Sunday with the Monks

MANILA, Philippines — It’s my third time in Bukidnon and the majestic Mt. Kitanglad range never fails to awe. You see mountains that seem to be layered into the horizon, bamboo and coconut trees swaying with the wind, and cows grazing or simply watching life pass by.

I did not even realize it was the second Sunday of the month. The time of the month when the monks of the Monastery of the Transfiguration celebrate mass and then serve “Sunday Brunch with the Monks” for the mass goers. Yes, just every second Sunday. How lucky can I be, I thought to myself.

This was not planned at all. I just wanted to show the place to my guest and to hear mass in the famed church.

Ros and I get there and catch mass after a speedy drive with our new-found friend Loloy and his trusty compact car. The mass starts at 8 a.m., so you would have to start two hours before from Cagayan de Oro, five hours from Davao or three hours from Iligan City. But the drive is worth every minute. From our homebase of Cagayan de Oro, you pass Manolo Fortich, Sumilao and then you arrive in Malaybalay, a good 130 kilometers of nice roads and country scenery. The road, with epal posters (cost: P150 million, P42 million donated by a congressman) and all, is called Sayre Highway.

The monastery must cover almost 100 hectares at the foothills of Mt. Kitanglad. You drive off the highway onto a private road (it seems) and after about a kilometer or so, you see the Leandro Locsin-designed church and scores of cars on this fine Sunday.

Across the church, a U-shaped group of connected tents are set with tables and chairs good for almost 300 people. The buffet starts and the favorites are served: pork humba, phad thai noodles, crispy fried chicken, fruit salad, guinataan and the famous Monks blend coffee, of course. People queue up in silence as that is the order in the whole place: SILENCE.

This silence is only broken when the monks and priests hobnob with their Sunday guests and I can tell you I have not met one of them who is not witty and interesting. We (our tablemates and nearby seatmates) were entertained by Father Elias who is the guestmaster, the one who takes charge of their 12-room guesthouse and serves the food in the guest cafeteria 24/7 and who also attends to the Sunday brunches. 

When I was last there in 2003 the guestmaster was Dom Martin (formerly known as the designer Gang Gomez), a position he held for 10 years until he had to slow down due to a heart condition.

I met Dom Martin again as we lined up for brewed coffee. I told him I was there when he was in charge of the breakfasts. He still looks youthful at 67 years of age. It must be the coffee! With him was Father Savio, the head superior, who is in charge of the facilities and administrative matters.

I also remember Fr. Adag Columbano, who I first met in Davao last year at a Davao Chamber of Commerce event. We both were speakers on the hot topic of coffee, along with Joji Pantoja of Coffee for Peace. Fr. Columbano suddenly appears at our table this Sunday and we take the customary group photos. But as most of the crowd were already trooping out after their meals, Fr. Columbano decides to “descend” upon our table and joins us for more coffee.

And he tells us the Monks Blend story. Fr. Columbano started the brand after he planted coffee trees within the monastery grounds. Fate made him meet Emil Baens, a Belgian who ran the Impasugong Milling Company back in the 1980s. Emil became Fr. Columbano’s teacher and mentor in coffee roasting and soon, Baens turned over the equipment to the monks. Today, Baens’ memory lives on as Fr. Columbano wistfully recalls how he and Baens tasted different coffee blends and finally got the blend right for what we now call Monks Blend coffee – a mix of Arabica and Robusta beans found on the foothills of Mt. Kitanglad.

In coffee parlance, Monks Blend is a mix of Naturals – coffee cherries dried by the hot Bukidnon sun – milled and then perfectly roasted using German Probat roasters. It combines the punch of Robusta with Arabica’s fragrant aroma. Today, Monks Blend can be ordered straight from the monastery or bought in supermarkets in Mindanao.

Fr. Columbano sure knows his coffee. He buys the coffee – Robusta and Arabica – from the farmers around Bukidnon, mixes his own coffee harvest, sorts the coffee beans by hand (women do this and are paid by the sack) and prepares them for roasting. He then asked Design Center Philippines to help him design the packaging of Monks Blend, for free.

Besides coffee, they also roast peanuts, a favorite of many tourists, in the third roaster. The other two bigger roasters (both German in origin) are used only for coffee.  He has the business model working and it has been successful for the past 20 years. He sells the coffee at a very affordable price (less than P400/kilo or P4 per cup equivalent) so all classes of society may be able to afford it, he says.

After our coffee talk, he invites us to their 11:30 a.m. midday prayer. The monks pray seven times a day: 3:40 a.m., 5 a.m. mass, 6:15 a.m. (mid morning called Sext); 11:30 a..m.; 2 p.m. (called None or Ninth Hour); 5 p.m. (Vespers) and 7 p.m. (called Midnight Prayer). Lights out at 8 p.m. and silence is observed until 3 a.m. Silencio is what it’s called.

We oblige and are able to attend one of the most peaceful prayers I have ever experienced in my life. There is a short portion sung, a homily and then singing again. Like Gregorian chants, I am reminded. A guide lent us handbooks so we could pray along.

Ah, what a complete Sunday experience. It is soul exercise at its best. Prayers. Coffee. Mountains. Nature.

Fr. Columbano tells the story of the origins of Monks Blend coffee.