Barako coffee in filter bags to be commercialized

Barako coffee can now be had in filter bags (as in tea bags). And soon it will be commercialized.

The Barako blend and the filter bag were developed by researchers of the Cavite State University (CvSU) – Dr. Alejandro Mojica, Fe, Dimero, R.P. Marasigan, M.V. Vicedo, C.R.S. Creencia, J.A. Ronaldo, MP. Sioco, and J Talactac.

In the study titled "Product properties and acceptability of ‘Barako’ coffee blends in filter bags", five coffee blends were prepared by using the blending after roasting (BAR) method.

Of the five, the blend containing 20 percent Barako, 60 percent Robusta, and 20 percent Arabica were rated "very good".

The other blends (50 percent Barako, 30 percent Robusta, and 20 percent Arabica; 40 percent Barako, 40 percent Robusta, and 20 percent Arabica; 30 percent Barako, 50 percent Robusta, and 20 percent Arabica; and 10 percent Barako, 70 percent Robusta, and 20 percent Arabica) were rated good.

"The five coffee blends did not differ in terms of dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, body, and aftertastes," the researchers reported. Consumers, however, preferred the samples with higher proportion of Barako to blend with less Barako.

A return-on-expenses (ROE) of as much as 90 percent at P3 per bag can be realized from processing of Barako blends in filter bags fom 100 kilograms of coffee beans. Each bag contains six grams of Barako blend.

Encouraged by the popular acceptability of the award-winning Barako blends in filter bags, CvSU is set to commercialize the new product, Dr. Ruperto Sangalang, university president, told this writer.

Corollary to this, another R&D project on Excelsa and Liberica (the "specialty" coffee from which Barako is made) is being undertaken with funding support from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR).

Initial results of the research were reported last Sept. 7 by Dr. Mojica, Prof. Dimero, and Dr. Yolanda Ilagan before a panel from BAR headed by Director William C. Medrano and an external review team led by noted scientist Dr. Feliciano B. Calora Sr.

Dr. Mojica said that Barako is in danger of extinction because it is not much regarded as an important coffee.

This is compounded by the declining interest in coffee farming because of the industry’s "ups and downs", particularly in pricing. In 1997, for instance, there were about 13,000 hectares planted to coffee trees in Cavite, which is much more than today’s 8,000 ha.

The CvSU research director said that Liberica is widely grown in only four countries – Malaysia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and the Philippines.

In the Philippines, it is being grown in Cavite, Batangas, Bataan, Mindoro Occidental, Bulacan, Capiz, and Davao.

The research projects being pursued by CvSU and other research institutions in the country are expected to put the local coffee industry back on track. – Rudy A. Fernandez