Enlivening coffee culture, promoting local coffee

DAVAO CITY- It's early Sunday morning and a group of bikers had slowed down upon reaching a pop-up shop along Davao City's J.P. Laurel Avenue, each biker was eager to have a cup of coffee before cycling towards some distant provincial locale.

Serving these regular morning clients is 25-year old barista Wendil "Wenz" Sollano Oria. His pop-up coffee stand Kanto Coffee Davao is among the various pop-up coffee stands that have recently sprang in Davao City.

More than just a barista and coffee entrepreneur, Wenz's Kanto Coffee Davao aims to introduce his clientele to the wealth of Mindanao coffee farms. His beans are sourced from coffee grown in different parts of Mindanao: Sitio Balutakay, Bansalan in Davao del Sur; Alamada in North Cotabato; and in the provinces of Bukidnon and South Cotabato.

Wenz said each of these coffee producing places have different characteristics and each cup will introduce the diverse flavor of Mindanao coffee to the steady growth of coffee culture in the cities.

"Each coffee, ang iyang profile depende sa origin (the profile depends upon the origin), Balutakay is more on fruit flavor, tropical fruits, Alamada is more on caramelized na taste, muscovado. Bukidnon also has different characteristics like jackfruit (flavor)," Wenz describes the sourced beans which are influenced by the soil, the processes involved, the varieties of coffee and harvesting of coffee which is done by hand-picking.

Kanto Coffee Davao brings a farm-to-cup experience to the coffee drinking culture previously oriented to imported brands and multinational chains of coffee shops.

The pop-up stand offers specialty coffee whose hallmark is quality which according to Wenz involves the superior attributes of locally-sourced coffee. In a scale of 0-100, specialty coffee must be 80 and above.

"Pagmagstart imung coffee grade mga 82, sulod naka sa specialty coffee then diha na musulod na tong profile, didto na i-calibrate sa roaster then sa brewers... (If your coffee grade starts at 82 then it is specialty coffee then you have the profile, the calibration of the roasters and the brewer)" Wenz says.

Farm- to -cup

"Source nako naa koy Typica, naay Bourbon, Red Bourbon, naay Mysore, naay Catimor,naay Catuai pero kana siya na mga varieties bihira nimo makuha, naa siya'a ing ana na farm kunwari farm ni Roel kani iyang variety (My source I have Typica, Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Mysore, Catimor, Catuai but these varieties are not common some varieties are from one farm like for example the farm of Roel produces this variety)," Wenz describes the uncommon varieties or coffee cultivars where he sources his beans.

"My number one goal since I started the business is to help farmers, because I know how hard life is for them," Wenz says of his advocacy which is promoting coffee of local farmers.

He said in 2017 he started to go up in Sitio Balutakay located in the foothills of Mt. Apo to source his coffee. Wenz remembers how remote and inaccessible the place was.

"Halos mga barista diri sa Davao ginadala nako sa farm para maintroduce nako sa ilaha unsa kalisod pagbuhi sa kape (Nearly all the baristas in Davao I bought them to the farm to introduce to them how difficult it is to grow coffee)," Wenz said.

On an average Wenz sources around 200 kilos per month from the farmers in Balutakay and the orders keep coming as customers line up for their cup of premium coffee.

Pandemic

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic hit the baristas hard. He also admits it was tough to adjust at first.

"Nagrely lang mi unsa decision sa mga company kung mag close ba sila, kasagaran mga kauban nako na barista nagshift lahi na trabaho. (We just relied what was the decision of the company if they will close, most of my barista colleagues shifted to to other line of work.)

He said the opening of pop-up coffee shops has helped them tide over the pandemic. The pop-ups had further enlivened the coffee culture of the city going to these places for their brews.

According to him a pop-up earnings will depend on costing, pricing, location and customers, but its biggest advantage is it being an effective marketing tool for their beans and blends.

"Paspas ma promote ang quality sa kape kay lahi-lahi man mga tao na muadto, (It's a quick way of promoting the quality of your coffee as different people will go to you)" Renz said.

They label the containers of their beans the names of the farms or places where the beans are sourced. Kanto Coffee Davao tries to educate its customers on the different kind of beans and suiting it on each customer's preferences.

Wenz hails from Cebu, when he was 15 the family migrated to Davao City. Around the age of 19, he started working in the coffee industry as a freelancer barista, roaster to a salesman of a brand of coffee making equipment.

"Gibuild nako una akong pangalan bag-o ko nag negosyo," the self-taught barista said. Part of building his reputation is joining in barista competitions where Wenz gets to win first place.

Apart from selling quality coffee from local farms he also helps promote the coffee culture by teaching people who would want to be baristas. Wenz says he never hesitates to share information on his skills and knowledge about coffee.

In his business, Wenz describes the synergy between the baristas and the farmers which helps them use the opportunities of a growing coffee culture.

"Sa barista sir thankful kami sa mga farmers kasi they help us na magstart ng small business and hindi kami magalanganin magbenta ng coffee nila kasi they produce good quality coffee (The baristas are thankful to the farmers because they help us in starting the small business and we are never hesitant to sell their coffee because they produce good quality coffee), Wenz said.

Advice

Wenz offers his advice to those wanting to start a small coffee business particularly to baristas wanting to go pop-up.

First, one needs basic knowledge sa coffee. Second- product development. Third- one must be consistent and last, must work hard and enjoy lang. Advice ko sa mga mag invest sa pop ups is slowly invest sa equipment and branding if the market is good then pwede na sila mag upgrade ug mga gamit nila (My advice to those investing in pop-ups, slowly invest in the equipment and branding if the market is good then they can upgrade their equipment)," Wenz shares useful business tips honed by experience. (PIA/RG Alama)