Name of Product: | Itogon Arabica Coffee |
Scientific Name: | Coffea arabica |
Product Type: | Beverages |
MP Region: | Asia and the Pacific |
Country of origin: | Philippines |
Name of the Mountain Area: | Itogon, Benguet Province, Cordillera Administrative Area, Philippines |
Altitude Range: | Class 5: elevation 1 000-1 500 m and slope ≥5 or LER > 300 m |
Narrative label: | Itogon arabica coffee has been cultivated for over 80 years mainly by local Indigenous Igorot Peoples in their backyards. But when Typhoon Ompong hit in 2018, its deadly landslides lead to the closing of the Itogon mines and the locals losing their main source of income. Formerly a part-time vocation, the selling of coffee to local buyers turned into a full time job with the intervention of Henry & Sons, a Manila based coffee company who initiated a collaboration to bring immediate income to people and offer a long-term solution to poverty. Tradition and Biodiversity Arabica coffee has always been grown in the area according to the locals, to the extent that is has adapted perfectly to the conditions of the Itogon hills. It is thanks to these locals growing Arabica coffee in their gardens for home consumption that it is now publicly accessible, as 90 percent of Philippine coffee is of the Robusta variety. Through the Henry & Sons initiative, the local farmers have been encouraged to cultivate Arabica to access the national market, which is transforming Itogon from a mining community into a sustainable coffee growing community. Territory The Itogon arabica coffee trees are semi-wild and grow between 300 - 2 100 metres above sea level. Farmers practice multi-cropping with the coffee trees in the native forests surrounding the area. Consumption The Itogon arabica coffee has a nutty, dark chocolate aroma with a balanced level of acidity. Locals drink coffee daily and serve it to welcome visitors and at family gatherings. Producers Fifty women and four men from Itogon are organized in the Saddle Hartwell Lumbag Coffee Growers Association (SHALCOGA) to grow and process the coffee correctly. Production SHALCOGA assures that the coffee trees are organically grown with no pesticides, with the cherries being hand picked when fully ripe and processed on site in Itogon following the Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence (FSCE) Cup to Seed Protocol. |
Producer: | Saddle Hartwell Lumbag Coffee Growers Association (SHALCOGA) – Itogon coffee growers |
Contact person: | Edu Baltazar, Henry and Sons co-ordinator, [email protected] |
Labelled since: | 09.08.2019 |
Label latest verification: | 09.08.2019 |
Type of producer: | Family farmer, Cooperative |
Smallholder: | yes |
Size of company: | > 50 people |
Distribution channel: | Direct sale |
Traditional product/production: | Yes, Arabica coffee production is traditionally cultivated by local indigenous Igorot people in their backyards |
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