Barista brews plot to put PH back in the global coffee map

Michael Harris Conlin, 2019 Philippine National Barista Champion and president and CEO of Henry & Sons (Photo by GABRIEL PABICO LALU)

MANILA, Philippines — People view coffee differently. Even relatives and the closest of friends differ in their preferences on how it should taste. Some like it hot, some like it cold. Others want it light and sweet, and of course, others want it strong and bitter.

Coffee symbolizes a lot of things too: It’s the start of a new day for people with day jobs. Or it’s a way for people with night jobs to keep awake.

Regardless of these differences, coffee has been a revered drink among Filipinos. Whether in Batangas, Cavite, Manila, Davao, or in Baguio, there will always be a high demand for coffee.

However, Michael Harris Conlin, the 2019 Philippine National Barista Champion, sees boundless opportunities for the Philippines to promote its coffee worldwide.

Last April 1, Conlin flew to Boston in the United States for the World Coffee Championships not only to showcase his talents but also to give the world a taste — literally and figuratively — of the potential of Philippine coffee.

“The World Barista Championship is like the holy grail of all competitions on coffee. The people who watch it are, you know, the industry decision makers in the world,” Harris told people who visited him for his send-off lunch three days before his departure. “So if I can bring Filipino coffee to the world stage and showcase it, that the Philippines has amazing coffee that can stand side by side with you know, other coffees, then it would inspire coffee farmers, inspire baristas here in the Philippines.”

Sourcing from backyard farmers

At The Giving Café, his coffee shop in Mandaluyong, Conlin, who considers himself a social entrepreneur, relayed his goal of helping farmers by using local beans in worldwide competitions, instead of sourcing from other countries.

He has been doing through the “Kape, Kabuhayan, and Kinabukasan” summit, a biannual event organized by the Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence, of which he’s a director, and Henry & Sons Trading and Manufacturing Co., Inc., of which he is president and chief executive officer.

So how did he come up with the idea for the summit?

“It all started when I was watching the World Barista Championship in Korea in 2017,” he said. “ Watching our competitors, our Philippine champion at that time, I always wondered why our champions never brought Philippine coffee.”

If he could catch attention with his style and flair for making coffee, then he could see no problem bringing the local coffee industry with him.

“We’re a coffee-growing country, the Philippines has really wonderful coffee, and I always wondered why they would bring like a Panama, or they would bring coffee from Ethiopia. So you know, I made it a point that one day, if I make it to the world stage, I would bring Philippine coffee,” he said.

The beans that Conlin would use comes from Itogon town in Benguet, a highland province known for producing vegetables growing in low temperatures.

“We’re very lucky that we discovered this Itogon coffee because that is an amazing coffee that we’re going to bring and use for the World Barista Championships,” he said.

According to him, his coffee does not come from big plantations, rather, from backyard farmers who maintain around 10 trees. And he buys the coffee cherries for P100 per kilogram, four times higher than the ordinary trader usually do.

“You don’t need much land, like we’re not talking about commercial quality plantations. We’re talking more on empowering the backyard farmers because they are the ones who are in poverty. If the farmers have hectares and hectares of land, they don’t need our help,” he said, chuckling.

Turning serious, he said he hoped that people with financial problems could see the beauty in backyard farming.

“If you can empower the backyard farmers to make a better living on coffee, then nakatulong tayo, then you’ve enabled them in giving them knowledge to get themselves out of poverty,” Conlin said.

“And in the long run, when one neighbor sees another doing it, you know, I’m sure the way it goes viral will be very fast,” he said.

Sustainability and responsibility

Inside his coffee shop, Conlin’s energy can fool people into thinking of him as a young barista. However, his vision reveals so much more than crafting drinks for customers.

According to the Philippine Coffee Board, the country was the fourth largest coffee market in the 19th century. Sadly, coffee rust — a fungal condition affecting coffee leaves — killed local plantations, and it was never able to reclaim its position since.

This issue was also a factor in choosing coffee cherries from Benguet. Aside from being raised under suitable farming conditions, Itogon’s coffee has had an advantage because it has adapted to the environment.

“The reason why I’m really, really keen on working with Itogon and with small farms in the Philippines is because all the seeds that were planted are wildlings. And the nice thing about wildlings is that it’s already adapted to the environment,” he said.

“I find that it’s flavor is sweet, ‘yong cherries niya matamis. It’s weird, it’s really very sweet,” he added. “Coffee naman is based on environment din — the higher the elevation, the more concentrated the sugars. If we harvest the coffee right after it rains, coffee is very bland because it absorbed the water.”

According to Conlin, they are also helping farmers for them to come up with the best possible crop and product, at the highest possible income.

“So some of the experimental technics we’ve done is drying the coffee, to concentrate the sugar in the tree, and it works well,” he said. “We’re trying to empower the backyard farmers to do all these processing in their homes. If they sell their coffees as cherries, usually they sell it around P25. We buy it at a hundred, which makes them very, very happy.”

“But what we are really proud of is when we taught them how to process these coffees. If they process it and sell it as beans, ready to use, ready to roast coffee, we buy it at P320. If they sell it as roasted, they are able to sell it at close to P800 per kilo. So it’s really empowering them with the knowledge,” he added.

Nearly quitting despite his passion

Like thousands of Filipino children, Conlin’s first self-made cup of coffee was not meant for him, but rather for his father.

“I’ve always loved coffee, it’s part of my childhood,” he said. “My father drank coffee, when I was 12 years old my dad taught me how to brew my first cup of espresso, for him. Ako ‘yong personal barista niya and it all just went from there.”

“Like when I was in high school, at 13 years old, I was already drinking coffee. I was making coffee for my friends even,” he added. “So it’s one of the things that has always been in my heart, it’s always been my passion.”

However, knowing what to do later in life did not prevent him from doubting himself.

“Well, no journey is perfect. It’s always a learning process,” he said. “In 2018, when I competed at the national barista championship, I came in fifth. So it’s not an easy journey, it’s not easy to be the top, there’s a lot of practice, there’s a lot of time and thought in getting to know yourself.”

He also recalled the moment when he was about to forego joining the local competitions, to give way to baristas who may have better and greater use for such recognition.

“A few months ago I almost quit […] before the national barista championships because I realized that being able to go to the world championship and winning it is life changing. It would change the lives of baristas. It would inspire others and make a better living,” he said.

“For myself, as the president and CEO of Henry & Sons, I am already pretty happy with what I have accomplished,” he added. “How do you compete with somebody who earns minimum wage, you know? If they win, they can make much more. How can you compete with the drive that person has?”

However, what made him pursue it was the prospect of bringing Filipino coffee with him into the limelight.

“What changed my mind was imagining what I can do for the Philippines if I can inspire, bring Philippine coffee to the world stage, and inspire farmers and consumers in the Philippines, to one, plant, and the other to consume Filipino coffee and create a fully-sustainable coffee economy that only the Philippines would have,” he said.

The future of Philippine coffee

As of now, Harris and his team are working on plans to open facilities where both farmers and baristas can learn more how to make the best out of their crops.

“One of the other things that we’ve put up is the Institute for Coffee Excellence, it is an educational arm where I would like to nurture baristas in becoming world class. The other thing that our institute is doing is trying to arm the farmers with the needed tools and knowledge to be able to elevate the crop naman,” he said.

“So, it’s going to be exciting because one of the things the institute will have is a coffee library where we would house the most books available in the Philippines on coffee and coffee processing, and baristas, and all these things. And it’s really gonna be amazing because it’s going to be open to the public,” he added.

The facility, located just across The Giving Cafe, will formally open on May 3.

“We’ll also have a co-roasting space at the facility where people can come if they want to roast coffee, it’s all about sharing, empowering people to do great things on their own, it’ll be sad kung tayo lang ang makakagawa eh,” he said.

Aside from these projects, he also said that he would be open to working with government agencies in promoting Philippine coffee. It’s a source of optimism and a shot at hope, that the with government intervention, the coffee industry may possibly grow bigger.

“So far we’ve been working with the local government units, also we’ve been working with Department of Tourism, but we’re very much open to working with the government. If they believe in what we believe in, if they believe in the vision, I mean, that’s what other countries have. They have government support,” he said.

“Here in the Philippines, I believe that if we all work towards a fully-sustainable coffee economy, where everyone contributes to a beautiful coffee future, then it’s gonna happen,” he added. “But we have to be solid and we should all be moving the same way.” /atm