Coffee month? Yes October is always celebrated as Coffee Month since President Fidel V. Ramos proclaimed it as such in 1997.
Fast forward to twenty years later and the Philippine Coffee Board Inc (PCBI) the country’s pioneer Private-sector led coffee advocacy group still continuously promotes coffee education as a way to make Filipinos proud of our own brews.
This year has added another feather on PCBI’s cap as Dusit Hospitality Management College (DHMC) partners to offer coffee courses in its institution. “We look to the coffee experts to offer the courses and seminars on Coffee Basics and even Coffee Farming Basics in our classrooms” says Cyrille Soenen, Director of Culinary Arts and Master Chef of France.
The introductory classes will be given by PCBI Technical Consultant Robert Francisco –Introduction to Coffee and Dr. Alejandro Mojica- Coffee Farming Basics on October 20 and 27 respectively .
On October 26 DHMC and PCBI will celebrate the very first “Coffee Dinner” honouring Filipinos who have contributed to the industry’s growth over the last forty years such as Jose “Joe” Mercado of Cafe de Lipa ; Dr. Amading Silva of Siete Baracos, Enrile (posthumous) and Evelyn Asuncion of Silca Coffee and Ernest Escaler of Gourmet Farms and Professor Benjamin Dimas of Benguet State University.
The dinner will be keynoted by Senator Cynthia A. Villar, the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. Senator Villar is looking to opening coffee farm schools in coffee-growing areas to encourage more young people to get into coffee.
“Coffee demand is still on an upward trend” says Pacita Juan President of the PCBi. “We need more young farmers and processors and the coffee farm school is a good initiative to be undertaken by government and the private sector ,” she continues.
Tickets to “The Coffee Dinner” are limited and are available only from PCBI and Dusit.
Call 813-1028 or 0908-883-1218 for reservations.(PCBi)
