What’s all the fuss about barako? "Because it is almost extinct," Chit Juan, director and CEO of Figaro Coffee Co., explained. Barako, or liberica coffee, is the Philippines' only indigenous coffee. The dismal state of the local coffee industry, once a major dollar earner for the country, has pushed it into near extinction. Current total coffee earnings for the Philippines is only $1.3 million a year. A far cry from the $150 million we earned 12 years ago.
Fr. Bag-ao blames the rock bottom prices of coffee in the world market for the industry’s decline. Because of this, coffee farmers shifted to other profitable crops, resulting in the cutting down of entire coffee plantations.
Realizing this, Figaro set up the Save-the-Barako movement and among its projects was the barako tree planting tour where interested individuals and companies are given the chance to plant barako at selected planting sites. Figaro Foundation has launched several Save-the-Barako carts located in various buildings, such as the one in the Batasang Pambansa. This Save-the-Barako Cart is jointly operated by the Congressional Spouses Foundation.
Juan says Figaro Foundation is not only after the revival of barako but the eventual rejuvenation of the country‘s coffee industry as well. And barako offers much hope. Many coffee experts in the country agree that barako’s peculiar flavor has the makings of a world-famous blend like Hawaii’s Kona or Jamaica’s Blue Mountain.
"Barako could well lead us back to the top," Juan enthuses.