Philippines' Finest Coffee Bean

This is my third post about coffee and on this blogpost, I will tell you why despite of the climate here in the Philippines, we Filipinos still love coffee especially “Kapeng Barako” as a morning drink and as an afternoon tea. When coffee became famous, Filipinos started to invest coffee shops with these kind of theme, wherein they cater and advertise "Kapeng Barako" as their product bearer. Surely Filipinos love to socialize and thus they had their coffee break at the coffee shops. 

“Kapeng Barako” is a kind of coffee that is grown in the Philippines primarily in the provinces of Batangas, wherein it is best known to have the best coffee in the Philippines. There are many kinds of coffee beans here, and all of the beans taste differently depending on its location. Thus, Kapeng Barako is one of its varieties. This coffee bean belongs to the species Coffea liberica. “Kapeng Barako” is called such because of its strong taste, flavor and a distinct aroma. Also, its name was derived on its characteristics. Barako is the Filipino term for a male stud and because of that, it became an icon of a tough man.

Its first tree was taken in Brazil and was planted way back in the 1800s in Batangas. Basically, all coffee beans raised and sold in Batangas were all generically called Barako. So when you have your vacation here in the Philippines and would like to taste this wonder drink, better go straight to Batangas. But I prefer you go to Tagaytay, don’t worry, it won’t take you that long, those two places are neighbors and most of the people there are Batangueños too. The climate there is good, and a cup of coffee (Barako Coffee) would be best. Before I forgot, a good partner to complete the meal is a good tasting suman, a native dish in Batangas. I will discuss it further on my next blogpost.

Ok, going back, preparation of this is not that hard, we Batangueños prepare it at the most economical way. We just boil water and pour it in the grounds, and then we steep it for about a few minutes and filter it out using a piece of cloth. But you can have it French Pressed or prepare it using a drip brewing machine. Unlike other beans, we use honey or brown sugar as a sweetener and others even use muscovado. I think this is the best way to prepare it. And for us, this by far exceeds the taste of commercial brands. Plus, most of the beans here are fair trade and are organically grown.

Also, unlike other beans, Barako coffee is not a common variety and some say that its beans are the largest among the coffee varieties. Barako coffee is said to be superior to Robusta and many Filipino coffee drinkers choose Barako coffee over Arabica.

Note: Arabica-Barako is a popular blend and a popular gourmet coffee.

Indeed, this coffee works well with other varieties too, and its flexibility makes it more amazing. Barako coffee is known to be the best among the Liberica species.

We from the Casa Liberica make it more special for you. How? We only sell fresh beans and grounds and are only prepared upon order. They are placed in a ziplock bag and are very well presented. We shall post photos soon. So please check us out often. 

You can check out our blogsite at CASA LIBERICA for more info and other good stuffs. You are very much welcome to join the conversation too! It's a good hangout place especially if you are looking for a good coffee table talk. See you there!