kapeng barako

Before coffee shops like Figaro, Starbucks and Seattle's Best became famous in the Philippines, there was the kapeng barako. And when you say kapeng barako, you are most probably referring to Batangas coffee. However, the real kapeng barako is the Philippine Liberica coffee.

Aside from the Liberica, there are at least three other identified species of coffee including Arabica, Excelsa and Robusta. Of the four species, it is the Liberica which is source from the largest cherries thereby producing bigger beans. Liberica is commonly grown in Cavite in the Philippines.

Barako is a colloquial term that refers to a man's machismo. Barako coffee is named as such due to its strong aroma and taste.

I have tasted Kapeng Barako before when someone brought it from Cavite. The fact that it is still stored in my kitchen somewhere means I have not really grown an affinity to its taste.

let's talk about coffee

Americans are the world's largest coffee consumers and yet they (and their territories) do not grow coffee except perhaps Puerto Rico and Hawaii. While the Arabs originally drank coffee for religious purposes, the Christian priests believed it was the drink of the devil. Thanks to Pope Clement VIII who tasted the coffee, found it delicious and blessed it, Christians can now sip a cup of coffee without suffering from eternal damnation.

Coffee makes the world go round. Probably the economy too considering the number of Starbucks, Davao's own Blue Gre' and other coffee shops sprouting all over the country. I started my love affair with coffee when I was still in law school. I can still remember how we (the other part of we being my friend Weng Soriano) spent most of our midnights and dawns at the Caltex Starmart in Ecoland studying cases and preparing either for a recitation or an exam the next day---of course with a cup of Nestle coffee. In one of my work-related trips to Manila, I also remembered how I spent six hours (that's from 9PM to 3AM next day) in Seattle's Best since I had to fly to Davao the next day for my Labor exam.

Then I worked as a country analyst for one of those companies doing special reports for the South China Morning Post and Fortune Magazine where my regular work hour was 3Pm to 12midnight--although at that point sleep already eludes me until 3AM. I am lucky if I get 3-4 hours of sleep since I have to work early at 6AM. Crazy life. The only thing that sustained me was coffee.

And so these are some of the reasons why I decided to honor coffee by naming my newest blog (the other one being datelinedavao) ---coffee talk. With coffee, who knows how far this blog is going to go? Endless possibilities.

Here's to Pope Clement, without whom I would not have survived every day and every night.