Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me My Cup of Coffee
Wed, February28th of 2007
2:40 pm
Coffee is something that I started drinking only in my mid 20’s – late starter, I know. Sure, I had sips here and there but I was always rewarded with palpitations and the feeling that I was walking on a tightrope. Not fun. Turns out that it runs in the family: my dad only started drinking coffee in his mid 50’s. Now that my heart no longer does the jitterbug, I drink coffee about three times a week, and only 4-ounces at a time. I certainly don’t need it to get up and go in the morning since I’m naturally a morning person, although I admit to listening with some kind of morbid fascination to tales of people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day!
Coffee is more of a treat for me than anything else, as opposed to something that I have to have everyday. When I’m at home ready to make coffee, I really think about which cup I’m going to use – I have about 30 to choose from, since I love, love, love cups. I shamelessly admit that almost every kind of coffee tastes good to me, especially the instant, probably because I grew up watching the adults around me sipping their Nescafe and Taster’s Choice. Far from being a black coffee drinker, friends tease me that I’m more of a “Would you like some coffee with your milk” person. Milky coffee, yup, that’s me. But I prefer creamer thanks, if you’ve got some.
As I get older, the more I want to know where my food comes from, especially the foods that I like very much. When it comes to coffee, I ask myself: “What is it that I like about coffee?”
I have a chance to answer that question in depth when I join the Figaro Heritage Tour 2007 organized by Figaro Coffee, a Filipino coffee shop that works diligently to promote Philippine coffee awareness locally and globally.Held annually, the tour is held during coffee harvest time, between January to March. The tour takes coffee aficionados to farms in Batangas, Cavite and Tagaytay, helping participants understand their cup of coffee from bean to brew, and more importantly, makes them aware of the plight of the Philippine Barako bean.
Real Barako refers to Philippine Liberica, although Barako has become a generic name for all coffee from Batangas. Known for its compelling bouquet and exceptionally powerful flavor, Barako is sadly, on its way to extinction because of modernization problems such as infrastructure, lack of profit, and technology.
Our tour today is focused on Lipa, Batangas. As our coaster makes its way there, Chit Juan, Figaro Coffee’s President and CEO keeps us awake at that early hour with coffee facts and trivia: the US is the largest consumer of coffee; Brazil is the leading coffee producer; the Philippines has 22 coffee-growing provinces. Chit is very lively, no doubt driven by massive amounts of caffeine in her veins, but more importantly, a genuine passion for coffee. As I listen to her talk, I realize that the more I know about coffee, the more I’m reminded of what I don’t know. It’s quite heartening to know that really, instead of being discouraged by it.
Of the four identified species of coffee (Robusta, Excelsa, Arabica and Liberica), Liberica (which is what Barako is) has the largest cherries and therefore, bigger beans. While it’s now predominantly grown in Cavite, Figaro has an Organic Coffee Pilot Farm on the grounds of the Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club in Lipa. An effort by Figaro to revive the country’s coffee heritage, there are now 150 organically grown trees bearing Liberica beans.
The first order of the day has us picking coffee cherries, an activity that has me supremely excited. Because the trees have only a moderate amount of cherries, our group of about 40 is advised to only pick from one tree so that everyone will have a chance to experience the coffee harvest.
The photos show the coffee cherries in various stages of ripeness. Coffee trees have moderately sized leaves and are decidedly on the spindly, shrubby side. To be so close to the source of coffee is exhilarating to say the least, not to mention a certain sense of reverence felt for something most of us take for granted.
Quite large in size but not as large as real cherries, they fall easily into my hand with the slightest of tugs. Impulsively, I bite into one. There’s a blush of sourness and then sweet. It doesn’t taste anything like coffee, rather it tastes like a yellow cherry, which is what it is at this stage. The photo above shows the “pit” of the coffee cherry after it’s been eaten, as well as the whole cherry of course.
While it would have been nice to taste some of the Barako coffee made from these beans, our tour group had a schedule to stick to. The rest of the tour involves a stop at the Siete Baracos farm owned and run by Dr. Amading Silva. He had us try something he calls his Black Gold Blend, a melding of Arabica and Barako. The beans have been roasted for a longer amount of time, giving it a piquancy and bitterness that makes me throw my head back at first sip. Whoa!
So, to answer the question: “What is it that I like about coffee?” I feel that I’m only just beginning to find out.
Additional information:
Many thanks to Rosario Juan for making this article possible.
For more information on the Figaro Heritage Farm Tours, call Mayleen Aguilar of the Figaro Coffee Club at 637-5969, ext. 109 or email coffeeclub@figarocoffee.com
Figaro Coffee website
Save the Barako website
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Being from Batangas, I practically grew up on kapeng Barako. Your article brought memories of merienda and of dipping cookies and biscocho (years before I was introduced to biscotti) in my coffee. I live in the US where I have access to coffees from all over the world, but once in a while, I still miss the taste of Barako.
Funny how you talked about taking things for granted. Just a couple of days ago, I said exactly the same thing to my husband. My grandfather was a farmer who grew coconuts, mango, bananas and other fruit. On occasion he would also have cacao and coffee. I remember him spreading coffee cherries on our yard to dry. I remember sucking on cacao seeds. Back then, I did not really give much thought to how special it was to experience food in its natural state, to be that close to the source, as you said.
Thanks for another great article. I will certainly have to do some research on how to save the Barako (and also how I can get some shipped to me).
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Comment by Bernadette — February 28, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Wow! Congrats on moving to a new (and improved) location! I just saw your announcement. Definitely a fitting, refreshing change. Am bookmarking this. Keep your stories and photos coming!
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Comment by Arlene — February 28, 2007 @ 5:20 pm
Hi!
I’ve been a regular reader since last year and just wanted to let you know that I’ve been having problems viewing your site since you moved to your new location. The images and text overlap and double. Was wondering if any other readers have been experiencing the same and if there’s a button i can press that will solve this problem. Re-setting/refreshing doesn’t work.
Still love what I can make out of the overlapping text and pictures I manage to unscramble.
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Comment by annette — February 28, 2007 @ 6:50 pm
Figaro is a great company. Premium coffee make here in the Philippines. They do such a great job. You should feature their store and desserts, too!
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Comment by ben — February 28, 2007 @ 11:53 pm
What a great trip Lori! I LOVE coffee
I am one of those people who have 4 cups daily…there was a time I counted by pots and not cups. Coffee is one of my non-negotiables in life. It’s great to see what Figaro is doing to save our Barako…I have always liked them 
(ok, not coffee related but have you tried their tuna pasta? it’s great!)
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Comment by joey — March 1, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Hello Lori, the cafe barako as far as i remember, my mother was buying them freshly ground at the wet market. At the time we did’nt like it… (we like the nescafe instant coffee or the second concurence blend 45.)
But now, i have preferences on brewed coffee… pure arabica is too strong for me. I like the colombia coffee which is mild in flavor and no acid after taste.
France and Itally have large selection of coffees blends… and it is interesting to know, that techniques on roasting coffee beans could results into different coffee flavors. I honestly tried “starbucks” and for me it is an ordinary instant coffee flavor. I did’nt got a chance to try “Figaro” but i will when i go back to Phils. for our next vacation.
I am happy to know that Philippines produce are on the way to progress, as i can read to some Filipino blogs, my heart grows bigger thinking that how Filipino is moving slow but surely!
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Comment by relly — March 1, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
I found your blog by chance and how fortituous that you wrote about coffee. Although I was a late starter like you–I started in my 30′s –I have always loved the idea of coffee: the beautiful berries, the sweet pulp (which I was not supposed to taste) and the aroma of my grandmother’s coffee (neither my mom or dad drank coffee). I grew up in Puerto Rico and my maternal grandmother had one or two coffee trees which I found fascinating. I loved the whole process: watching the berries ripen, picking them up, laying them out in the sun to dry out, the mashing of the beans in a huge mortar to remove the husk. After that came the roasting and brewing. To me that smell is pure grandma (she passed away 40 years ago and it seems like yesterday).
Now one of my sons and I live in NYC and are the only coffee drinkers in our family. One cup a day and certainly NOT Starbucks!
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Comment by Judith in NYC — March 2, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
I’m just wondering if you were in edsa shang (the hotel) today march 3? I think I saw you but I wasn’t sure if it was you :O
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Comment by micca — March 3, 2007 @ 11:55 pm
I’ve been wanting to join the Figaro Coffee Club for years and never really found any reason to … until I read about your trip! =)
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Comment by wysgal — March 6, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
Hi! I love Figaro! When I’m stressed from work at masakit ang ulo ko, I’ll immediately crave for Figaro’s Hot Mocha White Chocolate! Love love love it! And I’ll drag along my mom who prefers the mint variety.
I also love the ambiance of their shops, the chandeliers, brick walls, wood counters, comfy chairs. Relaxing…
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Comment by smack — March 10, 2007 @ 10:33 am
On coffee, a lot of people are not aware that vacuum-packing of coffee is a must as coffee, once it is roasted – more so if ground, easily becomes stale even in sealed foil bags or closed garapons or tightly closed tin cans as oxidation and staling occurs inside the containers. Perhaps the reason most Filipinos buy instant coffee is that the coffees for brewing that are available in the supermarkets are not vacuum-packed and already stale when bought. And stale coffee, even if it is very expensive, is always bad coffee.
The problem with vacuum-packing of fresh-roast coffee is the gradual releae of Carbon Dioxide by fresh-roast coffee which can cause the bursting of sealed foil bags or even tin cans. For whole bean coffee this release of CO2 gas can take months and for fine grind coffee about a week. Brick-hard vacuum-packed fine grind coffee is made to breathe out the gas for several days before it is packed and so is no longer fresh when packed. And whole bean coffee could not be vacuum-packed.
A little known Italian guy had a simple yet brilliant idea that solved this coffee packaging problem. He invented a one-way valve that he incorporated into the foil bag which allows partial release of the CO2 gas that will build-up inside the bag after it is vacuum-packed but will not allow the entry of staling air from outside.
Starbucks owes its existence to this guy as without his invention, it would not be possible to ship fresh coffee all the way from Seattle to all the four corners of the world. (Notice the valve in the Starbucks retail packs. The coffees they use in their espressos and cappucinos are shipped in 5 -lb valve bags).
An exception to the sad state of coffee packaging in the Philippines is Benguet Gold Coffee which is vacuum -packed in foil bags with the one-way valve. It is available in some Metro Manila Supermarkets
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Comment by anya — May 30, 2007 @ 5:58 pm