Key Points
- Coffee Belt was born out of Abegail Manalansan's yearning for Filipino coffee.
- The plight of farmers is as important as the coffee they produce.
- Abegail currently brings Benguet coffee into Australia but plans to add more Filipino coffee varieties to her offerings.
SBS Filipino's 'Kape Serye' is a collection of features celebrating Filipino-owned cafes; Filipino baristas, producers, distributors and coffee aficionados; and of course, the Philippine-grown coffee bean.
"Coffee is very complex. All this talk about thermodynamics, heat, grain size, etc! Oh my God - so scientific! I come from an engineering and IT background, but learning about coffee made me feel so small," coffee supplier Abegail Manalansan admits.
Abegail Manalansan Credit: Abegail Manalansan
Craving for Kapeng Barako
Sydneysider Abegail was working in IT when she decided to quit to pursue her own business.
"I wanted to do it while I still had the nerve to do so. I was looking into drop shipping - bringing manufactured goods from China and India and just basically managing a website to sell. Then COVID hit. Perfect timing, right?" she says.
While she was mulling over what business to pursue, she was also coming to terms with not being able to visit her family in the Philippines.
"My dad worked abroad and when he would visit home, he would always have Kapeng Barako in the morning." Source: Pixabay / cocoparisienne from Pixabay
"Aside from reminding me of home, I was also becoming somewhat of a coffee snob because of the awesome coffee culture here in Australia."
For somewhat-coffee snob Abegail, Kapeng Barako was representative of great Filipino coffee.
Abegail and her brother discovered that it wasn't easy shipping Kapeng Barako to Australia. Aside from the logistical challenges brought about by the pandemic, sending the goods would require a lot of documentation.
"My brother joked that if I really wanted the coffee, I should just be the one to bring it to Australia and make a business out of it." Credit: Abegail Manalansan
'I'll do it'
Making up her mind about importing Filipino coffee, Abegail committed to learning as much as she could about the industry.
"I found out that in terms of freshness, green coffee beans were the way to go. That was a big hurdle for me. What do I do with green beans? Do I need to learn how to roast? So I did - I studied it."
While studying coffee roasting, she joined a webinar on the coffee culture and industry in the Philippines.
"I empathise with the coffee farmers because my brothers are farmers too." Credit: Kalsada Coffee
"I also discovered that Philippine beans were expensive due to lack of government support. A lot of plantations shift from coffee to vegetables because vegetables are more profitable. I empathise with the coffee farmers because my brothers are farmers too."
Benguet coffee
Aside from learning about the industry, Abegail was able to connect with Filipino supplier Kalsada Coffee for her own business, Coffee Belt.
"Kalsada Coffee connects suppliers from around the world with farmers.
"Kalsada Coffee connects suppliers from around the world with farmers." Credit: Kalsada Coffee
When it comes to supplies, the coffee beans that Abegail purchases from Kalsada Coffee originate from Benguet.
According to Abegail, Benguet coffee tends to have a light and vibrantly acidic flavour profile.
Sitio Naguey coffee Credit: Kel Morales
"Our Sitio Naguey is more fruity and has subtle hints of cherry and berry. Sitio Kisbong, on the other hand, is more chocolatey and nutty.
"It's funny, the sitios [subdivisions] are only separated by one precipice, but their coffees are different. Coffee flavours change depending on the soil, climate and other factors."
Just in case Abegail is unable to import due to lack of supply, she came up with the First Crack Blend, a concoction made up of locally sourced beans which captures the flavour profile of one of Coffee Belt's Filipino coffees.
Abegail commits to adding more Filipino coffee varieties to her offerings. Credit: Jeffrey Polintan
While Abegail admits that supplies can sometimes run low and it can be tricky selling Filipino coffee even to the Filipino cafe crowd, she commits to pushing forward.
"I'm looking into adding coffee from Mt. Apo and Bukidnon to our offerings. And of course, we will continue offering Benguet coffee.
"I'm in this for the long run. I have a huge vision of becoming a brand ambassador of Philippine coffee in Australia." Credit: Kel Morales
"I'm in this for the long run. I have a huge vision of becoming a brand ambassador of Philippine coffee in Australia. I'm keeping my hopes up. I'll keep on pushing."
