Fine Coffee Culture in the Philippines

Local specialty coffee also plays a pivotal role in Philippine coffee culture, with people open to new things to learn. Philippine boutique coffee pioneer Sly Silvester Samonte, co-founder of Curator Coffee &Cocktails and founder of CraftCoffee Workshop and EDSA Beverage Design.

early career

Sly Silvester Samonte's connection to coffee began with a mocha pot, a small camping stove, and then visited some great Italian coffee shops during college. A French press, some cat poop coffee, fine coffee from Singapore attracted me. Before I started roasting at home, I tried a lot of coffee. I was lucky enough to get coffee beans from a green bean trader,"Sly said. It was also from here that Sly started baking, cup testing and information exchange with Singapore bakers. When he returned to the Philippines two years ago, he immediately began searching for a supply of green beans, but could not find the quality coffee beans he had in Singapore. "Then I started looking for coffee machines, and after talking to my friend Maria Gorre about it, she put me in touch with Mike Canlas who was training and consulting at PBCA, and I met Raymond from El Kapitan Coffee who was selling Ascaso coffee machines. I bought one from him and started talking to him about coffee ideas, including opening a bakery. Peter Ong joined us, and that was the beginning of the CraftCoffee studio,"explains Sly.

The Curator,Coffee&Cocktails and EDSA Beverage Design Company

Sly currently has two projects in hand. As Curator Coffee &Cocktail partners,Sly and Kevin Fortu, winner of the Philippine Barista Championship, oversee the coffee side, David manages the operations, and Tiffany and Jeriscon oversee the cocktail side. They are committed to providing excellent service and efficient execution in fine coffee, as well as elaborate cocktails in the evening. Both types of drinks contain alcohol and coffee, which are extremely rare elsewhere in the region. Another Sly project is EDSA Beverage Design, also known as EDSA-BDG, a platform that provides creative space for beverage makers. The name is a tribute to the man and the street, inspired by their idealism and drive to make a better country. This team is dedicated to contributing to the improvement of beverage quality in the Philippines and around the world. It is also a platform that provides fully equipped facilities to design and develop drinks, enabling boutique production and tasting. Our first product will be a boutique coffee brand that includes roasted beans, equipment, training and custom coffee experiences and designs. Our team is currently working on the second and third products, including beer and bottled drinks. We expect to open in late January or early February 2014.

Demand for quality

Coffee is not as profitable as it used to be 15 years ago, when Starbucks, Champagne and Figueroa entered the Philippine market. However, borderless information on the Internet has extended coffee to coffee without borders. The easiest way to find the latest news is through the web, and instant messaging today allows people to express opinions and seek out different perspectives. One of the great strengths of the Philippines is that we have many of our compatriots working abroad. Those who have worked in countries with mature coffee cultures can bring culture and knowledge back. The demand for quality we see extends beyond coffee to food quality. The restaurant industry has also grown in the past three years along with coffee. Because our Filipino chefs brought back the exquisite cooking skills they learned abroad, we now have almost all the dishes in the Philippines.

The Future of Fine Coffee in the Philippines

Sly firmly believes that fine coffee has a bright future in the Philippines. "We saw a lot of boutique cafes pop up in 2012, and then six or seven new ones open in 2013, and I saw the same thing when I was in Singapore when Highlander,Oriole and other cafes opened. Curator gets a lot of attention from locals and foreigners, and stores are full during holidays. Consumers are interested in new coffee options and we hope that the government will support the development of specialty coffee in the country, including Arabica coffee cultivation." Sly told us. (Redirected from CTI Magazine)