But there is an important aspect to giving that we often overlook, and that is giving to people who need our help. These are people whom we do not know personally who are just as deserving of our love and respect and admiration – and especially, of our help.

Which is why I’m excited about The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s holiday program. The mechanics are simple: stamp your way to a notebook for yourself, and help an advocacy of your choice in the process. Coffee Bean will donate part of the proceeds to help the charity you select –and there are twelve to choose from, from adopting a seeding to help the environment with Haribon, to providing resources for the Autism Society of the Philippines, to giving indigenous children better education with the Cartwheel Foundation.

With twelve ways to help, we can make a difference.

The latest community promotion of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf reinforces this truth and encourages everyone to let loose their inner storyteller. My friends are excited about this because of the variety of ways they can express their experiences. One of us, for example, takes excellent pictures, and is considering a moody pieces to capture the moments when the Trinoma branch was his refuge from heartbreak. Another, experimenting with her mobile phone, has shot clips in the Dogme 95 mode (the avant-garde filmmaking movement started in 1995 by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg) about how her kids discovered the delights of Sunrise Ice Blended. Those among us who are neither photogs nor filmmakers are happy to wield the pen (or tap on the keyboard), ranging from the confessional style to the reportage to adopting literary techniques like flashforwards to tell our stories. We checked out the competition on the microsite and were delighted by the creativity we found on display (the faces on the cup covers were great) and moved by the different personal stories.

At stake is a trip to Hollywood, the grand prize. That’s a great incentive.

But what many have discovered is that it is fun to simply create entries and that telling stories is a reward on its own.

As we planned and talked about our entries, we happily spiraled into stories, going beyond what we were talking about – just as any barkada does.

These days (long past high school, thanks), I don’t exactly wander around feeling gwapo, but according to a survey by global research firm Synovate last year, a good many Filipino males do—48% of us, in fact. This is just a slightly lower percentage than males in the U.S. at 53%, and considerably higher than our Asian neighbors: 25% of Singaporean men think they’re sexy, and only 12% of guys from Hong Kong.

Moreover, while less than half of us (which is already a significant figure) think that we’re God’s gift to Pinays, a whopping 84% of Filipinos rate their looks as “quite” or “very” important to them. Assuming that the survey is accurate, this means, statistically speaking, that there is no male racial group on earth vainer than Filipino men. And, to my shock, I am one of them.

I have the uncomfortable feeling that female readers will not be surprised to learn that Pinoys are full of themselves. I myself was astounded by these figures, and I don’t think my wife has stopped laughing yet.

Which is why my male friends and I were delighted when our favourite hangout announced the availability of whole wheat bread and pasta as options, instead of the regular offerings. Pasta and bread made from whole wheat flour and enriched provide healthy stuff: vitamin B1, B2, B3, E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, iron, and fiber. And a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that a healthy body weight is linked to choosing food made from wheat.

So we all made the shift. Wheat works, and it’s delicious to boot (must try: Salmon and Asparagus Whole Wheat Fusilli).

First – and this comes as a happy revelation – Coffee Bean uses only non-fat milk (in the relevant drinks, of course – don’t expect non-fat milk in Sunrise or Mango Ice Blended because that would be just strange). It’s a given, it’s the default, it’s the way of their world. Non-fat means guys like me can cease worrying (and being guilty) about the second round of White Chocolate Dream.

Second (and this one provoked paroxysms of joy from one of my lactose-intolerant kabarkada), if milk is not your thing, you can request for soy milk (and no, soy milk does not, in fact, come from vegetable cows). Soy milk contains a high number of very healthy compounds, is rich in protein, and contains more fiber than regular milk. No longer should the sensation of Caramel Ice Blended be beyond anyone’s taste buds.

Third is that your favorite Ice Blended drink also comes in the sugar free variety – with the same great taste. The secret is in the sugar free French Deluxe Vanilla and Special Dutch Chocolate powders that give Coffee Bean Ice Blended drinks its distinctive taste. Sugar free means diminished calories – always a good thing.

It’s great that something so good is good for the body too!

Science tells us that attraction is chemical, that certain scents, visual cues and body language trigger certain areas in our brains that in turn move us towards that certain someone – yes, Virginia, the biological imperative is hardwired into our system. But where attraction can be argued to genetic, everything else is a matter of taste – choices are made. And to make the best choices, it pays to get to know the certain someone.

One of my friends, let’s call him V, is firmly pro-romance. And his idea of “afternoon-get-to-know-you”? Lattes and conversation at Coffee Bean. The gang and I bump into him and her once in a while and find them with a latte each, splitting a slice of chocolate cake or going halfies on a pastrami sandwich. When pressed for their choice of venue, he says: “We like the food and the smell.” I must say that I agree.

Even small acts of love are everyday occurrences at my favorite coffee shop. I see an older couple almost every afternoon and smile when the man comes back with their lattes to his wife who reaches out to thank him with a touch on his arm. My own wife nudges me when we see them and we exchange silent affirmations that yes, we both see ourselves in them – sipping lattes while reading books.

Our coffee culture, romantic or otherwise, is so different from those of other countries I’ve visited. In the US, for example, a coffee shop is just a place to get coffee.

Here, I’m glad to say, Coffee Bean is a place to get to know coffee, and that certain someone you’re sharing the experience with.