Last Thursday, October 4, was the opening day of Coffee Origins 2012 – Coffee and Culture at The Gallery in Greenbelt 5. For those of you who don’t know, the Philippine Coffee Board holds an annual coffee festival during Coffee Month, which is every October. As a coffee-lover, I have always taken the time to go to this event, more so when I became Executive Director of the PCBI some years back. So, even if I have officially resigned two years ago, I still fully support this wonderful event because it celebrates and promotes our local coffee.
If you want a FREE taste of various Philippine coffee, Coffee Origins is the place to be. I was so happy to see that there were a lot of exhibitors this year, who offer a lot of different coffee blends and coffees from origin. Here are a few of the exhibitors.
This is the Kape Isla booth, shared with Equal sweetener. Kape Isla is a brand owned by the Philippine Coffee Board.
These are just some of the coffees available in Kape Isla. Do visit their store in Serendra if you’re interested to buy some.
Cordillera Coffee also had a booth.
The Cavite coffee growers were represented by the Cavite Coffee Development Board.
Even the Department of Trade and Industry was present.
Coffee Roastmasters Alliance also had a booth.
Of course, the Department of Agriculture, who has been very supportive of PCBI’s efforts to assist local coffee farmers, was also present.
Alaska Krem-Top, one of the major event sponsors, also had a booth of their own.
This year, Inkatanda was also around to entertain the guests with their indigenous yet modern music.
Although I only intended to visit the event, I was invited to stay by my former bosses so that I could watch the opening ceremony. I’m glad I did because I got to catch up with them as well as with some of my former work colleagues.
Here’s PCBI Chairman, Mr. Nicky Matti, who gave the welcome remarks.
Mr. Bill Luz, who used to be part of the PCBI Board of Directors and is now with Ayala Foundation, also graced the event.
Here’s Ms. Chit Juan, my former boss(and forever mentor) from both Figaro Coffee Company and PCBI, leading the coffee toast.
Here’s a photo of my former bosses, the Board of Directors of the PCBI. Too bad there were a few of them who couldn’t make it to the event. I would have loved to see all of them again. Seeing them at the event made me reminisce about the good old days. Good times!
Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have some photos taken with some of my former colleagues as well. It was a blast working with these guys before and I miss them a lot!
I am really happy to have been able to attend the opening ceremony. I had a really nice time and it was great sampling all those coffees! If you haven’t been to the event yet, Coffee Origins 2012 will be in Greenbelt 5 until October 14th. Catch them while you still can! See below for the complete list of activities.
