ 2.98 (PHP 170)

Iced americano – $ (PHP 120)

Classic cold brew – $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Espresso tonic – $ 2.80 (PHP 160)

Iced mocha – $ 2.98 (PHP 170)

Iced chocolate – $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Chai latte – $ 2.98 (PHP 170)

Chai tonic – $ 3.15 (PHP 180)

Dulce gatas – hot $ 2.45 | iced 2.63 (hot PHP 140 | iced PHP 150)

Dulce de latte – hot $ 2.63 | iced $ 2.80 (hot PHP 150 | iced PHP 160)

No-heat—O! $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Filter coffee – $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Flat white – $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Cappuccino – $ 2.45 (PHP 140)

Latte – $ 2.63 (PHP 150)

Espresso – $ 1.75 (PHP 100)

Short black – $ 2.10 (PHP 120)

Americano – $ 2.10 (PHP 120)

Hot chocolate – $ 2.10 (PHP 120)

Hot chai latte – $ 2.80 (PHP 160)

Hot mocha – $ 2.80 (PHP 160)

Alt. Milk – + $ 0.70 (PHP 40)

🫘 Coffeehan scale

I give El Union Coffee 3 coffee beans.

🫘 Sad. Will never come back again.

🫘🫘 Meh. Lots of things to improve. Might reconsider a visit but maybe not anytime soon.

🫘🫘🫘 Good! There’s room for improvement, but overall, it was awesome. I will come back.

🫘🫘🫘🫘 Great! It’s almost perfect, but not quite there yet. Definitely, I will come back.

🫘🫘🫘🫘🫘 Magnificent! It’s a coffee shop done right. The coffee is heavenly, the ambiance is perfect, and the crew is fantastic! Definitely worth the bucks and a revisit.

Author’s Note: Coffeehan’s scale pertains to Mara’s general feel about a coffee shop. The rating is based on her personal opinion, which is primarily influenced by the coffee’s taste more than the place’s aesthetics. The rating doesn’t aim to change, nor does it represent another person’s view of the coffee shops featured on this blog.

☕

Do you want me to review any coffee shops? Leave your suggestion in the comment box below, and I’ll make time to check it out. 💕

Writer

Mara is a BS Journalism major who decided to create this coffee blog to explore coffee around the world. She has traveled to many countries exploring coffee shops, discovering digital nomad cafes, and getting to know the big coffee culture of our planet.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.