To avoid the dates arranged by his domineering granny, Arthur hires Andy to pretend to be his gay lover.

Desperate to pay off her family's debt, Andy is left with no choice but to agree to Arthur's plan and to continue with her charade.

[14] On September 26, 2008, in an intimate lunch with the press people, GMA Network's Wilma Galvante, shared their plans for the rest of 2008 and for the first quarter of 2009.

Galvante announced that the network has bought the format rights of Coffee Prince to produce the local version.

Actresses, Jolina Magdangal, Carla Abellana, Chynna Ortaleza[16] and Sheena Halili were some of the names reportedly vying for the female lead role.

[18] July 2012, the network bosses announced that they are back to the drawing board for Coffee Prince, and this time, with Aljur Abrenica and Kris Bernal in the lead.

[19] This was after the network shelved the supposedly reunion project of Abrenica and Bernal with Rhian Ramos, the straight-drama entitled Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko (transl.

While there are many similarities to the original series, some changes were made by adding more interesting twists and turns, new characters and Pinoy flavour to it.

The creative people behind Coffee Prince are also faced with the task to make the story, given the character arcs, more interesting and better than the original.

"Die-hard fans, who know every twist and turn of the story, won’t get disappointed because the iconic scenes such as Arthur carrying Andy on his back and he running after her from condo to restaurant asking for apology will be there,"she added.

[24] In preparing for the role, Bernal said she really had to study how a real man acts and respond to situations before she went in front of the cameras.

[27] Both Bernal and Abrenica underwent several workshops under Director Maryo J. Delos Reyes before the cameras roll, in preparation for their characters.

[11] Shared equally vital roles in the series are veteran actors, Tessie Tomas who played Beth, Andy and Mylene's mother.

While her contemporary and Champoy co-star, Leo Martinez played Arthur's business partner, Manong Ernie.

[34] Manila Times' Ed Uy said that "Kris Bernal and Aljur Abrenica give endearing performances in the Filipino remake of Koreanovela Coffee Prince".

[36] Remate's showbiz writer, Pete Ampoloquio, Jr. reviews... "it's an unassailable fact that they do have chemistry and it's one of the reasons why their tandem is well-followed and successful".

OMG said "With her lead role in the Philippine version of Korean series Coffee Prince, Kris Bernal is definitely one to watch".