At the Municipal Hall of Tublay last Nov. 27, various coffee farmers arrived from different coffee-growing communities in Benguet to learn about Pera Talks, a community-based financial literacy program by GCash aimed at educating unserved and underserved Filipinos on essential financial concepts and empowering them towards financial wellness.
Coffee farmers from Sagada, Atok, Barlig, and Tublay learned about savings and budgeting, debt management, and even digital security.
Aside from the discussions, there were also activities like games and quizzes to help them remember what they learned and what they can do to easily apply it. Participants were young and old, including indigenous peoples, who were able to ask questions and share their thoughts about handling finances.
Coffee farmers from Kapangan were also taught how to register the GCash app and how they can collect energy points from their GCash transactions (send money, pay bills, walk, buy load, do cash in and bank transfers) then plant virtual trees for free. GCash, in partnership with PCBI, have been turning these virtual trees into real trees in key locations like Benguet, Cavite, Iloilo, Davao, Basilan, and Sulu. ]]>
The 3-day capacity-building activity deepened the participants’ knowledge and appreciation of locally grown coffee, and is expected to ease their shift into organic coffee production. Participants of the training belong to IPOs who are conservation partners of Xavier Science Foundation, Inc. (XSF), under USAID and GRF’s Investing in Sustainability and Partnerships for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Project, namely: Nagkahiusang Manobong Manununod sa Yutang Kabilin (NAMAMAYUK) Inc., Catal Lumad Development Association (CALUDA), and Manggayahay Talaandig Tribal Association (MANTALA), Inc. Enterprising members of each IPO, including the datus,
elders and young coffee farmers, traveled to Valencia City and Pangantucan, Bukidnon, visiting the coffee farms and their respective tribal halls, to learn about coffee farming and sustainable agriculture.
The participants benefited from lectures and hands-on demonstrations by directors and members of the Philippine Coffee Board, the private sector-led non-profit organization formed in 2002 to champion the growth and sustainability of the Philippine coffee industry. Dr. Alejandro Mojica, an agriculturist and researcher by profession, taught the participants the basics of coffee farming, coffee farm maintenance, and nursery establishment. He listened to the stories of the participants and gave expert technical advice based on his decades of experience. The participants also attended workshops that helped them assess how they can improve their farms and apply their newfound knowledge. Farm owners and entrepreneurs Mr. Jose Mamar and Ms. Olive Puentespina introduced organic farming, the rationale behind the farming practice, and how the participants can easily adopt organic methods. The two practitioners demonstrated how to make compost, utilize biofertilizer, and prune trees to encourage growth and increase coffee yield. During the farm visits, the experts also took the opportunity to check the processing areas, and assess samples of green coffee beans, suggesting improvements to the IPO farms.
Certified Q grader and cafe owner Anatista Perez, skilled in the sensory evaluation of green coffee, explained the benefits of bean sorting and coffee cupping. For many of the participants, it was the first time they learned that green coffee beans could be evaluated based on different types of defects, and how to identify mutations such as a “peaberry.” As part of the demonstration, the participants were also asked to assess the taste of brewed coffee from so-called “reject beans” in comparison with coffee from well-sorted beans. To increase their appreciation, the participants also learned the harmful effects associated with unsorted coffee beans, and the healthful benefits of sorted and properly prepared
coffee.
To add further value, PCBI President and social entrepreneur Ms. Chit Juan spoke about maximizing the appeal of coffee through marketing, underscoring the Indigenous peoples’ pride of place and stewardship of the environment, among other distinguishing characteristics that they can leverage to truthfully and compellingly market their brand to discerning coffee consumers. She explained how traceability can be a mark of quality, while also familiarizing the consumer with the coffee’s origins in Mt. Kalatungan so they’re able to connect with the brand story and the farmers behind it.
The activity became a learning exchange for the participants and the lecturers. The lecturers learned about the cultural traditions of the Indigenous communities, and gave gifts such as coffee sorting guides and samples of their own green coffee beans. Each sharing session and practical demo, meanwhile, inspired the participants to continue what they are doing right in their farms and implement what they can improve from seed to shelf.
Together, USAID, GRF, XSF, and PCBI will continue to support and monitor the progress of the participants in further developing coffee from Mt. Kalatungan. With the projected added value brought by organic coffee production, the IPOs can continue their stewardship of the environment within their ancestral domains while sustaining their indigenous knowledge, skills and practices, and―at least from an economic standpoint―adding to their quality of life.
Originally named Coffee Break, it is the brainchild of the Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) led by founding trustee and current director Guillermo “Bill” Luz.
He explains the impetus behind this event, “The first objective was to build up some brand awareness about Philippine coffee. Our other objective was to nudge consumer behavior towards specifying ‘Philippine coffee’ as opposed to just ordering ‘coffee.’ The concept was simple: offer free coffee in the mall, add entertainers to regale the crowd, and raise awareness for Philippine coffee.”
In 2008, Coffee Break evolved into Coffee Origins, with greater emphasis on where the coffee beans come from. Luz elaborates, “We moved into ‘Origins’ to show that Philippine coffee was being grown in different parts and elevations of the country, and each region had their specialties.” He adds, “The more that origin is in demand, the better it is for the farmers in that community. Increased demand can mean more jobs, more income, for a community. And if the farmers process the beans properly to maintain their quality, that means higher values for the community.”
Our intention was to build up demand in Philippine coffee so more people would go into coffee production.
Indeed, Coffee Origins has succeeded in raising awareness about Philippine coffee and its origins for the past 15 years. Luz shares, “the concept of Origins is now being better appreciated. More coffee retailers and cafés now indicate where their coffee is grown (e.g., Kitanglad, Matutum, Cordillera, Apo, etc.).
To better appreciate the Coffee Origins, Philippine Coffee Board was also the trailblazer in farm tours in cooperation with its Philippine Coffee Network
Today PCBI works tirelessly to build the Philippine coffee brand. But it has moved to a more “Seed to Shelf” or “Farm to Table” approach according to Luz. We are closely working at how to create nurseries for seed and seedling production because that is the starting point of coffee. Moreover, as production increases, people will need to learn more about how to process and mill their beans so they can get the best flavor and value of their beans.”
Written by Anne Marie “Nana” Ozaeta
This article was first published in The Ultimate Coffee Guide, 2017
For roast and ground coffee, however, coffee beans are packed after roasting, or are ground and packed after roasting, and have not yet been brewed or “cooked.” Brewing entails making hot water pass through coffee grounds, and the grind is dependent on the coffee maker to be used. Brewing can also be done through immersion, as with the French press Aeropress, or through the teabag style of serving coffee.
In any case, most of the coffee sold in the market as “roast and ground” need not be brewed using different types of coffee makers.
What are the other information that should be included in your packaging?
VARIETY
Some coffee packaging labels state the coffee variety―Arabica or Robusta or Liberica or a blend.
ORIGIN
Today’s coffee roasters also put origins like Benguet, Sulu, Batangas, or Sagada, among other coffee-growing areas. If you like the origin you chose, chances are you will go back to that origin regardless of the roaster or processor, or the brand.
WHOLE BEANS OR GROUND
We recommend buying whole beans and grinding them only before brewing.
GRIND SIZE
Some processors pre-grind the coffee and put the grind size on the label. Most will put “good for all coffee makers,” so it’s hit or miss with regard to the brewed-coffee quality.
Whether you’re the roaster who puts the label or you’re the consumer, take note of what the label tells you. It’s usually a fair description of what to expect. The best test, though, is to finally taste what’s inside.
written by Pacita Juan for The Ultimate Coffee Guide, Vol. XII Iss. 2, 2019
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Having a strong corporate culture and work-life balance have become higher priorities than salary for the younger workforce. Employee care now transcends lucrative pay. An Inc.com article wrote, “Happy employees are productive employees. An experiment with 700 employees confirmed that happiness can increase productivity by as much as 12%. Therefore, designing the workspaces and environmental factors in the office with your team’s happiness in mind will directly increase their overall productivity.”
Alongside the rise of this new corporate culture is the rise of the coffee culture. Coffee in sachets will not make the cut. With employees more than willing to shell out a hundred pesos or more for a cup of good java, the first question they most often ask is, “How’s the coffee?” The perfect solution to convenience and on-the-job craft brew is the Breville Precision Brewer Thermal. It also helps that the sleek and elegant design and brushed stainless steel look will surely match any office space.
The office coffee connoisseur will rave about the automatic and customizable craft filter with six brew settings―from “fast” to “gold” to “strong” to “over ice” and “cold brew”, and the personalized “my brew.”
The pour-over adapter is compatible with the pour-over dripper is compatible with the pour-over dripper crowd favorites Hario V6 and Kalita Wave. This millennial feature will definitely enhance and encourage office creativity and increase satisfaction, not to mention the money and time saved on coffee runs.
With its one-touch, easy, 8- to 10-minute very fast brew, it’s also sure to satisfy the coffee-curious. The convenient 12-cup capacity is perfect for sharing coffee during breaks or meetings. For the cost of PhP25,000, anyone can be the office barista. With this choice handy equipment, experience a rise in work happiness level. “Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it’s something happening. Not as hip but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup.”
The beautiful and brew-worthy Breville Precision Brewer Thermal―your office’s perfect staff care tool with more precision, more craft.
The Breville Precision Brewer Thermal is available at SM Home, SM Appliance, Rustan’s, True Value, Anson’s, Abenson, Landmark, The WOW Group Showroom, The WOW Store, Lazada and Shopee.
written by Ann Kuy for The Ultimate Coffee Guide Vol. XII, Iss. 2
]]>With a little help from Kumala S. Elardo, a Sulu princess and chair of the Gender and Development Program of the PCBI, Basilan is hoping to establish itself as a major coffee producer and to finally reclaim as its own coffee beans that are now being marketed as coming from places other than their real place of origin.
Elardo, founder and head of Sulu’s People’s Alliance for Multi-purpose Progress Cooperative established in 2012, is bringing to Basilan the strategies and techniques for profitable coffee production that are promoting peace and progress in her own province as her provincemates have found that producing one of the world’s most popular beverages is a highly sustainable and lucrative livelihood.
Sulu’s “coffee project” is credited with helping families raise their incomes and achieve financial stability. The princess worked initially and primarily with women, but the success of her initiative has also encouraged men who have left their homes for more gainful pursuits―often not above board―to just stay home and help tend and manage the coffee plantations, helping promote peace and stability in a province that has been racked by frequent outbreaks of violence.
Elardo is optimistic that what is working so well for Sulu will also work well for the other island province. “There have always been coffee plantations in Basilan,” Elardo says, although rubber production is the province’s main money-earner. The coffee plantations in the province have been producing the excelsa and arabica varieties.
Years of unrest and other problems, however, have lowered the coffee farmers’ morale, apparently to the extent that they have not been possessive of their own produce. Elardo says that while Basilan’s coffee production has not completely stopped and the coffee is sold in Mindanao’s major commercial hubs, like the cities of Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro (CDO), the bean is not identified with its true place of origin but rather where it is sold. As such, the Basilan coffee that people buy in Zamboanga becomes Zamboanga’s coffee, and the same goes for the Basilan coffee bought in CDO.
Elardo hopes not only to help revitalize Basilan’s coffee industry but also to expand it and restore the province’s pride in its produce. The princess plans to start in Isabela, the former provincial capital, where the current mayor is her niece. Her expansion strategy involves the conversion of coconut plantations to coffee farms. Many farmers had to abandon coconut production following a disease outbreak that destroyed their plants.
Andy Mojica, Elardo’s fellow PCBI Director, also gave a workshop for the Basilan farmers.
About 74 farmers have already signified their interest in going into coffee production, but Elardo wants to work in phases. “The manageable number is 15,” she says, for training and technology transfer, but she is actually starting with only 10 farmer-leaders. The smallest farm lot size is 10 hectares.
The enterpise also involves the provision of better planting materials as well as the addition of the liberica coffee variety, which the Basilan farmers are interested in growing.
Elardo also realizes that Basilan’s coffee producers need to develop good managerial and marketing skills for their enterprise to succeed. For this, she hopes to organize a new cooperative to replace the old one that is no longer very active. She may also bring up the idea of the whole province giving its produce a single brand to establish a unique and distinctive identity for it. “Basilan Coffee” perhaps?
Just as she relied on the support and assistance of the local governments and the field workers of government agencies for her work in her native Sulu, Elardo is confident that the same partners can be counted on to help make this initiative a success for the advancement of the Basilan and for the achievement of lasting peace in the province.
“We will mobilize all agencies that can be of help,” she says. She is already assured of the full support of the province’s local governments.
The princess is hopeful that the Basilan project will bear fruit and will help improve the lives of the locals even faster than the similar project in Sulu did, because of Basilan’s proximity to an already established and reliable market: Zamboanga City and the rest of the Zamboanga peninsula. Travelling from Basilann to Zamboanga by boat takes only less than an hour, making it easy for the farmers to bring their produce to the Mindanao mainland.
Elardo has the right credentials to make this enterprise for the transformation of Basilan a reality. Her success in Sulu has so far won her Go Negosyo’s Outstanding Social Entrepreneur award. She was also named one of the Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs of the ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Network. A director of PCBI, she currently travels around the country as one of PCBI’s instructors on “Women in Coffee.”
written by Linda Bolido for The Ultimate Coffee Guide, Vol. XII Iss. 2
]]>- 3 ounces dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup strong coffee (hot)
- 4 tbsp sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup cream
- a dash of cinnamon powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
Procedure:
- Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler.
- Add water and blend well.
- Add coffee, sugar, and salt.
- Heat milk and cream to the boiling point, then turn off the heat.
- Combine with the coffee mixture and beat with the rotary blender until frothy.
- Add sugar to taste.
- Serve with cinnamon powder or with a cinnamon stick for stirring.
Recipe by Reena Francisco
]]>According to Andrew Defrancesco, the pages pull you in until it’s impossible to tear yourself away from them. The black-and-white photography form an imagery of the world of Philippine coffee – its people, traditions and cultures, the wisdom and hard work needed to bring forth magic from the bean to your cup.
Annotated by Francisco’s caption essays, you will go on a journey. It’s not an easy one. There are the roadside sari-sari stores that mark the highway en route to the highland farms in Benguet, welcome pit stops amidst the high-altitude chill. The coffee trees dotting the foothills of Mount Halcon, still tended today by the Angan, an indigenous people residing near Paitan in Oriental Mindoro. The picturesque robusta trees growing on the Maranao farms near lake Lanao―a heartrending sight after the violent destruction of Marawi City.
“Here then is my very personal experience of Philippine coffee―from the north to south, from the farm to the cup, from me to you,” writes Francisco. And indeed, A Coffee Journal is his personal journey through nearly 25 years in the coffee business.
Beginning operations in his mother’s garage in 1994, Francisco set out to learn the coffee business from seedling to drink. Armed with a notebook and a camera, he documented and compiled as much as he could, actively seeking out, as he writes, “living persons, as elderly as possible, to recount the world of coffee as it was in their earlier years.” His research took him all over the country, from lowlands to remote high altitudes, enduring unforgiving roads and rough weather. Wherever he went, he sought out stories and vignettes. What he presents to us in this book is a disappearing world that few of us will ever know. A Coffee Journal is a valuable visual narrative of coffee life in the Philippines at a particular period of history.
It is a vivid and romantic world, full of sensory adventure. Think of the white blooms of the coffee trees unfurling with the scent of jasmine. He shows us the coffee seeds, dropped on leaves of calla lilies, the remains of coffee cherries eaten by nocturnal rats and fruit bats in Miarayon, Bukidnon. In time, these will fall to the ground and germinate into seedlings. He gives us vignettes of the life of the small-cafe farmers who must intercrop coffee with sayote, peppercorn, bananas, calamansi, and other crops to augment their income till the next coffee harvest. He shows us how the story of coffee is the story of the farmers, harvesters, roasters, traders, retailers, and drinkers. Francisco reveals a rich tapestry of the individuals, subcultures, and traditions comprising the world of Filipino coffee.
A Coffee Journal is a tribute to the people whose hard work brings coffee to our tables. It is a good, solid documentation of the Philippine coffee history. But most of all, it is a love letter expressing Francisco’s enduring passion for coffee, a romance that has consumed him for a quarter of a decade, and possibly for an entire lifetime, Reading this book will also make you fail in love with coffee.
written by Troy Barrios / The Ultimate Coffee Guide Vol. XII Iss. 2
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The Tausug coffee culture was known to have started as early as the mid-1800s, when robusta coffee beans were brought to Sulu by a Prussian seafarer named Herman Leopold Schuck. He became a blood brother of Sultan Jamalul Alam, then the ruler of the Sulu Sultanate. Deciding to stay in the Philippines, Schuck built a robusta coffee plantation with 20,000 plants. Soon after, many other locals cultivated the beans until the coffee was given the name “Kahawa Sug,” Tausug for “coffee of Sulu.”
Many ethnic groups in Southeast Asia consume coffee as a custom or even as part of a religious ritual. As for the Tausugs of Sulu, they traditionally partner their coffee with bangbang (snacks) or latal (a platter of native dishes). Hot coffee is usually served with an extra empty cup, allowing the person to pour the coffee back and forth from cup to cup. Although this is done to cool down the coffee, is also brings out the flavor.
Traditional dishes of Sulu
Dennis Coffee Garden in Zamboanga City, known for its Kahawa Sug, also serves a wide variety of local snacks for the locals and the gastronomically curious travelers. Their famous bangbang are the wadjit (purple glutinous rice), daral (crepe with coconut filling), pastil (hand pipes with spicy sauce), and jualan saing (fried bananas with haleya dip. Meanwhile, the dishes in their latal servings are the tiulah itum (beef in roasted coconut broth), utak-utak (fried fish cakes), beef kulma (beef in curry paste), and chicken pianggang (chicken marinated in coconut milk and spices).
Due to concerns of efficient operations and fast service, though, the traditional practice of pouring coffee back and forth from cup to cup is now being practiced at the cafe only upon request and during special occasions. But the practice is here to stay as it is proudly Tausug.
written by Ellen Denise Tutoy / The Ultimate Coffee Guide Vol. XII Iss. 2
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Jennifer Rimando (third from left)
Another woman grader for Robusta bean, Bea Belardo, echoes Jennifer’s remarks. “We were invited to attend the classes, and I am thankful that PCBI recommended us to be included even if the program was initially just for Mindanao,” she recalls. Bea hails from Amadeo, Cavite, which is known for Robusta coffee.
Bea Belardo
While Jennifer took the 2016 Arabica exams and passed, Bea took the Robusta exams in 2017 and passed as well. The certification is good for three years and can be renewed upon passing the calibration exams.
“Now, we give back to our community by sharing what we know with the farmers,” Bea says. The two women recently shared their knowledge on the Q grading of specialty coffee (Arabica) and Fine Robusta at the Ilocos leg of the Women in Coffee training sessions—the fifth in PCBI’s project series with IWCA, DA-GAD Office, ACDI/VOCA, Peace and Equity Foundation, and ECHOsi Foundation.
“We have done five trainings so far, says Chit Juan of PCBI, “and a few more are coming up especially in places without access to trainings because of their low-quantity coffee produce (based on government records) or because they are not known as major coffee areas.” Some areas, like Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM, also do not get trainings because international agencies are advised not to go there. “We go to these areas which have coffee but are excluded from the normal planning exercises,” Chit continues.
For the CQI trainings made possible ACDI/VOCA and PCBI, there are women like Jennifer and Bea who chose to give back by sharing with the farmers what they have learned about coffee growing. The trainings were meant to cater to all those who have no knowledge about coffee quality coffee.
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