Starbucks Destinations Series: 2017 Philippines Special Edition Kape Vinta Card

Officially released with the 2017 Christmas and holiday Cards last November 2, 2017 and exclusive to the Philippines is the Kape Vinta card. Kape Vinta is Tagalog for Coffee Boat.

This special market exclusive card is inspired by the Starbucks Kape Vinta whole bean artwork. This Philippine-exclusive card is included in every 2018 Starbucks Planner, a first in the history of Starbucks planner promotions, at least in the Philippines. This means that this card is not available at a store level and you would need to avail of the 2018 planner to have one.

To capture the essence of shared passions for great coffee between Starbucks and the people of the Philippines, one of the country's most distinguished painters, Mr. Mauro Malang Santos, created the stamp for the coffee.

"The Kape Vinta Blend artwork, a new and distinct Starbucks design, embraces the proud traditions and cultures of Filipinos. It is my gift to the Starbucks coffee experience," said Mr. Santos. "Starbucks conscious devotion to its people and coffee greatly inspired me in producing the artwork."

I really like this card. Directly competing for my fondness with the Agila Card, I feel this particular card design captured what a Philippine exclusive card should be.

Blogger's Note: Starbucks Destinations Series is my attempt to chronicle my thoughts on different city and country specific Starbucks Cards. Most photos and some descriptions are taken mainly from both official and non official Starbucks pages. I do not claim ownership of the photos unless otherwise noted. 

2017 Starbucks Philippines You Are Here Series Mug Collection Batch Two

Barely a month after releasing the new You Are Here Series mug collection, Starbucks is at it again with three more designs. Still at Php525 a piece, but you will need to exert more effort in acquiring since all of them are outside of Metro Manila.

Now let the nitpicking begin. Haha! I mean, let's take a look on these three new designs, shall we?

Boracay

Another rehash of the original Global Icon series. They kept the sky blue colorway and the Boracay sand art from the second edition and added some beach stuff. I'm not totally a fan of the island, although I've never been there to justify this but I prefer a more secluded beach where you can be at peace just watching the waves and the sand and at night time, the stars above. Being one if not the most famous beaches in the country, I would not be surprised with its inclusion to the series. Fun fact: Palawan or Puerto Princesa does not have a Starbucks branch and this may be the reason why it does not have a representative to the old global icon series or to this new collection. Bummer.

Baguio

Sunflowers and strawberries from the global icon series edition also grace this design for the summer capital of the Philippines, but this time, red is the dominant color coming from the greens of the old collection. I'm not familiar with the gazebo like structure as the centerpiece (Minesview Park, perhaps?) but I feel I have been on one in Tagaytay at the picnic grove. The design also reminds me of a small Chinese temple. Representations of the summer Malacanang and Burnham Park also made the cut.

Tagaytay

Yet another familiar design from the global icon series, but I do believe Tagaytay is indeed best represented by the Taal Lake and nothing more. I would not settle for anything else. A sunflower also made an appearance. I believe it is because of the cool weather on these areas but I'm never seen an actual sunflower in bloom. Poor me.

Final Thoughts

I may be a bit biased here but if you intend to release a new edition of a collection, would it be better if it would be attacked in a fresher or a unique manner? Seeing these three designs still reminds me of the global icon series. Maybe Starbucks intends to be seen it that way. After all, the You Are Here series collection also aims to remind you of the place they feature. Just my two cents.

Images take from Starbucks Philippines Facebook page.

2017 Starbucks Philippines You Are Here Series Mug Collection Batch One

I know this is a bit late, as they have outed the first batch last February 7, 2017 and has just recently released the second batch (another post, Haha!) , but Starbucks You Are Here Mug Series is finally here in the Philippines!!! But I do not know if I'm gonna be happy about it.

You see, I've been a collector of their Global Icon '08 Series tumblers. I have always meant to post about my collection here since I started blogging again and I believe I have one lurking among my drafts. As always, I tend to forget about it or I'm feeling too lazy to continue writing it. Now that the You Are Here series is here, I guess it would forever remain that way. The launch of this series means the end of the Global Icon series. I may be wrong, but I no longer see it whenever I chance upon a Starbucks Store. Good thing I have managed to collect all except for one (Naga, which I'm still hunting online).

That's the reason why I'm not too happy about the release of the You Are Here (YAH for short) series here in the Philippines. Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, out with the old, embrace the new. Though I will not be collecting one, I will be happy supporting those who wish to collect them all. In fact, I have an officemate who has just started collecting Starbucks mugs and I'm happy to help him on this endeavor.

Now presenting...

Philippines

Starbucks used the Banaue Rice Terraces (Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) to represent the Philippines in this collection. Commonly referred to as a potential candidate to be the "Eight Wonder of the World," these are 2,000-year-old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people.

My thoughts: I do love the Banaue Rice Terraces when I've been there so many years ago, I personally think the Philippine Eagle would better represent the country. Don't get me wrong, but rice terraces are common among Asian countries and would not make an excellent recall.

Manila

They went with a combination of the previous Global Icon series: "Kalesa" and "Jeepney", along with what I believe will be the Manila Baywalk.  I love it! These two icons really best describe what Manila is to me: traditional and modern; the old versus the new.

Quezon City

I really don't get the icons featured here on this design. The buildings may represent the various government buildings located in the city. That's just according to me. The film roll actually represents Quezon City being called the "City of Stars", according to my officemate. While one addicted to Starbucks mugs blog, actually pointed out that this film roll detail can also be seen on the "Cannes" YAH mug. This is also another reason for me not to really love these YAH series. Though it is a vibrant and colorful, it lacks the uniqueness that I find with the Global Icon series. And no, this is not an excuse to hate the YAH series. Haha! Anyway, of the first five YAH designs from the Philippines, this is my least favorite, as I find it to dull when compared to the four and totally lacks recall. Sorry.

Cebu

I see that they have also integrated the colorway and the Guitar design from the first version of the Cebu Global Icon series on this one, plus a building that I'm not sure what it represents. You see, another reason why I'm not too gaga over the YAH series. Cebu is best represented by Lapu-lapu, who graced the second edition of Cebu Global Icon Series, or by a danggit (rabbitfish), which I think is represented anyway by the clusters of fishes near the back of the mug, or the Mactan-Mandaue or the Marcelo Fernan bridges. However, their designs are too complicated to be translated into a simpler manner that the YAH series is aiming for, hence the feeling of being borrowed from a database of designs in a Microsoft's clipart kind of way. I hope you get what I mean. Anyway, using green and orange (two of my favorite colors) places this just above the Quezon City design.

Makati

I also see that they have also used the orange colorways of the original Makati Global Icon Series. I believe the design shows Makati as the business and shopping district of the Philippines, plus traffic (Haha!) as represented by buildings, buses and shopping bags. As mentioned, too lame and no recall factor. The fact that it is orange is just the reason I love this mug. Sorry.

There you go. The first five You Are Here Collection mug from the Philippines. Not bad, but not great, at least for me. Good thing another three (Boracay, Baguio, and Tagaytay) went out, which I will write about the next time. Costs Php525 a piece. If I were to rank them in order of purchase, I will be buying them in this order: Manila, Philippines, Makati, Cebu, then Quezon City.

Edit: I did post something about my Global Icon Series after all. Haha!

All images are from Starbucks Philippines' Facebook page.

Starbucks Card Philippines - Damaged Christmas Polar Bear and Squirrel Cards

This should be a happy post. Today is the release of Starbucks's limited edition metal wrapped, polar bear and squirrel cards. I've managed to buy a pair for a friend's and my collection.

As a collector, I want my cards in pristine condition, scratch-free if possible. Imagine my dismay when I took the polar bear and squirrel cards out of their package and saw a damage.

I'm pretty sure it's all because of the packaging. Instead of being flat against the cardboard back, the packaging have slits on them where the card is inserted. The result is that the card is stained by the black packaging and cards were distorted around the corners where they are initially inserted on the packaging.

I'm making this post only to record that I have called Starbucks regarding the matter and have given photos as proof. I have been given a reference number and a promise to get back to me within seven days. If you also happen to be one who has the same problem, please call their customer support:

Metro Manila

(02) 462-6262  or 1-800-10-462-6262
Mondays to Fridays , 8am to 10pm
Saturdays to Sundays , 10am to 10pm

I'm really looking forward to a favorable resolution.

Starbucks Philippines Cards: New Special Edition Siren Card and Easter Egg Mini Cards

Another reason to celebrate Easter! Starbucks Philippines just released their new card designs: The Special Edition Siren Card and the Easter Egg Mini Cards. Drool.

For the record, I'm not a huge Starbucks fan, but I do love their collectible cards and iconic city tumblers. I started collecting since the Pilipinas Agila (Philippine Eagle) design and have been hooked ever since. I now have 28 in total, three of which I brought when I was in Korea and two from the US which I bought online.

Image from Starbuckscard.ph

From their website, the Special Edition Siren Card is fronted by Starbucks’ iconic Siren and is hand-painted with water color while the Easter Egg Card is delightfully decorated to get Starbucks lovers “eggcited” for the season. The Easter Egg Mini Cards are available in 4 colors: Blue, Red, Green , and Purple. Each has their unique design representing both Easter and Starbucks. Both cards are available in all stores by February 23, 2016. That's today!!! It's Php300 for the Siren Card which is a relief considering that it is limited edition while the Easter Egg Mini Cards goes for Php500 each.

Image from Starbuckscard.ph

Image from Starbuckscard.ph

One thing I've noticed from their website just now is that there's already a limit of five (5) activated Special Edition Siren Cards per customer per day, and a limit of one (1) of each Easter Egg Card design per customer per day. I believe this is a good strategy to prevent hoarding of cards, which of course people tend to do when a limited edition design comes out.

I'm especially eyeing for the green one since its my favorite color but I will try my best to get hold of all designs, The nearest Starbucks from my place is at Ali Mall and I hope I will get there on time.

So what are you waiting for?

Update as of 11:00AM. A friend of mine bought the whole set for me a a birthday gift! I'm all smiles at the moment. Thank you!!!

My Starbucks Global Icon Series City Tumblers Collection

Everyone must probably have their own collection.  I used to collect stamps way back when I was in grade school.  I even joined a philatelic society which was based in Pampanga and even travel all the way to Philippine Daily Inquirer's head office in Makati just to get a bunch of stamps I won from their Junior Inquirer weekly contest. I have three full albums of it which are still stacked away on my old dresser. I don't know really know when I stopped, but maybe it's when my sister no longer send me one from Abu Dhabi. 

Anyway, flashback September 2014, I started a new collection.  It started when I happened to be in Ayala Mall Cebu. I changed upon this cute green tumbler with a guitar on it and the word, Cebu. At that time, I was not really sure if I want to purchase one as I know that by doing so will trigger my obsessive compulsive attitude to collect them all. :)  After a good thirty minutes or so, I finally decided to give in. I thought,  somehow, they are usable, at the same time they can be good souvenirs. Thus start my Starbucks Global Icon City Tumbler Collection. I also opted to collect their tumblers instead of their mugs since tumblers are not fragile  to handle and they can be taken outside. So, everyone, meet my growing tumbler collection… 

Nice, eh?

I currently have forty four (44) tumblers in my collection, and it all started, of course in Cebu. I never thought my collection would grow from this in just a matter of a year and a half. My current favorite is still Cebu, as with every firsts in everything. You never forget the first time / one. Hehe.

I'm thinking of posting each and every one of my collection and some history behind. So bear with me. For now, I just want to show off the group. :)