At the THAIFEX Food Exhibition held recently in Bangkok, the Asean Coffee Federation(ACF) organized the Roaster’s Choice coffee awards gathering over 25 microlots from coffee farms in Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos , Vietnam, Philippines and other ASEAN coffee producing countries. The Philippines’ entry, an Arabica from Davao, won in two categories—espresso and siphon coffee preparations.

The coffee was sent in green or raw form to Thailand, and roasters worked on the different lots with standards set by the experts from ACF. Each lot, after uniform roasting, was then brewed using different methods of making coffee such as espresso and siphon methods.

This is an encouragement for all Filipino coffee farmers that our coffee can definitely compete and can be at par or even better than those from coffee giants like Indonesia, known for its  Java and Sumatra coffees. Now, our very own Mt. Apo Kapatagan coffee will gain world renown along with the Benguet and Matutum coffees the Philippine Coffee Board brought to the competition. www.philcoffeeboard.com is a private sector-led non-stock , non-profit organization organized to promote Philippine coffee.