The Philippines is an archipelago made up of over 7000 islands with diverse climate, topography and geology, which means it is suitable to grow all the four main commercially-viable species of coffee - Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and Excelsa - with Robusta being the main crop (69%), followed by Arabica (about 25%).
The specialty coffee production is still fairly small but it has huge potential and there are many initiatives in place by coffee professionals such as the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) - annual green coffee competition that encourages Filipino farmers to improve the quality and competitiveness of their coffee in both domestic and international markets.
Another great initiative is Kalsada, through which we get our beans.
Get Philippines - Sition Belis, Kalsada from our eshop
“Kalsada is a social enterprise that is working hard to champion Philippine specialty coffee. It provides support to Filipino coffee producers and their dedicated efforts to bring quality coffee to market. Working in partnership with local communities, Kalsada invests in machinery and equipment to elevate coffee quality and pays farmers over $1 per pound more than Fair Trade.
Through a Kickstarter campaign, Kalsada established its first community mill in Belis back in 2015. Now, a group of over 72 farmers bring their coffee cherries for centralised processing and annual production has grown from a tonne and a half to 11 tonnes.”
From our supplier: https://indochinacoffee.com/coffee/philippines-sitio-belis-2024/
Sition Belis, where our beans come from, is located in Atok, Benguet, within the Cordillera mountain range on the largest Philippine island, Luzon.
With natural springs and elevation of 1400-1700 masl this is the perfect location for specialty coffee.
The cherries are harvested from 72 farming families, floated to remove under-ripe cherries, then hand-sorted to remove any other potential imperfections. The cherries are then pulped, fermented and dried on raised beds.
Get Philippines - Sition Belis, Kalsada from our eshop.
TASTING NOTES: Calamansi, Green Apples, Milk Chocolate
VARIETAL: Garnica
PROCESS: washed
ALTITUDE: 1400 - 1700 masl.
ROAST LEVEL: medium
You can also get these amazing beans as part of our Exclusive Gift Box feat. a caffeine formula t-shirt! The perfect gift for the coffee geek in your life!
GET 20% OFF The Quantum Exclusive Box
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