Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest The Philippines is blessed with fertile soil, and is one of the few countries able to produce all four coffee bean types: arabica, robusta, liberica, and excelsa. Coffee cherries (photo by Lorenzo Reyes) “Coffee grows within the parts of the world that lie right within the equatorial belt. Where there are volcanoes, you’ll find the best land to grow coffee,” tells Lorenzo “Lorie” Reyes, head roaster and founder of Roaster Juan’s. And the wonderful thing about coffee is that there are so many ways to appreciate it. There’s a story in each cup told through the flavors and tastes our own land has to offer. “It’s nice to see a lot of new brands coming up that highlight the places and farmers, and we get to enjoy the great coffee here in the country,” adds Mike Asuncion, founder of Kick-Start Coffee and president of Silca Coffee Roasting Company, Inc. Arabica This bean is the gold standard used in coffee competitions. Once the palate becomes more discerning, one will notice the sophisticated complexity of flavors that emanate from arabica. Arabica grows best at higher elevations, like in mountains where there’s less oxygen. The growth is slower and this allows coffee and other vegetation to mature better. Good arabica can be found in the Cordilleras and the mountain ranges of Mindanao, such as on Mt. Apo or Mt. Kitanglad. This variety, however, takes longer to grow, is susceptible to pests, and the yield is low, thus making this bean more valuable than the others. With just a whiff, you’ll know that it’s worth the high price. Kalsada Coffee Beans (photo from Kalsada Coffee’s Facebook page) Miko Simangan, head coffee roaster at EDSA Beverage Specialty Beverages, Inc. reveals that they will soon unveil a washed process 100% arabica coffee from Atok, Benguet, produced and processed by the locals of Sitio Belis with their partner, Kalsada Coffee. It’s a mix of typical, red bourbon and San Ramon varietals grown at 1,400-1,700 meters above sea level. In sample production roasts, there is a taste of sweet tamarind and citrus fruits. For single-origin, try Hineleban Coffee. The world-class Hineleban Farms coffee received a top rating of 86 from acclaimed coffee sommelier Marty Curtis at the 2015 Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle. Hineleban Coffee Robusta In the Philippines, the most-produced crop is robusta, which can be grown anywhere. This coffee is currently grown in Batangas, Cavite, Mindoro, Bicol, Negros, parts of Leyte, and areas of Cebu and Sulu. And though it is our largest yield, it is hardly consumed as is by Filipinos, unlike in Vietnam, which is currently the world’s largest producer of robusta. This variety is easy to grow and is a very resilient crop. The taste is on the bitter side and since it possesses the highest caffeine, roasters are careful with robusta and usually use this sparingly in blends. Your Daily Lift, the Kick-Start Coffee blend is combined with direct trade Cavite robusta and arabica. Kick-Start Coffee’s Your Daily Lift “Robusta is the main ingredient in instant coffee and 3-in-1 coffee. The Philippines used to be a large exporter of robusta coffee in the 1980s, but now we must import coffee to satisfy the demand,” shares Asuncion. His family’s business, Evrile Enterprises/Silca Trading used to be one of the largest exporters of robusta coffee from Cavite to the United States. Liberica Familiar with kapeng barako? It’s originally made from this type of coffee bean, mostly found in Batangas and Cavite. This is what our grandparents drank in the morning that is why Filipinos seem to have an affinity with liberica. Although there is a long-standing debate among roasters of whether kapeng barako is liberica or excelsa. photo from Roaster Juan’s Facebook page Roaster Juan’s Premium House Blend is made of premium arabica from Benguet with a light sprinkling of earthy liberica grown in the volcanic soil of Batangas province. The cup has a rich, smooth flavor with distinctive aroma, medium to full body with a light smokey finish and lingering sweetness, fruit and spice acidity. Excelsa A distant cousin of liberica, excelsa is described to have a tart and fruity body with tastes like that of a light roast but manages to evoke some dark, roasty notes. These are also grown alongside the liberica in Cavite and Batangas. Kick-Start Coffee stands by excelsa as their barako coffee. In Cavite it is known as “makapal” or thick because it is bigger and harder than the robusta coffee berries. Asuncion elaborates, “We want to promote our version of barako that we’ve known through the generations since my dad started in coffee in the 1970s.” Kick-Start Coffee’s Philippine Barako Kick-Start’s single-origin Philippine Barako Coffee is full-bodied and robust with an intense fruity aroma and bold, yet sweet flavor. Each bean is handpicked once ripe from coffee trees grown in the highlands of Cavite. The unique climate, high elevation, and volcanic soil from the Taal Volcano combine to create this coffee’s strong body and bold taste. Kapeng Alamid We also have the expensive kapeng alamid, which are beans collected from the droppings of the palm civet cat whose digestive processes give it a distinctive flavor. The coffee cherries are fermented as they pass through the civet’s digestive tract. It is said to be the caviar of coffee although there are those who question the ethical treatment of the animals just to produce this kind of coffee. International Coffee Day The International Coffee Organization declared October 1 as International Coffee Day, an occasion to celebrate coffee as a beverage and raise awareness for the plight of the coffee growers. Coffee consumption has dramatically increased in the Philippines with the rise of specialty coffee shops over the years. However, the Philippines remains underrated in terms of what it can offer to veteran and budding coffee aficionados. That is why it is important that in celebrating International Coffee Day, we should also support our own local coffee roasters and suppliers. In terms of improving volume and quality of Philippine coffee, Simangan echoes the same sentiment of practically all the local coffee roasters and suppliers, “Investing in local coffee farmers is the key by means of education in good farming practices and equipment. This will help farmers build standards and improve the quality of the coffee they produce.” Reyes also shares a piece of his mind and he probably best describes what other coffee producers are also aiming for. “I would really like to highlight more than just the bag of coffee with my label on it. What is worth so much more is the hard work, passion, dedication, and expertise that were put together to produce this bag of coffee. I just happen to be in the last step of the ladder. Everyone else—the farmer, the picker, the packer, etc.—has a stake in this product and together we are able to offer a product worthy of pride, a product that can proudly stand on its own in the world market, despite severe supply and resource limitations.”