Tanudan farmer tops Kalinga coffee competition 2024

TABUK, Kalinga: The cup of coffee brewed from farmer Pablo Dao-wan’s Robusta beans has won the 2024 Kalinga Coffee Quality Competition.

Sourced from Barangay Lay-asan in Tanudan, the winning coffee scored 82 with notes of dried berries, mangosteen, honey, tamarind, orange, pineapple and citrus.

Second place went to Crispin Gayagay, also from Tanudan, whose coffee beans scored 80.1 with aromatic notes of caramel, hazelnut, cinnamon, tangerine, citrus, prunes and tea .

In third place is Jonathan Itong, whose Lubuagan Robusta scored an 80 with notes of roasted peanuts, dark chocolate and caramel.

Meanwhile, the only entry in the arabica category submitted by Lioba Busway from Upper Uma, Lubuagan, received a special citation as she scored 83.5. The coffee had notes of tangerine, tamarind, lemon, passion fruit, tea rose and honey.

Busway coffee beans sold for a whopping price of P700 per kilogram (kg) in the post-competition auction. Dao-wan’s Robusta sold for P230 per kg, much higher than the usual farmgate price of P150 to P160 per kg, according to Jeffrey Pasikan, head of the Kalinga coffee program of the Department of Trade and Commerce. Industry.

First launched last year, the Kalinga Coffee Quality Competition not only serves as a lever for coffee farmers to achieve higher profits, but also as a platform to recognize those who follow good agricultural practices, contributing thereby elevating the quality of Kalinga coffee and contributing to the revival of Kalinga coffee. industry.

“The ultimate aim is to give credit and recognition to Kalinga farmers who are doing very well to continue coffee cultivation and adhere to all government assistance and training provided,” Pasikan said.

The competition, with its strict rule that entries must be of Kalinga origin, also aims to boost production of local varieties, the supply of which is threatened by the influx of imported coffee from Vietnam, Pasikan said.

“The idea is to support and protect the authenticity of Kalinga coffee because we all know that the supply of Kalinga coffee is dwindling,” he explained.

The Kalinga Coffee Quality Competition 2024 was a collaborative effort of the Kalinga Provincial Coffee Council, comprising national agencies, the private sector, the provincial government, and municipal and local governments. It was one of the highlights of the 29th founding anniversary of Kalinga and the 5th Bodong Festival.

Pasikan hopes that the 2025 edition will see the participation of all coffee farmers from all municipalities in Kalinga.