Cyberprince Chronicles

Someone important once told me that I was predestined to be an Ambassador for Philippine coffee.

Less than a month later, at thirty seven thousand feet in the air, somewhere over Japan I find myself living up to this calling.

It is around 3am Philippine time, and I’m trying to keep awake. This way when I get to Los Angeles (10 am Philippine time but 7pm in the US) I can settle into the hotel and get a good night’s sleep, all rested and ready for the full day ahead.

What better to keep awake then a glass of coffee or two.

I later find myself in one of the 4 or 5 kitchens on board the aircraft chatting with one of the stewardess. One of the things I ask her is the source of the coffee they serve on board. She tells me they source it from Figaro (one of my preferred local coffee brands), “Fantastic!” I even look at the packaging as she brews a pot specially for me.

“Don’t you think its too strong?” she asks. “Oh no, I like my coffee strong, and I take my coffee black.”

I then go on to tell her about my recent interest in Philippine coffee. I find out she is from Batangas, where most of the country’s Barako Coffee is grown.

I find it hard to hold back as I start rattling out the differences between Robusta and Arabika, and instant and specialty coffee.

I went on about my favorite coffee company, Figaro and how its foundation is helping out farmers in need. I told her how much I liked coffee from the Cordillera region and suggested that she visit the Kape Isla store in Serendra where the selection for Philippine coffee is impressive.

Of course I didn’t forget to plead my case, that Philippine coffee is really good, that we produce less than we consume, and that people especially Filipinos should start appreciating and drinking it.

We talked for quite a while, I hope this bit of knowledge will come in handy next time a bored, sleep deprived passenger decides to spend some time in the kitchen. It not only makes a wonderful conversation piece, it will also help our struggling industry get back on its feet.

Spread the word.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Food, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.