Philippine Coffee History Roots in Lipa, Batangas

Having folks in Lipa City, I was surprised to learn that Philippine coffee history traces its roots from Batangas. This I learned in a recent Coffee 101 seminar with Chit Juan, co-chair of the Philippine Coffee Board.

It mentioned that a Franciscan Friar brought cocoa and 3 gantas (or about 6 kilos) of coffee beans to Lipa back in 1740 and planted it in a monastery.

The story is in fact inscribed in a stone wall of one of the local churches. Aside from basic information about the world’s most popular beverage, I learned about the different varieties of coffee and the more sophisticated term for a Barako coffee – we can also call it Liberica.

“I had some Liberica coffee when I visited my folks in Batangas last week.” (hahaha)

“I truly enjoyed the Robusta coffee event we had in Boracay early this month”.

Robusta, in common words, is your instant coffee from the grocery shelves. 🙂

The coffee talk seminar was held a few days ago at Le Bistro along Valero St., in Makati. The coffee shop was cozy and has a second floor. We’re actually planning to hold meetings and Christmas parties at Le Bistro for December.

The best part of the seminar was the hands-on Espresso-making activity with their head barista and restaurant manager  – he helped me concoct a “Let’s Go Sago Cafe Latte!”

In closing, the Philippine Coffee Board advocates our local coffee industry. They encourage Filipinos to buy Philippine coffee and patronize our own.

They also promote information dissemination through coffee seminars such as this. So if you want to learn more about coffee and its business potential, check out more of their events an seminars.

So the next time you visit Lipa City in Batangas, try to taste the good old smell of a true Barako coffee. 🙂