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Local coffee growers are being encouraged to plant Arabica coffee in a bid to market Philippine-made coffee beans worldwide.
Local farmers are producing robusta coffee beans which is stronger in flavor and the the type used by most instant coffee manufacturers, said Allen Arvin A. Tan, managing director of Red Cherry N' Silver Tips Corporation with franchises of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Cebu.
?We are trying encourage them to also start growing Arabica which is more in demand worldwide because of its aromatic property and is more expensive than the Robusta,? said Tan.
He said Philippine soil could produce the more expensive Arabica beans but that farmers were afraid to shift because they were not sure where to sell them.
To help persuade farmers to improve coffee production, Tan through his company has partnered with non-government organizations to reach out to local coffee farmers to supply the company with its needs.
?We have started to work with Kasilak Foundation based in Bukidnon province which is coordinating with the farmers,? said Tan, who plans to sell Philipppine-made coffee through Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf outlets around the world.
?We have farmers through the NGO who are growing Arabica right now. We expect the first harvest by end of the year.?
?We will then be sending samples of their yields to California where the beans will be tested,? Tan said.
As soon as the beans pass the test, Tan said they would package the beans as Philippine coffee and sell them in coffee shops.
He also plans to make a coffee blend from it like what they did with other coffee beans from Indonesia and other countries also producing Arabica.
Tan's company has four franchises in Cebu located in Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu, Asiatown, IT Park and the latest coffee shop in Cybergate.
?Next year we are considering opening in Davao, Mandaue or somewhere in Mactan Airport,? Tan said.
Tan said that with their numbers growing they also hope to help stir growth in the local coffee bean production in the country.
?What is happening now is that we just import beans. We thought why not just help our farmers by enabling them so that soon we will not only keep on importing but export as wel?,? Tan said.
