Looking for good local coffee beans? Here’s where to buy them

Steph Arnaldo

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Looking for good local coffee beans? Here’s where to buy them
Bean searching for 100% homegrown coffee brands to support? Check out these 6 local names!

If there’s something we’re very proud of, it’s our coffee.

It’s a brew-tiful process from bean to brew – single-origin cherries grown and harvested from our own fertile lands, hand-picked and roasted by the many hardworking Filipino farmers across the country, creating a distinct cup of good, homegrown coffee that many caff-icionados both enjoy and take pride in.

Looking to taste some of the country’s finest 100% beans and brews? Here are a few locally-owned coffee names that deserve a scout, many sips, and 100% support.

Hineleban Café

 

Local artisanal café Hineleban not only knows how to serves a mean cup of coffee – this homegrown brand also takes pride in their ethics, sourcing process, and community-driven projects, each worthy of a special mention.

Located behind Rockwell Drive, Hineleban Café sells their specialty 100% Arabica coffee beans in-store or online, promising reforestation support for Mindanao’s indigenous mountain communities with every purchase of their beans. 

 

Hineleban Farms Coffee (500g) – P600

Photo from Hineleban Cafe's website

Hineleban’s highland Arabica beans come in ground or whole bean form, and are grown, hand-picked, and flown straight from Hineleban Farms in Mount Kitanglad, Bukidnon, Mindanao.

Nurtured in a misty cool region, the ripe red coffee cherries produce coffee praised for its fruit-like nutty undertones, cocoa dustings, caramel after-taste, and smooth, balanced finish.

What makes that cup even better is that with every bag of coffee you buy, Hineleban plants a tree for you, under your own name. You  can even get a tree code and track the growth of your tree! As of October 1, 2018, 4,400,001 trees have been planted.

Go Brew

An up and coming contender within the local coffee industry is Go Brew, a Pinoy coffee venture built on a group of friends’ search for that perfect cup ‘o joe. Well, if you haven’t found it – why not just go brew your own, right? 

 

 

 

Aside from unprocessed taste, Go Brew takes pride in every cup’s hands-on experience from start to finish –  starting from the local roasters who work closely with farmers, enhancing the flavors of their hand-picked harvest from 4 different local origins.

There are 4 250g beans to choose from: the Barako (P250) – a strong, bold choice with a hint of jackfruit in aroma and taste. This traditional favorite is sourced from Cavite and is roasted medium-dark. Go Brew’s Benguet (P300) beans are grown in the highlands of Atok, medium-dark roasted, bearing fruity lemon/grapefruit notes and a tea-like finish.

Go Brew’s Sultan Kudarat (P350) is born from the Manobo farmers’ hands who diligently harvest the medium-roast Arabica beans from the lush rainforest of Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat. The shade-grown beans produce notes of roasted nuts, caramelized sugar, cacao, and tamarind.

Lastly, there’s Mt. Matutum (P350), boasting of medium-roasted beans with nutty and dark chocolate flavors, carefully planted on South Cotabato’s elevated fertile lands.

Aside from in-home enjoyment, Go Brew can also cater to the caffeine perk-me-up needs of your offices, seminars, conferences, and meetings. You can purchase your beans or make an inquiry on their Instagram page.

KapeTayo Coffee

One of the best questions to be asked on a sleepy afternoon and also a full-fledged Filipino café, KapeTayo is proudly 100% homegrown, from bean, brew, to brand.

 

The homey café located at UP Town Center is a must-visit (menu must-try: the Kape Ginto (P99-129), a milky-creamy Arabica coffee drink, sweetened with local honey and muscovado sugar), but if time doesn’t persist, their quality beans can be enjoyed just as well at home. 

The bean backbone of KapeTayo’s smooth, balanced brew is their Inspiration (100g – P259) blend, made of 100% high-altitude Arabica, sustainably-grown and hand-picked from the Northern provinces. Brew this for a chocolatey coffee cup with caramelized vanilla and muscovado notes.

 

There’s also KapeTayo’s Premium AAA Barako (100g – P269), made of 100% Liberica beans, producing a strong, full-bodied, and mildy exotic taste.

Buying a bag of brew for yourself? Check out KapeTayo’s website.

Coffeellera

For single-origin coffee sourced locally and directly from farms and cooperatives around the country, Coffeellera is another option, especially if you’re into high-quality green Arabica beans that are hand-picked, sorted manually, and 100% organic.

 

Which beans can you get from Coffeellera’s cooperatives, which are participants of the Philippines Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC)? From Benguet are the washed Atok (P309 – 250g) and Kibungan (P309 – 250g) beans, and from Mindanao are the natural, washed Mount Apo (P350 – 250g) beans and Bukidnon (P420 – 250g). 

 

You can buy your beans via Coffeellera’s website.

Café Sito

A small business built on the legacy of the owner’s late father, Café Sito is a respectable (and definitely eye-catching) testament of what a shared love of quality coffee can bring to Filipinos’ breakfast tables.

 

Three 100% Arabica blends are available: the black coffee blend (fruity-floral taste, sans any sour and acidic notes), the iced latte blend (a balanced, dark roast blend with hazelnut notes), and the pour over blend (floral jasmine notes with hints of juicy pineapple and dark cocoa, when mixed with milk).

Photo from Beebeelee

The first two are directly and ethically sourced from mostly female farmers in Benguet, born from green beans bought in Ampucao and Atok, Benguet. The pour over blend comes from Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato.

 A bag (300g) costs P700, while a can goes for P950. Café Sito coffee can be purchased via the Beebeelee website.

SGD 

We end today’s coffee journey on the mountaintop region of Sagada as we introduce SGD Coffee, a hip bodega located in Teachers Village, serving up 100% single-origin, naturally-grown, women-harvested, hand-sorted, direct trade coffee.

 

Thanks to Sagada’s cold climate, a special type of Arabica is harvested from its unique soil, hand-processed, and then air-dried at SGD’s farm site.

 

 

These Médaille Gourmet Award-winning beans are described as smooth, full-flavored, balanced, with a hint of sweet oak aroma. 

You can support SGD’s mission to elevate the work of our Filipino farmers through artisanal beverages by visiting their coffee shop for a freshly-brewed espresso (P95), SGD black (P120), flat white (P145), cappuccino (P145), SGD cold (P175), and affogato (P155). 

 

You can also buy a bag of SGD Roast Coffee (225g- P660) in whole or ground beans form in-store or online via Lazada.

Calda Drip Coffee

For the on-the-go coffee drinker, Caldi Drip Coffee is here to make your caffeine-driven life a little easier – with strong, rich coffee to match. 

 

The self-proclaimed “pourtable coffee” provides freshly-brewed coffee in just a few minutes, without the use of a French press or coffee machine. All you need is hot water!

Caldi comes in two kinds, Blue Mountain blend and Arabica blend, and costs P280 per box, with 7 10g drip coffee packs inside. 

Their Arabica blend is a medium-dark roast with hints of caramel, peanut, and potato, while the Blue Mountain blend stars coffee pulp, walnuts, dark cocoa, and roasted hazelnuts.

 

Heads-up: Caldi’s medium-bodied beans are not locally sourced (they’re from Laos), but are locally packaged using nitrogen flushing, a technique that rids the grounds from oxygen, ensuring fresher taste and aroma.  

What other local bean brands do you think deserve to be on more people’s caffeine radars? – Rappler.com

Get more local goodies with this Lazada voucher.

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Avatar photo

author

Steph Arnaldo

If she’s not writing about food, she’s probably thinking about it. From advertising copywriter to freelance feature writer, Steph Arnaldo finally turned her part-time passion into a full-time career. She’s written about food, lifestyle, and wellness for Rappler since 2018.