In 2016, CQI and the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) signed an In-Country Partner Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding that establishes a dynamic working relationship for the benefit of the Philippines. Ultimately, the partnership promotes the welfare of coffee producers and the quality of their coffee.

CQI operations director Lisa Conway shares what makes the partnership work and what it means for Filipino coffee farmers.

WHAT MADE PCBI THE RIGHT IN-COUNTRY PARTNER FOR CQI?
“PCBI is in a leadership position to support all coffee quality improvement initiatives for the Philippine coffee sector that can result in improved quality and improved incomes for producers. Their unique position has them working with both the public and private sectors. They assumed a direct role in the planning and execution of the Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Competition and have worked very hard to be a fair and transparent leader in the coffee sector.”

HOW HAS PCBI’S PARTNERSHIP HELPED CQI’S WORK OF HELPING FARMERS THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING?
“Through the partnership, CQI has been able to access coffee producers from all regions of the Philippines and make sure that they are included in quality improvement training, as offered through the MinPACT program.”

WHAT ELSE CAN THE PARTNERSHIP ACCOMPLISH?
“As the global coffee word becomes more aware of the Philippines as a coffee-producing origin of distinction, CQI can continue to work with PCBI on technical trainings, international promotions and spreading knowledge and awareness of international coffee standards and buyer requirements.”

CQI and PCBI have worked together on multiple strategic initiatives including:
2017 Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality Competition
“This event is intended to serve the sector and encourage the development for coffee producers. A first-generation inception event that was very well received (78 samples submitted from 15 regions). The winning coffees were represented and promoted at the 2017 Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle, Washington, and were presented to an international audience during the Specialty Coffee Association event in a public cupping. This level of marketing opportunities changed the way people talk about Philippine coffee. The conversation was immediately able to focus on producing regions, producing organization, variety, processing method and the personal story behind the coffee.”

Training Q Arabica and Q Robusta Graders
“Coffee knowledge is rapidly increasing via CQI’s cupper training programs and making Q Coffees a reality for Filipino producers and producer groups. The cupping courses have resulted in a net increase in trained Q Arabica Graders, for a total of 32 Q Arabica Graders and ten licensed Q Robusta Graders (started with 0) now vested in the business of grading coffee. Their quality assessment will work to advise coffee producers on how to improve their coffee and eliminate factors that make the quality deteriorate, look outward to markets that will buy coffee based on their quality statements.”

2017 Specialty Global Coffee Expo
“The April cupping event at the Global Specialty Coffee Expo event was extremely successful, with about 20 cuppers (green buyers, roasters, coffee professionals, researchers) actively participating in the cupping session and about 25 observers in the room. There was a high degree of interest in these coffees in general, especially the Robusta coffees―Famer Brothers Coffee and Just Coffee Lab and school remarking on the high level of quality at par with the other fine Robustas. Several companies expressed interest in samples and buying opportunities for both species. The message of ‘quality drives price and interest’ was this event’s educational theme and was not lost on the Philippine group.

MinPACT, or the Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade, is a project funded by the US Department of Agriculture and implemented by ACDI/VOCA focused on cacao, coffee, and coconut products. The goal is to increase agricultural productivity and income of small-farm families.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The Department of Agriculture (DA) worked with PCBI on the Pilipinas Gising at Magkape (PGAM) Program from 2008 to 2010. That resulted in over 1,300 farmer groups getting organic fertilizers and rehabilitating their farms for better yields. Today, we see the program come full circle with our partners harvesting higher yields per tree than before.

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also supported the promotions program even beyond PGAM. They invited PCBI directors Emmanuel Torrejon and Pacita Juan to Kalinga in 2011, to conduct an introductory course in cupping coffee. Torrejon and Juan alsochecked the local facilities available, such as roasters and pulpers.

DTI under the helm of cluster head Myrna Pablo invited Juan and Chair Nicholas Matti to their Strategic Planning sessions in 2014 and 2015. The aim was to replicate PCBI’s Pick Red Campaign, allowing DTI to use it as a general campaign to encourage better quality harvests of coffee, whether the farmers roasted them or not. DTI also sent representatives to the Coffee Origins exhibits in Makati and Davao regularly until 2016.

LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES
The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) also supported PCBI by allowing the 6th National Coffee Summit to be held at the LBP Headquarters, to accommodate a bigger crowd. LBP also created a bank product called Coffee 100, to encourage cooperatives and use LBP facilities for loans and other credit instruments. LBP also supported PCBI through promotions in media such as radio programs and magazine articles.

PEACE AND EQUITY FOUNDATION
The partnership between PCBI and Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) started sometime in 2013, coinciding with PEF’s decision to support coffee as one of the C-5 agricultural commodity crops nationwide. PCBI’s strong advocacy for coffee was a perfect fit for PEF’s thrust to help benefit farmers.

According to PEF senior portfolio officer Bong Soto, “Coffee is a prime commodity crop which brings good profit to the farmers as long as the role of the traders in marketing is controlled, that is, they are not the only ones profiting from the trade. PCBI is a group of business people who believe in this principle, as well as promoters of our homegrown coffee as one of the best worldwide.” Soto affirms that PEF will continue to be a major supporter of PCBI’s annual National Coffee Summit, with the valuable experience that can be shared by its members.

“There are a lot of marketing experts within PCBI, and we hope that PCBI people will share this with the coffee growers as they develop their enterprise for the benefit of the coffee farmers.”

URC recently pledged to support the local coffee farmers of Sulu by placing an initial order of 10 metric tons of Pick-Red Robusta coffee beans harvested from the province.

This initiative traces its roots to Go Negosyo Para sa Kapayapaan sa Sulu, a private sector-government partnership program that aims to support the government in helping Sulu attain prosperity and inclusive growth.

URC envisions its partnership with the coffee farmers in Sulu, People’s Alliance for Progress Multipurpose Cooperative (PAPMPC), to be an instrument of peace and progress for Sulu, which is affected by conflict and poverty.

COFFEE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE
PAPMPC is an agrarian reform cooperative headed by Princess Lalah, a Tausug princess and entrepreneur from Panamao, Sulu. The organization maintains a coffee farm and sells commercial products such as the premium coffee brand, Sulu Royal Coffee.

Princess Lalah

PAPMPC abides by its “pick red” or picked ripe policy in harvesting beans to make sure its produce is high quality. Pick red policy was inspired by the meticulous process of the civet cat that yields the superior coffee bean harvest.

Through PAPMPC, Princess Lalah promotes peace in Sulu by offering decent work to the people of Sulu. “Most of the members of our cooperative are former rebels. They opted to put down their weapons in favor of coffee farming,” Princess Lalah shared.

Princess Lalah observed that the members of the cooperative have exhibited admirable team effort and hard work. She hopes to bring positive energy to more people, which can translate to more opportunities in productive farming.

URC and its mother company, JG Summit Holdings, Inc., share the same values as Princess Lalah and PAPMPC in enriching people and opening doors of opportunities for people to have a productive source of revenue. The conglomerate has several businesses in the Philippines and across Asia, which are home to over 50,000 workforce.

“This partnership with PAPMPC is significant to URC. Aside from its potential to help uplift a community, we see in Princess Lalah and her cooperative a strong association with our company’s values such as courage, determination and hard work. Our company believes in seizing opportunities to create sustainable and long-term businesses that are also beneficial for inclusive growth,” said URC Branded Consumer Foods Group EVP and Managing Director Nilo Mapa.

BREWING UP A PARTNERSHIP GEARED TOWARDS GROWTH
Employing its expertise in food manufacturing, URC seeks to help drive growth for the resource-rich and picturesque province of Sulu. Aside from introducing a lineup of fun and innovative snack foods and beverages, the company behind the well-loved C2, Chippy, Piattos, Presto and Cloud 9 brands, is also a big player in the local powdered coffee segment.

URC pioneered many firsts such as the locally-manufactured powdered coffee, Blend 45, and the White Coffee under its Great Taste Coffee brand. It also offered a convenient way for Filipinos to enjoy their coffee by launching unique packaging formats such as the Big Save Resealable Packs and Twin Packs.

The food manufacturing giant will explore the usage of the Sulu-produced, high quality coffee beans to develop a new product that will be carried under its Great Taste Coffee brand.

Princess Lalah shared that URC’s 10-metric ton order is 70% of their cooperative’s harvest for four months.

“The new product development is one of the fruits of our collaboration with the coffee farmers of Sulu. With its sustainable partnership with PAPMPC, we hope to contribute to the boosting of economic progress for the country and to making lives better for the Filipinos, Mapa added.

1. PICK RED
   Follow a strict “pick red” only harvesting protocol of coffee berries.
2. FLOAT VERSUS SINK
   After the berries are washed, flotation of berries is conducted to separate the floaters from the sinkers. Floater berries that have defects are discarded.
3. DE-PULP
   All sinkers are subjected to de-pulping. What results is a wet-parchment bean―or a coffee bean covered with mucilage―a sticky substance that has a high sugar content.
4. DECIDE
   The processor has to decide what kind of honey-processed coffee beans he wants to produce. There are three options: yellow-honey, red-honey or black-honey processed coffee beans.
5. DRY
   This wet-parchment bean is then laid out on elevated beds for drying.
   Yellow-honey processed bean will have 25% mucilage left on the wet-parchment bean before drying. It is allowed to dry at maximum temperature of 70⁰C. Stirring of the drying beans is done every six hours until desired moisture content is reached. Drying time takes approximately four to seven days.
   

   Red-honey processed bean will have 50% mucilage left on the wet-parchment bean before drying. It will be dried at a maximum temperature of 50⁰C. Stirring of the drying beans is done every hour for the first two days and every four hours onwards, to prevent fermentation and molds until desired moisture content is reached. Drying time will range from 10 to 15 days.
   Black-honey processed bean will have 100% of the mucilage left with wet-parchment bean before drying. Maximum drying temperature is 40⁰C. Stirring of the drying beans is done every 30 minutes for the first three days and every hour onwards to prevent fermentation and mold formation. Drying time is approximately a total of 15 to 21 days.
   The target moisture content to be attained is 12% to 14% MC, which is the allowable MC for dry parchment coffee beans for storage or milling.

6. DE-HULL
   The next process is de-hulling or milling to remove the hull or parchment covering the coffee bean, followed by polishing to remove the silver skin, the final covering of the coffee bean.
7. DRY AGAIN
   After milling, if the moisture content of the coffee bean is more than 12% MC, a final drying will be done to bring the moisture of the bean down to 12% MC, the maximum moisture allowed as per standard of the ICO for green coffee beans.

Honey processing of coffee beans is a long, tedious, and labor-intensive process. But if done properly it will result in a coffee brew with an exciting taste that interplays fruitiness and mild acidity with floral and woody notes.

(article by Glicerio Lumagbas / photos by Jennifer Rimando)

GAD, however, is not just a matter of budget. It also ensures that there is gender equality and gender equity. This is what the PCBI learned and hopes to apply in its commitment to uplift the Philippine coffee industry, its advocacy for 15 years and counting.

LEARNING AND SHARING GENDER TOPICS
PCBI is lucky because its women leaders have been exposed to the relevance of gender. Director Kumala Sug-Elardo led her community in a gender sensitivity seminar conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform in 2016. In 2017, she and PCBI Communications Officer Gold Quetulio attended a Gender Focal Points meeting in Samal, along with other NGO MinPACT partners of ACDI/VOCA.

While the women of PCBI are at the forefront of learning all these, the application needs to be strengthened. This is where ACDI/VOCA once again stepped in through Monitoring and Evaluation Manager and Gender Advisor Mercideta Pacio-Valdez and Gender Specialist Mary Fe Arquiza. The speakers made sure that PCBI’s gender knowledge and skills are reviewed and strengthened. For five whole days, they discussed: Gender First, Gender Laws, Power and Privilege, Gender Mainstreaming in Cooperatives and Organizations, and Gender in Value Chains.

The PCBI team welcomed the new year by learning Gender First from January 8-12, making it the first organization in 2018 to complete the five modules. Cavite State University also attended the talk and gave tips to PCBI in its GAD plans. Commune and ECHOsi were also present.

Up-to-date statistics conducted by local and foreign agencies showed the gender gap on access to land, agricultural training, inputs, tools and technologies, credits, and markets. Participants learned useful definition of terms and were invited to share their opinions and experiences on relevant topics like gender roles, gender issues, and using gender-fair language.

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT WOMEN
As these topics were unraveled, the participants realized the glaring truth: most women and girls are disadvantaged, vulnerable, marginalized, and discriminated. The change has to start with them so they can influence their family, their community, and through PCBI, their country. This also includes respecting the rights of men and seeking out male champions.

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP
“The project’s vision is to create equitable and sustainable opportunities for women and men. It’s also in support of government directives such as the Magna Carta of Women and the Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development in Cooperatives,” explained Pacio-Valdez.

Learning about gender is a big help in PCBI’s advocacy. Next comes the challenge of making sure it is understood, appreciated, and,  most important of all, applied.  

It was a question that Victor Mah, President of the ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF), posed to everyone at ACF’s 2nd Board Meeting. He particularly mentioned Philippines, Myanmar, and Vietnam because the three countries can boast of their centuries-old tradition of growing and consuming coffee.

In the Philippines, coffee has a history as rich as its flavor. In the 1800s, Barako commanded five times the price of other Asian coffee beans as we became the fourth largest exporter.

Today, Filipino coffee consumption far outweighs production. Vietnam produces thousands of metric tons that are enough to supply the global demand while Myanmar was recently hailed as Asia’s newest origin of specialty coffee. Fortunately, there are still various places in the Philippines where coffee has gone through the proper process from seed to cup. The constant challenge is how to make coffee production sustainable which will also make it profitable.

The Ultimate Coffee Guide‘s articles unravels the Philippines’ coffee journey as we discover more about where we are and where our coffee culture is headed.

Photos by Ros Juan and PCBI

The training took them to Cavite State University and different coffee farms, to learn about roasting and cupping under PCBI Executive Director Robert Francisco. The four-day session emphasized the key points for getting the best quality of coffee, including picking ripe.

Among them, four women have good stories to tell after just a year or so.

Nanda Pok, CAMBODIA

Nanda is a Kampot pepper farmer, a spice which coincidentally grows well with coffee. But after her training in 2016, she learned how to taste her own good coffee and spread the word among her colleagues. One of them took up the challenge. The result is a new, two-story coffee house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, called Moon Coffee. We met the owner who said, “Nanda inspired me to put up a café for our Mondulkiri coffee, and so I did!”

Rinda Wulan, INDONESIA

Rinda is actually an architect who learned about the coffee business and shifted careers to help the farmers in Java. She was asked to go to Slow Food‘s Salone del Gusto Terra Madre in 2016 to showcase Ciwidey and Flores coffee. Now, she is a proud roaster of select coffees from Indonesia. This includes Kelana Coffee, which means adventure in Indonesian.

Soulinda Saysanavongphet, LAOS

After helping her sister in her catering and restaurant business, Soulinda started to think of her own ventures. She now has her own brand of Laos coffee called Soulinda Coffee.

Sirina Sisombat-Hervy, LAOS

Sirina came back to Vientiane after having lived in Paris for two years and found herself running her father’s coffee venture called Sinouk Café. She is now responsible for running gen cafés across Laos and developing different blends for their coffee capsules. She recently came back to Manila with good news―a Lao-Philippine blend in a special “women in coffee” capsule. She will engage the rest of the ASEAN origins, especially after winning Woman Entrepreneur of the Year at the ASEAN Business Awards last September.

There are more who improved their coffee-sorting skills and their choosing of the best quality, such as Francisca Indirsiani of Mamasa, Indonesia, who later started the IWCA Chapter in Indonesia. Thanks to USAID-ACTI, UPS Foundation and ECHOsi Foundation who are our partners in this endeavor to teach more women about coffee in the ASEAN space.

(article by Pacita Juan / photos by Liz Rañola) 

The academe in the Philippines has taken on various roles to promote coffee quality through different programs and facilities. Esteemed universities such as Cavite State University (CSU), Benguet State University (BSU), Central Mindanao University, Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (Mindanao SPAMAST) and University of Southern Mindanao (USM) have recognized the growing importance of coffee in the farming and agricultural sector.

CUPPING FOR COFFEE QUALITY
With the help and guidance of the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI), CSU made it their goal to raise Philippine coffee quality to the highest level. Complete with research and development, the CSU coffee quality center is designed “to complement the thrust of the Coffee Research and Development (R&D) Program titled , ‘Creating Growth in the Countryside through Development of Appropriate Technologies on Coffee Production and Processing.'”

Another quality cupping laboratory in the southern Philippines is at Mindanao SPAMAST. Backed by the Department of Trade and Industry, SPAMAST satisfies the high demand for quality graded coffee not only of the region but of the whole country.

VALUE-ADDED TRAINING
Research centers such as continue to work and collaborate together. BSU Professor Valentino Macanes, also the Director of the Institute of Highland Farming Systems and Agroforestry, has started a cupping lab from these interactions. The aim of this lab is to train more Q graders in the Cordillera region. Professor Macanes has helped develop highland farming programs and initiatives and has shared ideas with coffee researchers and research centers. This assistance is a very crucial development because highland coffee is sought after around the world due to its flavor advantage brought by altitude and temperate weather.

RESEARCH TO DEVELOP
Coffee research is an important tool that paves the way to ensure sturdier crops. While several universities realize its value, USM has been a coffee research leader through published and ongoing studies into coffee. The Philippine Industrial Crops Research Institute (PICRI) from USM is also the national research institute for coffee.

INDUSTRY INTERACTION
CMU’s pillars of education go beyond instruction and research. One of its major functions includes the production, protection, management, and development of the agri-based and forest-based entrepreneurships in order to generate income as well as to provide support services to instruction, research, and extension.

The University Income Generation Program, which generates income and provides employment opportunities for the unemployed in nearby communities, includes a division for plantation crops. The Plantation Crop Production Division (PCPD) is responsible for the implementation, management, and operations of the plantation crops production projects to include rubber, coffee and cacao, fruit crops and commercial nursery, coconut, cassava, sugarcane and other crops.

Beyond the school, CMU has been working with various organizations, including Coffee for Peace (CFP), to build academic programs that train social entrepreneurs in the context of building peace in Mindanao.

SEEDING THE FUTURE
The important role of science, technology, research and development in coffee production is acknowledged and now implemented in coffee growing, production and improvement. Expect great things to come out of these establishments for the improvement of Philippine coffee one cup at a time.

PCBI works in partnership with these scholarly institutions, hardworking farmers, and supportive government and non-government institutions to weave the different sectors together, preparing the fertile ground to plant the seeds for quality coffee.

It is said that “the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” Knowing that the academe is involved in shaping tomorrow’s farmers, entrepreneurs and researchers gives us renewed hope in the future.

(article by Ann Kuy / photo by Keith Dador)

“Especially if it rains,” adds her cousin, Nurul-In Minajul Sali, who is also wiping her tears. “The roads are muddy. Now, our community earned enough funds to have it cemented.”

That’s how the pendulum swings from tears of anguish to tears of joy. As Mimie looks back, she never realized that she could earn a college degree. “Thanks to coffee, I did, and I’m hopeful that my younger siblings will also graduate.” They recently finished their Hotel and Restaurant Management degree at the Immaculate Conception Archdiocese School in Zamboanga City. They are also new members of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance-Philippine chapter.

We did not know that our coffee is Robusta and that we were blessed to have civet roaming freely in our town. Princess (Kumala Sug-Elardo), our leader, discovered the proper way from the National Coffee Summit. She shared it with us. Now it’s our turn to teach it to the young ones,” says Nurul-In Minajul Sali (shown in photo with Mimie Alyub Sali)

The first time I met them was at the Philippine International Convention Center where they sold Sulu Royal Coffee at the GREAT Women in ASEAN trade showcase. It was fitting because the ECHOsi Foundation and the GREAT Women Project, back in 2014, had brought trainers to teach them and other young girls in their community to make grass and nipa baskets. These baskets were used as packaging materials for their coffee. Eventually, the men, the military and the other adults also participated because they were able to earn, and the additional income led to peace in their community.

From basket making, they learned the proper way to plant, harvest and process coffee. They reveal that the trainings instilled the importance of doing things the right way or they will have to do the process all over again. With bulk orders from Cotabato, Basilan, and additional orders from the Philippines and even from Canada, they managed their time wisely. They used the money they had earned for the school needs of their siblings like books and shoes. Mimie and Nurul-In also brought new phones to communicate with fellow IWCA-Ph members, eager to learn more.

I’m amazed at how they use their time, talent and money wisely. It’s a cycle of women helping women in IWCA-Ph―and I’m thirsty to learn more inspiring stories like this for The Ultimate Coffee Guide.

(article by Goldweene Quetulio / photos by Keith Dador)

Robert Francisco joined PCBI as its technical consultant in February 2017, to help set up the Coffee Quality Center at Cavite State University for the first Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality Competition. Since then he has been busy as its executive director, implementing programs to improve the coffee industry. He received his Q-grader certification in 2015 and has been using his cupping expertise to further improve coffee quality in the country.

COFFEE CUPPING FOR COFFEE PRODUCTIVITY
“Cupping the coffee is evaluating the product in a brew. Knowing the product and the brew will will tell you if the right notes will come out. Cupping will tell how processing was done. Cupping will tell how processing was done. Cupping is very important for both post-processing and post-harvest, to improve quality by changing processing or identifying where the bean is best for.”

COFFEE QUALITY
“As a philosophy, coffee stakeholders have to know their product. Whether they are certified or not, farmers, cooperative owners and traders should learn to cup and evaluate the coffee they are buying. When standards are elevated, they will no longer buy low-grade coffee. If farmers want to sell, they need to elevate standards.”

OPPORTUNITIES
“The potential quality of coffee in our farms can be competitive with the global standards for quality coffee. Two things can happen: quality improves or quantity increases. If both come about, we can satisfy local consumption and exceed quality standards. If the demand is there, production will continue.”

WHAT’S BREWING?
“I currently see an aggressive trend that has been slowly brewing. And this was seen in Kape Pilipino competition, where the farmers were processing their beans to meet third wave standards. This is a high level of quality, with more scientific techniques being used to come up with beautiful coffee. More local cafés are buying local coffee because of the quality.”

After retiring in 2009, John Edgar Luardo took over the agricultural property left by his parents in Bohol. His quest for a crop that would fit into the non-irrigated farm areas led to coffee. Further collaborations with fellow coffee farmers resulted in the construction of the Coffee and Cacao Training School with its own nursery in Carmen, Bohol. His involvement eventually led to the creation of the Bohol Coffee and Cacao Growers Marketing (BCCGMC), with the help of PCBI and Agricultural Training Institute.

COOPERATIVES FOR COFFEE PRODUCTIVITY
“The first coffee farmers to establish their farms were Dr. Fe Miñoza and Atty. Dionisio Balite. From then our group multiplied exponentially. Currently we have coffee farms in Carmen, Batuan, Bilar, Catigbian, Danao, San Miguel, Dagohoy, Mabini, Ubay, Anda, Talibon, Sierra Bulliones, Guindulman, Pilar and Duero. Coffee production in Bohol has multiplied despite the warthquakes. At least five to seven municipalities in the different districts of Bohol can claim that they have coffee farms already.”

COFFEE EQUALITY
“Through the Pick Red campaign of PCBI, the quality of coffee has improved tremendously. Imposing penalties made on green coffee cherries given to farmers was a bitter pill to swallow. Traders and buyers have to teach the farmers basic quality control, so they can obtain optimum prices for their coffee cherries. Buying fresh berries makes the farmers aware of what the buyer and trader want when they sell their coffee.”

CHALLENGES
“There is a need to create coffee quality technicians. Intensive training of a corps of coffee technicians should be emphasized by related government agencies. Creativity and innovation are needed to identify lucrative markets for the coffee farmers. Processing techniques, packaging, and marketing up the value chain must understood by the coffee farmer organization.

WHAT’S BREWING?
“Much of the varieties planted in Bohol is Robusta. With the help of PCBI, we were able to obtain planting materials of Arabica from Cordillera, Liberica from Joel Lumagbas and Dr. Mojica, and Excelsa from a Batangueño friend. Now we have our four coffee varieties and eventually will be making our very own Bohol Blend coffee, with a highland blend and a coastal blend soon.

Commune started in 2013 as one of the first few independent, third-wave cafés in Manila. Commune still remains proudly Filipino, from its coffee to its menu. Commune serves only 100% Philippine coffee from various farms in the country.

CAFÉS FOR COFFEE PRODUCTIVITY
“When Commune started in 2013, people were asking me why I served only Philippine coffee. I was on a quest to prove that if you knew where to look and if you worked with the farmers to improve the quality of their coffee, you will be amazed by Philippine coffee.”

COFFEE QUALITY
“I see a lot of work ahead of us but I see a lot of hope. Now that the demand for quality coffee is increasing, farmers are also more interested to know what coffee quality is all about. Now, it’s time to level up and work on the quality of the coffee they grow. The demand for quality coffee will definitely serve as an inspiration and motivation for our farmers.”

WHAT’S BREWING?
“We started with retail and focused on the quality of he beverages we produce. We’ve begun roasting our own beans, and we look forward to working closely with the farmers to further improve the quality of the coffee that we source.”

Bea Belardo of Belardo Coffee Enterprises takes pride in the family-owned business that was established when the Philippines became one of the top coffee exporters in the ’80s. Commitment to quality and tradition creates lasting success, much like slot gacor, which brings an exciting and rewarding gaming experience to those who enjoy a touch of thrill.

COFFEE TRADING FOR COFFEE PRODUCTIVITY
“The demand for local coffee is still high. Traders help roasters with their supply. As a roaster ourselves, we’ve felt that in the lean season, it will be really hard to source coffee, especially if we haven’t forcasted the demand properly. There are a lot of initiatives now in reviving the coffee industry within the country, and it’s good to know that farmers are working together with these organizations, to up their harvest and quality as well.”

COFFEE QUALITY
“I think productivity and quality should go hand in hand. If we want coffee that has good quality, we should make it known that it’s labor intensive to reach a certain point or grade.”

OPPORTUNITIES
“I think with extensive education that focuses on producing a potential player for the specialty market, Robusta will not be seen as the inferior variety and a low-cost crop.”

WHAT’S BREWING?
“In 2016, we experimented with producing honey-processed Robusta, which ended up as our entry in the first Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality Grading Competition. We were surprised that it gained a score of above 80. It was labor-intensive and took a lot of care for the post-harvest. It’s a good sign that they are making a lot of effort in producing good quality coffee.”