Perfect for the coffee month of October, The Coffee Dinner will be held at Dusit Hotel Manila on October 26, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. It will definitely be a special event, coupled with the awarding of five individuals recognized for their great contributions to the Philippine coffee industry as well as the launching of the PCBI-designed coffee courses to be offered by Dusit Hospitality Management College.

Pegged as the home of International Coffee Organization, London is where coffee ideas continue to brew. The famous London Coffee Dinner has been hosted annually by British Coffee Association (BCA) since its conception in 1955. It is a venue for putting one’s feet up and sipping one’s coffee slowly, so to speak. Dubbed “the voice of United Kingdom coffee,” BCA aims to “foster a favorable environment for all the aspects of the coffee industry and its culture to thrive.” This same objective holds true for PCBI.

Here in Asia, with the Philippines set to be a future coffee hub, PCBI follows suit. Imagine one night of laying aside all agenda to simply get together and enjoy one another’s company with good food and the best local coffee while celebrating the achievements in the Philippine coffee sector.

“Coffee will not just be a commodity to be traded but a drink to be respected as a fuel for growth and progress because of the icons who have brought the industry closer to the coffee drinkers through their brands and through research and continuous innovations.” —Pacita Juan

This is PCBI’s vision for The Coffee Dinner. As host, PCBI, with the mission of unifying the fragmented Philippine coffee industry and transforming it into an engine of economic growth, encourages the next generation of coffee players to pursue unity in and through coffee. This is the goal of The Coffee Dinner: that of enjoining the consumers, buyers, and institutions to unite in the interest of keeping Philippine coffee in everyone’s consciousness, beyond summits and conferences. An awarding ceremony will also be held during the dinner, acknowledging the commitment and diligent work of veteran Philippine coffee players. All Philippine coffee aficionados are very much welcome!

It is hoped that with the active participation of more people—from farmers to investors, processors, and others—in The Coffee Dinner, it will eventually become an avenue for the improvement of coffee production in the country, and will boost the industry’s sustainability. As more coffee-centric stakeholders and players join hands for Philippine coffee, the future will indeed look a lot brighter. Philippine coffee will progress and will continue to make its mark as a sought-after world-class brew.

As perfectly put into words by Juan, “Coffee will not just be a commodity to be traded but a drink to be respected as a fuel for growth and progress because of the icons who have brought the industry closer to the coffee drinkers through their brands and through research and continuous innovations.”

It will be a dream come true to see all Philippine coffee lovers in unity, with one passion and vision: seeing Philippine coffee top the charts.

This article was first published in The Ultimate Coffee Guide Volume XI, Issue 2, 2018. 

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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.”

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