Aussie coffee roaster enters Cebu market

CEBU, Philippines - The improving sophistication of the Cebuano market in embracing the coffee drinking culture prompted Australian high-grade coffee roaster Toby's Estate to enter Cebu.

Initially, the coffee brand is partnering with specialty cakes and pastries shop--Treat Street Cafe on the second floor of the Ayala Center Cebu Expansion Wing.

"The coffee drinking culture in the Philippines [in general] has changed dramatically. Now, Filipinos are ready to explore the third wave entry of coffee shops, which provides the top-tier quality," said Raoul Z. De Peralta, general manager for Toby's Estate Philippines.

Toby's Estate is a specialty coffee house founded by Toby Smith in Australia in 2011-- to "provide an uncompromised coffee experience to the coffee-loving community".

In the Philippines, it leads the introduction of third wave coffee roaster to the market.

The first wave of coffee roaster, are those stores that influenced Filipinos to love "gourmet" coffee, from a predominantly instant-coffee drinking culture. This was first introduced by Filipino-owned coffee chain brand Figaro in 1997.

In Cebu, the first gourmet coffee shop was opened in 1996 by Cebuano entrepreneur Steve Benitez through his Bo's Coffee Club chain.

This phenomenon was followed by the entry of Starbucks, and other foreign coffee chain brands to the Philippines.

Managed and operated by Rebel Alliance Food Supply Inc., as master-franchisee, Toby's Estate entered the Philippine market in 2014. Today, it has six Toby's Estate cafes in Metro Manila.

Outside Australia, the Philippines is only the third country in the world to have a Toby's Estate presence.

Toby's Estate Arabica beans scored as one of top 15 quality coffee roasters in the world, by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

Specialty coffee refers to the highest-quality green coffee beans roasted to their greatest flavor potential by true craftspeople and then properly brewed to well-established SCAA developed standards.

According to De Peralta, Cebu is ready to embrace the more sophisticated coffee drinking lifestyle, as coffee lovers or connoisseurs are willing to pay something that is worth their whim.—  Ehda M. Dagooc (FREEMAN)