Benguet farmers should know the taste of their coffee
Text and Photos By: Ofelia Empian
La Trinidad, Benguet— It is in knowing the taste of one’s own coffee produce that farmers are able to get potential buyers according to award-winning Benguet coffee farmer Rodyio Tacdoy.
Tacdoy, a 22-year old farmer from barangay Wangal in La Trinidad, spoke to farmers and entrepreneurs during the recent Benguet Coffee Congress at the provincial capitol on July 21.
He bagged the first prize in Best Arabica (natural process) and first place in the Arabica small scale farms category in the 2025 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) last May.
Speaking from experience, Tacdoy said coffee buyers would usually ask what the taste of his coffee produce is, to decide whether to buy it or not.
“Before I knew how to taste my coffee beans, what I did was to give out samples of one kilo to buyers, which they would roast and taste,” Tacdoy said.
He said he gave out samples of both the natural process and washed process of coffee, which buyers would then decide based on taste.
He also encouraged farmers to learn how to process their coffee beans to elevate the quality of their produce. The common post-harvest coffee processing methods include: washed process, honey or pulped natural process coffee, natural or dry process coffee.
“It’s good to have an idea on the taste of your coffee so that if you have a buyer, you would know how to explain the taste to them,” he said.
Last May, Tacdoy broke records for Philippine coffee when his green coffee beans sold for P9,900 per kilo during the Philippine Coffee Expo. The previous record was US$91 during the 2023 PCQC.
Tacdoy’s historic win highlighted the quality of arabica coffee grown in the highlands of Benguet. His winning beans have a flavor profile of lychee, tropical fruits and floral notes and has garnered a total score of 84.38.
His coffee is graded as a specialty coffee since it made it to the 80-point mark prescribed for specialty coffee. Specialty coffee is coffee that scores higher than 80 points on a 100-point scale by a certified coffee taster or by a licensed grader. The scoring is based on 10 attributes and defects of the coffee, thus the higher the score, the better the coffee is.
Edgar Kawig Jr., proprietor of Red Soil Cafe and Coffee Roastery in Baguio City, said roasters are on the lookout for the best quality of green coffee beans or those coffee beans that are yet to be roasted.
“Your coffee can only be as good as your beans,” Kawig, who is the champion of the 2024 PH Coffee Roasting Competition, said.
Kawig, speaking to the farmers, said the science of coffee roasting is different from farming, that is why he encouraged farmers to focus on producing the best green coffee beans.
Vice Governor Mary Rose Kepes-Fongwan said after the congress, the provincial local government unit would be assessing the profiles of coffee farmers that attended the activity.
She said they will be streaming down the list according to those who are currently into coffee farming and the kind of intervention they need.
“We are currently building our database on farmers so we would know the proper intervention and necessary training so we could all be like Tacdoy,” Kepes said.
The best tasting Benguet Coffee beans were highlighted during the one-day Benguet Coffee Congress on July 21 with the province’s award winning farmer Rodyio Tacdoy, roaster Edgar Kawig, Jr., coffee experts Sunshine Sacki Molintas and Brenda Marietta Claver with provincial officials led by Vice Governor Marie Rose Fongwan-Kepes. The event was part of the week-long 1st Provincial MSME Week 2025.—Ofelia Empian
