Meet the Philippines’ first Coffee Tasters Champion, Mich Sy

MANILA, Philippines – Slurp, taste, spit, repeat. Could you guess the one odd cup in a bit?

If you were Mich Sy, surely, you could.

Sy emerged as the champion in the first Philippines’ Cup Tasters Championship, and therefore represented the country for our first World Cup Coffee Tasters participation in Berlin in 2019. 

According to her, the Cup Tasters Championship is “a memory of odd one out for coffee.”

The World Cup Tasters Championship describes this competition as the ability to distinguish the taste differences in specialty coffees in an accurate, quick, and skillful manner. 

During the national competition, there were 24 cups of coffee, which were divided into 8 sets. In each set, there were 3 cups.  The goal was for cuppers to identify the 8 odd cups as quickly as they can using a cupping spoon and a spittoon, and through slurping and spitting.

For her, the most difficult point was reaching the 12th cup of coffee because your tongue and lips will start to dry from tasting all that coffee.  “I had to gargle and spit to clean my tongue for the rest of the coffees on the table,” she said.

While she said getting a mark on the bottom of the cup was the most exhilarating part because that means you got it right. 

Why is a good palate for coffee important? Sy explained that being a good coffee taster means being able to spot the nuances in coffee, be it good or bad, and that it can apply to all parts of the coffee chain. 

For instance, a barista with a good tongue will let you know how to calibrate your coffee.

For a green bean buyer, cupping coffees ensures you get what you want prior to buying a whole lot. As a coffee roaster, it helps decide which beans work well alongside each other or simply to filter out those that you don’t want. As an educator, one can teach and guide coffee sensory to those who want to pursue coffee professionally.

The possibilities may not end there, as it can also help consumers know what they want and in effect go for better coffee.

Tips for those going in the same direction

For those eyeing this path, Sy suggested having an open palate and trying different dishes. “Different countries have their unique take on food, so even a simple as cola drinks can taste sweeter in the Philippines,” she said. 

One example she mentioned is mangoes. 

According to her, the taste of Philippine mangoes is very innate to us, that you tend to get an idea of intense sweetness. “Abroad, instead of mangoes, you will find roasters relating those notes as peaches or stone fruits,” she added.  

She also suggested trying coffee from different terroir, elevation, varieties, processing, as one exact coffee would taste differently when subjected to a different kind of processing.

Ultimately, she revealed that she was careful not to burn her tongue and did not go for any of these tastes: bland, neutral, and extreme prior to the competition.

New opportunities

As she was finding her place in the coffee industry, the competition happened at the right time.

In 2017, she asked Kevin Israel Fortu (First Philippine National Barista Champion) regarding the Cup Tasters, and he mentioned, that maybe, one day, it would be made available. 

For the past few years, the Philippines has increased its roster of Coffee Championships from Barista, Latte Art, Brewers, and Coffee in Good Spirits, but never had one yet for Cup Tasters.

“I have been looking forward to that day and told myself that it’s something that I would definitely enlist in,” Sy said.

Fast forward to 2019, it’s the crowning glory of her coffee journey now. Yet it’s just the start of something more for Sy. 

One of the paths she wished to pursue is to take the Q grader exam and SCA modules to build a career towards being a sensory judge during competition, an educator in sensory, and a roaster. 

Passion of a coffee enthusiast

Her love for coffee would make her frequent coffee shops every now and then. 

She signed up for a barista course at EDSA Beverage and Design Group, and bought her own coffee machines for home brewing.

She’s also grateful for the support and trust she got from the industry before and now, especially from Kalsada Coffee and Crema and Cream whom she said never doubted her skills even though she has never worked as a professional in the industry.

Yes, the first Philippines’ Coffee Tasters Champion is a banker by day.

And she’s inviting you to be curious, meticulous, and to question the nuances you taste in your coffee too, regardless whether it is good or bad, or if it’s something you like or not. Because in the end, those are simply indicators that (you/we) can change, alter, or elevate based on many variables. But one without the aid of our palate. – Rappler.com