Meet the minds behind Ayala Coffee: the first Pinoy coffee shop in New Jersey.⁠ ⁠ Couple Trixie Jose and Matthew Reyes were inspired by the large and tight-knit Filipino community in Seattle, where they discovered a thriving Filipino coffee shop.⁠ ⁠ They source all their coffee beans from the Benguet region of the Philippines, emphasizing its high quality. As it is their goal to represent their culture through coffee, they stress the importance of working directly with farmers in the Southeast Asian nation. Reyes says they connected with a small farm to do business, ensuring fair pay for the farmers and even paying them more than what typical specialty coffee farms in countries like Brazil or Colombia would receive. ⁠ ⁠ Jose and Reyes’ commitment to uplifting their culture and the Philippines through Ayala has helped bridged together the Filipino community all over New Jersey. According to the owners, Filipinos and Filipino Americans from diverse backgrounds feel a sense of familiarit...