Sagada coffee

Last updated

Sagada coffee
Sagada Coffee Beans.jpg
Coffee beans from Sagada province
Species Coffea arabica
OriginSagada, Cordillera, the Philippines

Sagada coffee, also known as Sagada arabica, is a single-origin coffee varietal grown in Sagada in the Cordillera highlands of the northern Philippines. It belongs to the species Coffea arabica , of the Typica variety.

Contents

History

Arabica coffee was introduced to Sagada in the late 19th century. Relatively later in comparison to lowland coffee varietals which were introduced to the Philippines earlier during the Spanish colonial period. This was because Sagada only became recognized as a political unit by the Spanish colonial government in 1847 and didn't have much contact with the Spanish prior to that. [1]

There are multiple conflicting accounts of when and how arabica coffee was introduced to Sagada. Most accounts credit Jaime P. Masferré, a retired Spanish soldier originally from Catalonia. He was a former detachment commander of the Guardia Civil. He married Mercedes Cunyap Langkew, a Sagada native, and established a plantation in the late 1890s in the town of Batalao after the Spanish Empire surrendered the Philippines to the United States colonial government. He grew citrus trees, mabolo persimmon, chayote, and arabica coffee (probably from Benguet) which supposedly later became part of the crops of the local communities. [2] [1] His son, Eduardo Masferré also became notable in his own right and is regarded as the "father of Philippine photography." [3] [4]

The coffee trees were also said to have been spread to the northern areas of Sagada by Okoi, a Japanese immigrant and a carpenter who worked for the American missionaries in the village of Fidelisan. He acquired coffee seedlings through his friendship with Masferré and planted them in Fidelisan. [2]

Cultivation

Sagada coffee production is centered in the municipalities of Sagada and Besao in Mountain Province, northern Luzon. Like Benguet, the climate of the Cordillera highlands of Sagada is highly suitable for arabica cultivation. [5] Production is mostly in backyard and small-scale farms of the Sagada natives since the early 1900s. In Fidelisan, there are century-old coffee trees that still produce beans. [6] [2]

Most were for local consumption, though they bartered surplus beans to traveling traders from the lowlands. They also used coffee beans to barter for goods from local merchants. Cultivating and harvesting Sagada coffee were traditionally women's activities, often involving the entire community. [6] [2] Sagada coffee is characterized by its bittersweet taste with fruity or floral overtones. [7] [8] [9]

Sagada coffee is rare, even in local markets, because there have never been large-scale plantations of Sagada coffee until recently. [6] [10] There are increasing government initiatives to encourage its production in recent years, including providing training and equipment. In Sagada, there is a municipal ordinance that requires every household to plant at least five Sagada coffee trees. Before granting a marriage license, the local Sagada government also requires couples to plant the same number of trees. [5] [11] However the industry still struggles because of lack of awareness and low local demand. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baguio</span> Highly urbanized city in Benguet, Philippines

Baguio, officially the City of Baguio, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", owing to its cool climate since the city is located approximately 4,810 feet above mean sea level, often cited as 1,540 meters in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion, which also makes it conducive for the growth of mossy plants, orchids and pine trees, to which it attributes its other moniker as the "City of Pines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benguet</span> Province in Cordillera, Philippines

Benguet, officially the Province of Benguet, is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ifugao</span> Province in Cordillera, Philippines

Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao, is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela to the east, and Nueva Vizcaya to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Province</span> Province in Cordillera, Philippines

Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as Mountain in some foreign references. The name is usually shortened by locals to Mt. Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordillera Administrative Region</span> Administrative region of the Philippines

The Cordillera Administrative Region, also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera, is an administrative region in the Philippines, situated within the island of Luzon. It is the only landlocked region in the insular country, bordered by the Ilocos Region to the west and southwest, and by the Cagayan Valley Region to the north, east, and southeast. It is the least populous region in the Philippines, with a population less than that of the city of Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordillera Central (Luzon)</span> Mountain range in Luzon, Philippines

The Cordillera Central or Cordillera Range is a massive mountain range 320 km long north-south and 118 km east-west. The Cordillera mountain range is situated in the north-central part of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. The mountain range encompasses all provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region, as well as portions of eastern Ilocos Norte, eastern Ilocos Sur, eastern La Union, northeastern Pangasinan, western Nueva Vizcaya, and western Cagayan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igorot people</span> Ethnic group in the Philippines

The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an ethnic group composed of nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains are in the Cordillera Mountain Range, altogether numbering about 1.5 million people in the early 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagada</span> Municipality in Mountain Province, Philippines


Sagada, officially the Municipality of Sagada is a 5th class municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 11,510 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras</span> World Heritage Site in Luzon, the Philippines

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are a World Heritage Site consisting of a complex of rice terraces on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, the first-ever property to be included in the cultural landscape category of the World Heritage List. This inscription has five sites: the Batad Rice Terraces and Bangaan Rice Terraces, Mayoyao Rice Terraces, Hungduan Rice Terraces and Nagacadan Rice Terraces, all in Ifugao Province. The Ifugao Rice Terraces reach a higher altitude and were built on steeper slopes than many other terraces. The Ifugao complex of stone or mud walls and the careful carving of the natural contours of hills and mountains to make terraced pond fields, coupled with the development of intricate irrigation systems, harvesting water from the forests of the mountain tops, and an elaborate farming system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of coffee</span> Coffee since the 15th century

The history of coffee dates back to centuries of old oral tradition in modern-day Ethiopia and Yemen. It was already known in Mecca in the 15th century. Also, in the 15th century, Sufi monasteries in Yemen employed coffee as an aid to concentration during prayers. Coffee later spread to the Levant in the early 16th century; it caused some controversy on whether it was halal in Ottoman and Mamluk society. Coffee arrived in Italy the second half of the 16th century through commercial Mediterranean trade routes, while Central and Eastern Europeans learned of coffee from the Ottomans. By the mid 17th century, it had reached India and the East Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapeng barako</span> Variety of Philippine coffee plant

Kapeng barako, also known as Barako coffee or Batangas coffee, is a coffee varietal grown in the Philippines, particularly in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite. It belongs to the species Coffea liberica. The term is also used to refer to all coffee coming from those provinces. Barako in the languages of the Philippines means "stud", and is associated with the image of masculinity. Barako has a strong flavor and fragrance reminiscent of aniseed.

<i>Coffea liberica</i> Species of coffee plant

Coffea liberica, commonly known as the Liberian coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae from which coffee is produced. It is native to western and central Africa, and has become naturalised in areas including Colombia, Venezuela, Borneo and Java.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffee production in the Philippines</span>

Coffee was said to have been introduced in the Philippines around 1696 when the Dutch introduced coffee in the islands. It was once a major industry in the Philippines, which by the 1800s was the fourth largest coffee producing nation.

Eduardo Masferré was a Filipino-Catalan photographer who made important documentary reports about the lifestyle of native people in the region of the Cordillera in the Philippines at the middle of 20th century. He is regarded as the Father of Philippine photography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halsema Highway</span>

The Halsema Highway is a national secondary highway in the Philippines. Situated within the Cordillera Central range in northern Luzon, it stretches from the city limit of Baguio to the municipality of Bontoc. Its highest point is at 7,400 feet (2,300 m) above sea level in the municipality of Atok. It was officially recognized as the highest altitude highway in the Philippines until 2019, when the 2.429-kilometer (7,970 ft) high point Kiangan–Tinoc–Buguias Road in Tinoc, Ifugao, was recognized as the new holder of the distinction.

Benguet coffee, also known as Benguet arabica, is a single-origin coffee varietal grown in the Cordillera highlands of the northern Philippines since the 19th century. It belongs to the species Coffea arabica, of the Typica variety. It is one of the main crops of farmers in the province of Benguet, which has a climate highly suitable for arabica cultivation. Benguet coffee is listed in the Ark of Taste international catalogue of endangered heritage foods by the Slow Food movement.

Kahawa Sūg, also known as Sulu coffee or Sulu robusta, is a single-origin coffee varietal grown by the Tausug people of the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. It is a robusta cultivar, belonging to the species Coffea canephora. It originates from robusta plants introduced to Sulu in the 1860s. It is an important part of traditional Tausug culture. It is mostly consumed locally, though it has started being exported more widely in recent years. It is currently endangered by the introduction of modern higher yield coffee varieties.

Cañao or Kanyaw is a festival or a ceremony of the indigenous mountain people of Northern Luzon in the Philippines. It is a socio-religious ritual where chickens, pigs and/or carabaos are butchered as a sacrifice and feasted on. This is usually a thanksgiving to their god Kabunyan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in the Cordillera Administrative Region</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Philippines

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Cordillera Administrative Region is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus reached the Cordillera Administrative Region on March 20, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed to involve a resident of Manabo, Abra. All provinces, as well as the independent city of Baguio has recorded at least one confirmed COVID-19 case.

References

  1. 1 2 Anacio, Danesto B. (2016). "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Perspective: Lessons from the American Episcopal Missions in Sagada, Northern Philippines". In Servaes, Jan (ed.). Sustainable Development Goals in the Asian Context. Springer. p. 73. ISBN   9789811028151.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Malanes, Maurice; Nakamura, Midori; Tacloy, John (October 10, 2016). "History of Coffee in the Cordillera". Kapi Tako. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  3. Aguilar-Cariño, Maria Luisa B. (1994). "Eduardo Masferré and the Philippine Cordillera". Philippine Studies. 42 (3): 336–351. JSTOR   42633450.
  4. Masferré, Eduardo (1999). A Tribute to the Philippine Cordillera. Asiatype, Inc. p. 2. ISBN   9789719171201.
  5. 1 2 "Mt. Province coffee backed". BusinessWorld. January 12, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Verne, La. "From Bean to Brew". Tayo Literary Magazine.
  7. "Sagada Dark Roast Cold Brew + Figures Of Beans". The Peach Kitchen. August 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  8. Emocling, Oliver (November 9, 2017). "Kris Aquino should drink these on her coffee date". Nolisoli. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  9. Co, Ailene (March 19, 2018). "Seattle's Best Coffee Offers World-Class Beans From Sagada, Benguet, and Matumtum". Trend Hotspot. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  10. Del Mundo, Ida Anita Q. (February 10, 2008). "A brewing revolution". PhilStar Global. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  11. Tibaldo, Art (2014). "Brewing and Understanding Coffee Inside and Out". Agriculture Monthly. No. November. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  12. Co-Calleja, Alina R. (January 26, 2017). "I've 'bean' to Sagada...via a coffee lab in QC". GMA News Online. Retrieved December 20, 2018.