The journey started last year in Ifugao when PCBI consultant Robert Francisco and PEF program manager Bong Soto trekked to Asipulo, Ifugao to announce the rules.

It was important to announce the contest way before harvest time so coffee farmers could pick the best fruits, process them well, then prepare them for cupping. This was in November 2018.

Last March, farmers sent their coffee samples to PCBI and these were cupped and graded by PCBI/CQI-trained Q graders Mario Macalalad, Bea Belardo, and Jen Rimando under Robert Francisco’s management. PCBI received 21 samples and out of these, 17 made the grade.

Making the grade means scoring over 80 points.

The awarding ceremonies will be held this April, in time with the festivities in the town of Asipulo.

PEF has generously prepared cash prizes and tokens to entice the farmers to continue the practice for the coming harvest season. This will make Ifugao coffee known as a specialty grade and could fetch higher prices for the farmers’ efforts.

Photo by Kyla Principio

“It’s an enriching coffee tour experience.”

“Coffee and friends make the perfect blend.”

“It made me appreciate every cup of coffee even more.”

“I wish there’s another one.”

The tour was only for a day. With comments like these, it can be said that the effect lasted beyond a day. In fact, just a few minutes after happy faces and coffee photos were posted on Facebook, it elicited immediate requests from the public that the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) organized another coffee tour after three months!

PH CAFEEE: BEGINNING AND ESSENCE
The coffee tour that got a lot of buzz on social media is the brainchild of Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez and PCBI President and Co-Chair Pacita Juan.

Through a continuing education for tour guides, the participants were given an in-depth look into some of the country’s sustainable industries like coffee. Thus, 19 accredited tour guides from Region 4A and NCR were part of the Philippine Coffee Activity For Earning, Education, and Enjoyment Program (PH CAFEEE) on November 22, 2017.

The coffee tour started with a morning briefing at the Department of Tourism office in Makati, where the tour guides were also given copies of The Ultimate Coffee Guide. Then, they got on board a coaster headed to Cavite and Tagaytay, where they learned about coffee from farm to cup. With them was PCBI Executive Director Robert Francisco, who shared his knowledge about Philippine coffee.

COFFEE AND MORE
The first stop and Gourmet Farms, where the tour guides were welcomed by Director Len Reyes. While he gave a brief background of how their 30-year-old business started and invited them to go around the shop to check out their various products, guests were served coffee buns, cookies, and a warm cup of coffee.

After they had their fill, they explored the 11-hectare estate and witnessed how Gourmet Farms stores, roasts, and packs its coffees. The cool breeze, the surrounding organic greens, and the aromatic smell of coffee left a good impression on the tour guides who went back to the store and shopped for more.

The next destination was the Nurture Wellness Village. The coaster passed by a few coffee trees that were beginning to bloom on the way to this healthy sanctuary. As the tour guides alighted from the coaster, they were given fresh pandan juice as they took photos and videos of the dancers wearing straw hats and in Filipiniana attire.

Geng Eclarinal of Nurture Farmacy gave a background on the company’s philosophy. The herb and vegetable gardens were just as Instagrammable as the first destination, with quotes that reminded why health and wellness matters. The tour guides were amazed to see a demonstration of a coffee scrub, one of Nurture Wellness Village’s spa offerings.

Who wants to try coffee scrub? One of the highlights of the tour was a demonstration of this spa offering at the Nurture Wellness Village.

Across a quaint spot where a carabao looked lovely with flowers on its head, the staff had set up demonstrations of local arts and crafts like weaving, kite making, and forming a ball using coconut leaves. This showcase of culture continued with a demonstration of Old School coffee grinding and roasting. The tour guides were then treated to a coffee-themed healthy lunch.

Nurture Wellness Village owner Cathy Turvil explained their company philosophy: holistic, quality, proudly Filipino, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability. She then proudly introduced her team and invited everyone to dance for wellness.

“Our staff of 150 all belong here in our barangay,” she revealed. Turvil and her husband worked together to equip them with the needed skills until Nurture Wellness Village garnered their well-deserved Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence for three consecutive years!

From Silang to Tagaytay, the tour guides” last stop was in Amadeo. Known as the coffee capital of the Philippines, its rich coffee history harks back to the Spanish era. After all, the town was named after King Amadeo of Spain. The staff of Cafe Amadeo gave a brief yet detailed history, showed them the facilities of the coffee shop, as well as the famous Pahimis Blend.

Pahimis is their local term for giving thanks. In the olden times, it was the coffee farmers’ tradition to share their last can of coffee harvest as a sign of thanksgiving. They believed that it would bring them luck in their next harvest. The tour guides also learned that the annual Pahimis Festival is celebrated in April, in an effort to boost the town’s agri-business and eco-tourism.

The coffee tour in Luzon was a good way to mark the start of the partnership between the DOT and PCBI. Plans are already in place for the Visayas and Mindanao leg.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. Like coffee, it’s an experience that one needs to make time for. Beyond the caffeine fix, it’s a tour that will make you feel proud of our coffee heritage.

Photos by Keith Dador

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) 

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.”

“Learn how to cup to understand coffee.” (Robert Francisco, Executive Director, PCBI)

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.”

Part of Bohol Coffee and Cacao Growers Association’s mission and vision is support for the children of poor coffee and cacao farmers with a full scholarship in Agriculture Technology. Ed Luardo explains, “We harness the youth by training them as coffee and cacao technicians and agri-entrepreneurs”.

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.

“We have our own stories to share. Although these might not attract much attention, we take pride in the improvements that we have accomplished in our Bohol coffee industry.” (John Edgar Luardo, farmer and entrepreneur, Bohol Coffee and Cacao Growers Marketing Cooperative)

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.”

“Enhancing productivity ultimately benefits the farmers because they reap the economic benefits of a superior product.” (Rosario Juan, Chief Extractor of Coffee, Commune Café)

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.

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.”

“Coffee will have premium quality for a premium price.” (Bea Belardo, coffee trader, Belardo Coffee Enterprises and Café Belardo)

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.”

“The Indonesian exporters of green coffee beans know that there are now many Philippine cafes looking for ASEAN coffee origins,” says Hidayat Zakaria, Counsellor of the Embassy. Besides coffee exporters, other coffee-related businesses are also looking for partners to set up shop in the country. This will bode well for ASEAN integration and makes the two countries work together since the Philippines has now become a net importer of coffee due to its increasing consumption.

The Philippines imports around 80% of its consumption in coffee or about 100,000 MT a year, largely from Indonesia and Vietnam. Now the Indonesians wish to meet more of the coffee-consuming Filipinos.

“We are happy to help the Indonesian Embassy,” says Robert Francisco, Executive Director of the PCBI. After all, what benefits ASEAN countries benefits the whole region in increased coffee exports as the world faces an imminent coffee shortage in the years to come.

“Making friends with our ASEAN coffee-producing neighbors this early will help the Philippines position itself in the coffee trade. The Philippines consumes about 135,000 MT of coffee but only produces 35,000 MT, making imports imperative as coffee takes 3-5 years to bear fruit and coffee roasters need the green coffee to process for soluble coffee and for specialty coffee as well,” a PCBI official said.

For interested parties you may call PCBI at 0908-8831218 or email admin.pcbi@gmail.com for seats to this “by invitation” session.

JULY 1 at ECHOstore Salcedo
1-4pm with Robert Francisco
ALTERNATE BREWING METHODS
Learn the Third Wave methods of brewing.

JULY 8 at Commune
9am-3pm with Lyndon Realubit
INTRODUCTION TO ROASTING
P5,000 (includes lunch, coffee, and certificate)

Pay 3 days before the class to reserve a seat then email your deposit slip at admin.pcbi@gmail.com. For inquiries, call or text 0949-880-0112.