Coffee board to go on harvest tours

MANILA, Philippines - Despite weather conditions brought about by climate change, the Philippine Coffee Board (PCB) members will continue with their “Pick Red” advocacy of teaching farmers to pick only red or ripe coffee cherries this harvest season. “It has been an annual activity for us,” says Chit Juan, PCB president. This year, we are going to Sulu, then Baguio, and Davao.

Red ripe cherries guarantee good quality for coffee as long as the primary processing is done well. “We encourage wet processing,” says Nicky Matti, co-chairman of the coffee advocacy group. “Wet process allows the coffee to undergo fermentation to ensure the flavor enhancement,” he continues. 

“So far, we are getting better Arabica cherries from Benguet,” says Manny Torrejon, professional roaster of the PCB. Benguet farmers know better than to pick coffee fruits while they are still green because this would give smaller unripe beans whose qualities will be substandard. “Now we have to check on Mindanao farmers as well,” he continues.

The coffee harvest season usually is from November until March, with Mindanao finishing first and going upwards the archipelago so Cavite finishes last way into February or March. In Cavite, however, due to instant coffee manufacturers buying all kinds of coffee, farmers do it quickly, “armalite” style and harvest red and green cherries. The primary process is the dry method, where even unripe cherries can mix with ripe ones and all becomes a mixed bag of “dried coffee” which traders will still grab due to low production volumes for soluble coffee manufacturers needs.

The PCB encourages wet processing even for the lowest-priced Robusta variety, so that farmers can get a better value for their produce. But the fact remains that only ripe cherries make good coffee. To drive home that point, PCB does “Pick Red” harvest tours teaching consumers and farmers that good coffee comes from ripe cherries.

For more information e-mail the PCB at [email protected] or visit their facebook page: Philippine Coffee Board and follow them on Twitter: philcoffeeboard.