PH Coffee Gains Continued Popularity at World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition
TOKYO 25 October 2022 – The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, through its Trade and Investment Section, participated in the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition on 12 – 14 October 2022 at Tokyo Big Sight, and held a second Coffee Tasting Event at the Embassy premises on 18 October 2022.
The Philippine booth at the Exhibition, which was co-funded by the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), showcased both Liberica and Arabica varieties. The event, which was attended by more than 30,000 participants, saw approximately 3,200 cups of Filipino coffee sampled at the booth.
The Coffee Tasting Event was attended by more than 70 participants from UCC, Starbucks Coffee Japan, NHK/Japan Broadcasting Corporation, and Nippon Coffee Trading Co., Ltd., among others.
Mr. Rich Watanabe of the Coffee Heritage Project (CHP) presented a tasting of pure Heritage Barako and other Barako coffees. CHP, a private non-profit organization directly involved in the coffee-growing and cultivation processes, takes a quality-focused approach to coffee production.
One of CHP’s important programs is the Barako Heirloom Coffee Project, dedicated to the production of Philippine barako coffee and other locally grown single origin coffees. The endeavor is an ongoing 10-year field research aiming to understand and preserve the origins, customs, and culture of barako and other local single-origin Liberica coffees.
The event also showcased two videos from media outfits: first, a feature on the farmers and the history of coffee cultivation in the Philippines from GMA News TV; the other is an NHK video interview with Ms. Vanessa Velasco, a Filipino exporter who aims to brand and sell Barako coffee internationally. Ms. Velasco is the founder of VerraCoffee, a social venture that brings authentic, traceable, and ethically-sourced coffee from indigenous Filipino growers to the global market, primarily the Asia Pacific and US. A percentage of their income is dedicated to the education of native children
Ms. Velasco also attended the tasting event and showcased how to properly brew Barako coffee to achieve its perfect taste and acidity. END
For more information, visit https://www.tokyo.philembassy.net or https://www.tokyope.dfa.gov.ph, or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinJapan/.