Nostalgic in Ermita Part 3: Aroma Café: An Independent Coffee Shop

Read the  rest of the series: Nostalgic in Ermita 

The second spot I visited was an independent café operated by a spunky lady called Yolly, the Aroma Café. But before I got there, I had to cross the street. I noticed the toxic fumes from the Jeepneys plying their route were twice as noxious as before. Perhaps it is the increased congestion that has occurred since all around towering buildings that once were not there had emerged, or perhaps it is the relatively pristine conditions that I have gotten used to that made me perceive it that way.

Asian cities are known to be crowded and polluted for the most part, and the smell of diesel never seemed to bother me before. But as I was experiencing things once again after a long hiatus, I was sensing everything as if for the first time in a heightened sort of way.

Unfortunately, the café was closed. I asked the attendant at the laundromat next door if it had been shut for quite some time, and I asked about Yolly. The attendant said it had been a while since she had been there. Yolly’s family owned the house behind the shops fronting the street. She had moved out of Ermita a few years ago apparently, and it was her sister now manning the fort.

It was in Aroma where I used to stop by after lunch to take my cappuccino whipped up by Yolly herself. Some interesting people would also stop by to have a chat. I once organized a spoken word event with a group of fellow poets* from the university. Only a handful of friends and supporters showed up though.

Perhaps it was too early for the “hip” crowd to attend at 7 pm. Perhaps I had patterned it too much after this reading I joined in Tribeca at one time (it started at 6.30 and was packed). I was a bit disheartened by this that for a while I stopped showing my face to Yolly who I think was expecting it to bring in some new faces.

Peering through the glass door, I could see the furniture still there. The place had been mothballed. No one it seemed had been in it for years. I took a photo of the sign that used to stand on the sidewalk which was now positioned behind the glass door inside the store (see photo above).

UPDATE: these fellow poets were known as GATDULA (later renamed FREAKSHOW) with Lilledeshan Bose and Ed Geronia as their most prominent members. I had met both of them while auditing classes in Poetry and Literary Criticism.

Next--Nostalgic in Ermita (Part 4: Midtown Inn Diner: The Place for a Strong Brew)