Bukidnon and SGD Coffee Take Home 2019 Awards in Milan for Coffee Roasters

ANOTHER WIN FOR PHILIPPINE COFFEE. Representatives from the Philippines, Mirabueno Coffee and SGD Coffee, bagged prizes during the 5th International “Locally Roasted Coffees” International Contest. 

SGD Coffee and Mirabueno Coffee were able to take home the prizes of Gourmet (puissant doux category) and Bronze (rond equilibre category). The awards were given by the Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles (AVPA) in Milan last October 21, 2019.

Harvesting the fruits of good labor

Respectively, Mirabueno Coffee is being harvested in Bukidnon, while SGD Coffee is grown and harvested in the north, in the mountains of Sagada. 

On behalf of Mirabueno and SGD Coffee, the awards were received by the Chargé d’Affaires Mersole J. Mellejor of the Philippine Consul General’s Office in Milan.

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An estimated amount of at least 700 producers from around the world have participated in AVPA contests annually. AVPA is a Paris-based non-governmental, non-profit organization. It is made up of producers and taste enthusiasts.” Its main goal is to improve the quality of agricultural products on a global scale.

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A bright future for Philippine coffee

SGD Coffee, whose humble beginnings started through pop-up booths and a bed and breakfast in Sagada, also won 2017’s AVPA Awards, which was the first Gourmet Award for Philippine coffee. 

Both Mirabueno Coffee and SGD Coffee are part of The Coffee Heritage Project (TCHP). TCHP is a non-profit initiative that started in 2009 which aims for “quality-focused approaches in coffee production.”

TCHP partners with farmers around the country to encourage coffee production. They ensure that this is done while protecting the various local indigenous peoples’ traditions and practices on agriculture. 

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“Our effort to get recognition for TCHP’s partner-growers represents a small part of the total CHP work,” says Butch Acop.

For Acop, more importantly, the AVPA coffee competition helps them showcase a fuller spectrum of the work they do: “To reforest land with sustainable and ecological integration of coffee, the high returns and quality of life offered to coffee growers, and our endless pursuit of the next frontiers in coffee roasting and taste.”