A coffee of our own

MANILA, Philippines - Coffee aficionados will rejoice as the much-awaited annual coffee festival of the Philippine Coffee Board happens until Oct. 26 at the Greenbelt malls in Makati.

Dubbed “Coffee Origins,” the event aims to promote coffee grown and harvested in the Philippines. Activities include coffee tasting, seminars and coffee farm tours.

“Every year since the late 1990’s Ayala Center has been cooperating with the Coffee industry in showcasing the best of Philippine coffees,” says Chit Juan, co-chair of the private sector-led Coffee Board. She explains that the summit aims to draw attention to and promote coffee grown in the Philippines instead of those imported from other countries.

A unique feature of the festival is that many coffee producers from small communities in the country will showcase their harvest.

Nicholas Matti, co-chair of the Philippine Coffee Board and Visayas area director, says that by inviting small farmers and having them bring their produce, coffee aficionados from Manila will have the chance to taste coffee from other parts of the country.  

According to Juan, growing coffee is no longer limited to the province of Batangas. Other provinces such as Kalinga and Cavite are also producing coffee beans. Mindanao, she adds, is also a big producer of coffee. 

The country presently consumes 65,000 metric tons of coffee a year while production has remained steady at 30,000 metric tons. 6,500 metric tons or about ten percent are consumed by the specialty coffee industry.

To further promote Philippine coffee, the PCB with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture has launched “Pilipinas! Gising at Magkape” to encourage increased production of coffee as well as diversify the varieties planted. They also have KAPE ISLA, a marketing program for certified Philippine coffees. Restaurants and cafes that display the “Kafe Isla” sign are ceritified that the coffee they serve is Filipino grown.

This ensures farmers a ready market which in turn leads to the continuous production of coffee. 

Philippine coffee products are also exported to countries in the Middle East, as well as Japan and Korea.

Despite the low production numbers, Juan is upbeat that the board can meet the challenge of producing home-grown coffee. “The PCB has a strategic plan geared towards attaining self sufficiency in coffee by 2015. This will be achieved by increasing yields per hectare – through rehabilitation of existing plantations and by increasing areas planted to coffee trees.”

“We are very optimistic that even just a little effort, rather than none, will spell a big difference so we are doing it slowly, but we already seeing results for these efforts,” she adds.

For the small coffee farmers, Juan says, “We have programs for planting new trees and for harvesting coffee cherries properly. Harvesting must take on a new and better mindset – that of harvesting quality cherries rather than going for quantity. We also have packaging and branding programs for their ‘small farm coffees’ to get better value, and promotions to help these farmers find their niche market.”

For more information, visit the Coffee Origins festival at the Greenbelt malls in Makati, or log on to www.coffeeboard.com.ph or email [email protected]