1. PROTOCOL
   Follow a protocol. Working with a guideline ensures consistency and fairness. Examples of protocols for judging specialty coffees are the Specialty Coffee Association protocol and the Cup of Excellence protocol. For commercial coffees, a number of customized protocols exist per country depending on how the coffee is traded.
2. FOCUS
   Cupping is an activity that relies on all senses and faculties. In addition to sensory appreciation, it is a decision-making process. Clarity of mind, wellness of body, and a peaceful spirit ensure accuracy.
3. OBJECTIVITY
   Assess what the coffee presents. Make a judgment based on the attributes rather than your personal preference. Reward positive attributes and give constructive criticism for the negatives.
4. PRACTICE
   Hone your skill in and out of the cupping room. Exercise your olfactory and sensorial perceptions everywhere you go. Taste, smell, and judge (or score) everything palatable.
5. CALIBRATION
   Coffee is global. Any opportunity to cup coffee alone or with fellow cuppers contributes to growth and continuous learning that will complement your cupping instincts.
6. EXPLORATION
   Each cupping session is akin to traveling to coffee origins. There is a possibility of discovering something different each time.
7. COMMUNICATION
   Every coffee has a story. Cupping is the process that discovers and validates the milestones in the long journey from seed to cup. Give an accurate account.

   

Mbula has worked extensively in East Africa on the African Fine Coffee Associations Taste of Harvest competitions, including the start up and design of this program. She is an arabica and robusta cupper and has experience with Fine Robusta coffees from her work with CQI in Uganda.

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And it’s a growing tribe.

The local chapter of International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) welcomes more women into the fold, as Princess Kumala Sug-Elardo urges the women of Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to join the Philippine chapter. She has touched base with women from Basilan and Sulu, and hopes more ARMM women coffee farmers and processors will join future activities.

IWCA Kenya’s Mbula Musau together with La Lida of Thailand (who will be opening an IWCA chapter soon), and IWCA Philippines’ Princess Kumala Sug-Elardo and Chit Juan

Sulu has been at the forefront of the IWCA work, due to its distance from many key places where coffee summits, events, and trainings are held. This is why members go out to the remote areas and through Princess, are able to get the women together.

In Benguet, IWCA members recently visited the women farmers in Kapangan, to introduce them to quality standards for specialty coffee. Marietta Paragas, community leader in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), joined the meeting with local village officials and local executives, who can further develop coffee projects in far-flung towns in the north.

Over in Bohol, IWCA reconnected with the women who diligently worked on their coffee beans to be able to Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality Competition. They look forward to being more active in spreading the word about coffee cupping and grading, since most of the farmers only pick ripe cherries anyway.

Women coffee farmers in Bohol

Then, there are women farmers who are part of the Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) stakeholders from Mindanao. They can benefit from the support of IWCA Global and the access to international markets through International Trade Center’s (ITC) #SheTrades program. The ITC—with the help of IWCA’s network—has connected coffee producers to coffee buyers internationally.

This is why IWCA is an important part of the “access to market” step. Through the annual SCA convention and the bi-annual IWCA convention, IWCA chapters from around the world meet sponsors who empower women producers while conducting activities like coffee auctions in the USA, Europe, and other coffee-consuming markets.

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During a briefing prior to their grueling five-day judging, Samuel expressed excitement about sharing the story of our coffee farmers and to help get that out. “Asia has a lot of promise and potential. My personal mission and vision is to see Asian coffee quality increase and be introduced to the world. I want to change opinions on what Asia coffee can be.”

President of the Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) Chit Juan shared that 78 coffee samples had been submitted from all over the country, from the northern Cordillera Administrative Region and all the way down to the south in Sulu. PCBI founding chair Nicholas Matti was hopeful for what Kape Pilipino could mean for coffee farmers. “It is an encouragement for farmers and gives them confidence, once they feel that they can emulate what others have achieved to attain good coffee. It all starts in the farm.”

Robert Francisco, a long-time coffee expert and a Q grader like the other judges, assisted them during the judging held at the Cavite State University. At the end, 12 Arabicas and 10 Robustas scored above 80 points.

Inhandig Tribal Multi Purpose Cooperative (ITMPC) from Malaybalay, Bukidnon won this year’s Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality competition for the Arabica category, scoring 85.84 points. ITMPC was organized on March 12, 1998 and duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).  A total of 20 members, mostly of the Inhandig indigenous peoples (IP) group, were the founding members. The founders are just few of the co-owners of the Daraghuyan CADTI area in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

Kape Maramag of Maramag, Bukidnon won the Robusta category with 83.75 points.  Kape Maramag started as a small-scale, community-based coffee enterprise managed by the Federation of Rural Improvement Clubs (RICs) representing the twenty (20) barangays of the municipality of Maramag, Bukidnon, Philippines. Kape Maramag was organized in 2012, through the collaborative efforts of various local and national government support agencies.

Both winners used the natural process and brought out floral and dark chocolate notes for Robusta, and floral and caramel notes for the Arabicas. They will send their representatives to Seattle, Washington this April to attend the Specialty Coffee Association Expo. “I’m truly amazed by the taste profile of the winners,” Samuel said at the end.

Through Kape Pilipino, the winners can now command a higher price in the specialty coffee market. Through this year’s competition, the foundation has been laid for the future and stirs up interest for Philippine specialty coffee.

*Kape Pilipino is part of the Mindanao Productivity in Agriculture, Commerce and Trade (MinPACT) project. This project is funded by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and implemented by ACDI/VOCA. Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) is the grantee organization which conducted the events for better quality consciousness of producers for specialty Arabicas and fine Robustas.

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We’re very privileged to host international coffee experts for the KAPE PILIPINO—the First Green Coffee Quality Competition—currently ongoing at the Cavite State University in Indang, Cavite.

The coffee community is waiting with bated breath as these four international judges, headed by Samuel Gurel of Torch Coffee, taste almost a hundred samples of green coffee beans. These are sourced from as far north as Benguet to as far south as Sulu.

“We want more farmers to be conscious about taste and quality and not just size,” says Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) Chair Nicky Matti. Echoing his statement, Samuel Gurel confirmed that “size does not matter”.  A lot of Robusta farmers in the country do not fertilize and are organic by default. As such, the beans are smaller (the trade calls it screen 13/14) when other bigger beans would be a screen 16/18, almost like an Arabica bean. “But it’s not the size, “ Gurel repeats. It’s how it is processed and finally how it will “cup”.

The other judges are Shaun Ong from Singapore, La Lida from Thailand and Mbula Musau from Kenya. Two ladies and two gentlemen will be assisted by Robert Francisco who is a long time coffee expert and also a Q grader like the four judges.

The Q system was established by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) to be the universal language for coffee cupping for quality. There are Q courses for Arabica and Robusta as these coffees have difference in taste profiles.

The Kape Pilipino is part of the MinPACT project sponsored by the USDA and is managed by ACDIVOCA. PCBI is the In Country Partner of CQI and has been conducting classes on the Q grading system since March last year. The classes are held at the Barista Coffee Academy of Asia (BCAA) in Greenhills and in Davao. It has already produced five Q graders. Still, PCBI and ACDIVOCA want to have more Q and R graders to help farmers and processors get better quality coffee.

These are the secrets to a good cup:

• Pick only red or ripe coffee cherries.
• Process them naturally or through the washed process.
• Dry them on elevated drying beds or screens until they reach a moisture of 11% or lower.
• Taste them before selling the coffee.

Just through these tips, a farmer can double or triple his coffee income. These are the secrets to having a sustainable coffee supply and to make it in the world market.

“Asia is the coffee center now,” says Gurel. “You are in Asia,” he continues.

Everyone is looking for Asian coffee. The Philippines may be the next origin to make it very big again in coffee exports—this time in specialty coffee. That’s’ a thought that should keep farmers planting the crop and be sustainable.

Watch out for the results of the competition which will be announced on March 4 in simple ceremonies at the Cavite State University.

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