LONDON, United Kingdom – Indochina Coffee – the London-based importers of Asian specialty coffees – have announced the UK premiere of a documentary film about Philippine coffee producers, to be screened during London Coffee Festival. Ma’am Tere, directed by Paul Barreto, follows a group of US-based coffee professionals on their journeys to the farms of Bukidnon in the south and Benguet in the north of the country as they experience first-hand the work of Kalsada – a social enterprise dedicated to supporting Philippine coffee farmers and producers.
Both Paul and one of Kalsada’s founders Tere Domine (or Ma’am Tere as she is known by locals) will be on hand at the two forthcoming screenings on the 11th and 12th of April at Close Up Cinema to answer questions about the film, as well as coffee production in the Philippines more generally.
Teaming up with the renowned Philippine roasters and coffeeshop owners El Union, Indochina Coffee hopes the event will shine a light on this relatively unknown origin with its surprisingly rich history of coffee cultivation.
Starting as early as 1740, when Spanish monks brought coffee trees to the city of Lipa, Batangas, which soon became the country’s coffee capital, the history of Philippine coffee is long and varied.
By 1880, the Philippines was the world’s fourth biggest exporter of coffee beans and for a time the primary source of coffee beans globally, when the coffee rust hit Brazil, Africa, and Java. Comprising over 7,000 islands with a varied topography and range of climates, the Philippines is one of only a few countries able to grow the four varieties of commercially-viable beans: Arabica, Liberica (Barako), Excelsa and Robusta.
“It’s such a privilege to have Tere and Paul come to London so we can hear the stories behind Philippine farmers brought to life when so many people come to the festival to celebrate everything about coffee” said Shirani Gunawardena, a co-founder of Indochina. “Our intention has always been to champion coffees from all over Asia, and to be at the forefront of bringing these wonderful Philippine coffees to new audiences in the UK and Europe is incredibly exciting.”
Tickets, which include a bag of Kalsada’s Sitio Belis washed Garnica coffee from Benguet, are available here.
