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 the foreseeable future, our path lies in becoming a niche producer of quality coffees for export and domestic consumption rather than a large volume grower.” (Guillermo Luz)

WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK ON PHILIPPINE COFFEE FROM A LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE?
“The Philippines was once a major producer of coffee. We are one of the few countries that can produce the four main types of beans—Robusta, Excelsa, Arabica, and Liberica or Barako. For the foreseeable future, our path lies in quality coffees for export and domestic consumption rather than a large volume grower.”

HOW HAS THIS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?
“The biggest change in the last 20 years is that coffee consumption has grown tremendously. Today, we consume about three to four times as much as we produce. Demand has far outpaced the supply. Thus, the country has had to import lots more coffee. The tragedy is that our coffee-drinking habits are making farmers in other countries rich. If we produced more coffee, I’m convinced those beans would sell here because the Philippines has quality coffee.”

HOW CAN PHILIPPINE SPECIALTY COFFEE BE MORE COMPETITIVE IN THE GLOBAL COFFEE SCENE?
“For specialty coffee to become competitive, I believe we will need to organize the growers so we can build up larger pools of supply and build up quality. With larger inventories, we will become a more reliable supplier to international markets. The consolidated inventory will enable us to effectively and confidently engage in strong marketing efforts because we know we will have the supply and quality by consolidating growers into cooperatives or network of growers. They have also been able to consolidate their marketing efforts so that a brand and reputation has developed around certain countries like Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and others.”

WHAT IS NEEDED FOR THE PHILIPPINES TO BE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE IN THE SPECIALTY COFFEE ARENA?
“Once we consolidate growers, we should be able to train them to increase and improve the quality of their yields. The larger volumes will introduce economies of scale for processing and other post-harvest activities. PCBI is studying how to consolidate growers so we can gather together larger supplies of quality beans for export market. Once we expand the overseas market for quality coffee beans from the Philippines, we will need to focus on building seedling nurseries. We expect that more people will want to become growers or present growers who will want to expand their existing farms.”

WHERE DO YOU FORESEE PHILIPPINE SPECIALTY COFFEE GOING?
“I am pretty confident that the future for specialty coffee is bright. The local consumption is quite strong and continues to grow while foreign markets are just beginning to discover Philippine coffee. And don’t forget—we have many Filipino living abroad. I’d like to think many of them would be proud to drink and serve Philippine coffee.”

Guillermo Luz is a founding trustee of the PCBI. He is responsible for gathering the coffee stakeholders back in 2002 to what is now a 15-year-old authority in coffee. Bill is also in the National Competitiveness Council and an active member of business organizations. He is an avid coffee drinker and has also tried to plant coffee. 

The old Kape Isla seal

Luz pointed out that the group’s original intention was to use the Kape Isla seal as a way of identifying Philippine coffee. It was meant to be used in tandem with any local coffee brand which predominantly used Philippine-grown coffee.

“At the outset, we had no way of formally testing coffee for quality,” Luz explained. “We just instinctively felt there was a need to create awareness around Philippine coffee. An applicant had to make use of mainly Philippine coffee in their product to use the seal.”

When prodded on what the tangible benefits were for the coffee industry, Luz noted that the consumers became more aware of the Philippine coffee and began to ask for Philippine coffee. “Over time, we were able to educate consumers about different types of beans―Robusta, Barako, Arabica, Excelsa―and even origins such as Benguets, Kitanglads, Kapatagans, [and others].”

Guillermo Luz

He added, “The Kape Isla seal is important, but we’ve gone way beyond simply stating a coffee is from the Philippines. Today, consumers want to know what type of coffee bean is used. They want to know if the beans are blended or single-origin., where they come from, what elevation they grew in, how they were processed, and even who farmed them. By focusing on these aspects, we actually promote and generate greater market interest, which also helps build up quality (and price and incomes for farmers).”

The new Kape Isla seal

Luz closed with an optimistic view of the future of quality Philippine coffee. He asserted, “Ultimately, we want coffee farmers to earn more from growing coffee and this can only happen when they grow more quantity and produce the quality that consumers want.”