SGD Coffee and Mirabueno Coffee emerged victorious in the recently concluded Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles (AVPA) Awards 2019
It's no secret that the rich agricultural land of the Philippines has been home to countless of award-winning produce. Adding to that list are two coffee bean variations produced by small-scale farms from Sagada and Bukidnon.
SGD Coffee triumphed in the puissant doux (powerful soft) category, earning them a Gourmet award. This counts as their second feat, one of which was won last 2017 and served as the country's first-ever award won in the said competition.
All the way from Mindanao, Mirabueno Coffee joined the winning pool of coffee producers in the rond equilibre (round balanced) category after they took home the Bronze medal on top of the Gourmet award. Such an accolade may be perceived as ironic because Raymund Mirabueno, the man behind Mirabueno Coffee, thought of uprooting his farm multiple times after pest invasions, natural disasters, and droughts had left his plantation in a bad shape. He had given up on his farm and left it untouched for years.
Turning the tide, The Coffee Heritage Project (TCHP), a non-profit private organisation built by SGD Coffee had reached out to Raymond and introduced him to different farming techniques as well as post-harvest processes to further improve his produce. In an interview he shared, "they helped me improve my farming practices and post-harvest processes, they roasted my beans and cupped it with me. It was the first time I got to taste my own coffee and I was amazed at how good it tasted."
