Michael Policella has no intention of competing with Starbucks or other coffeehouses in the Ann Arbor area.

Instead, Policella, owner of Beyond Juice, 529 E. Liberty St., wants a quality coffee product for his customers in addition to the store's healthy smoothies and sandwiches.

Beyond Juice is offering Philippines-based BoNa Coffee, and hopefully by the start of September, BoNa will have a noticeable presence in the store.

Beyond Juice marks the first step for BoNa Coffee's launch into the U.S. market.

“We’re not trying to do any of that stuff like Starbucks or Biggby’s,” Policella said. “We just want to offer a simple, but good, cup of coffee.”

Founded in 2006, BoNa Coffee, announced its plan in March for international expansion beginning with Machau, China. According to BoNa's website, expansion plans include Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Vancouver, B.C.; Shanghai, China; and Hong Kong.

Policella hasn't started promoting BoNa’s presence in his store as he's waiting on the corporate office to supply some signage and other material.

“We’ve got some discussion to go with the company on the best way to brew it,” Policella said. “We’ve been slow off the mark because we’re the first place and we’re trying to get some other things. They had a particular merchandising display they wanted us to make but we haven’t got the drawings yet.”

Policella wants to have everything in place by the time students return to campus.

“What BoNa has put all of its effort into is coming out with a blend that essentially doesn’t have an aftertaste,” Policella said. “It’s just a nice cup of coffee.”

BoNa Coffee's first store opened in Parañaque, Philippines, in November 2006. BoNa purchases its beans from local farmers to produce a blend it promotes as “smoother than Sumatra.”

Brian Vernellis is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-4617 or brianvernellis@annarbor.com.