SEOUL, South Korea – Two of The Philippines’ coffees made history at the Global Coffee Championship held recently in Kintex, Korea. The Philippines’ Liberica and Arabica coffees took on some of the best coffees from around the globe and captured a silver in the Latte competition and a bronze in the Brewer competition, respectively, at the Global Coffee Championship.
Michael Harris Conlin, 2019 Philippine National Barista Champion, represented the country in the competitions.
“It is an honor to represent the country and have the opportunity to highlight Philippine coffee in the world stage. I love coffee competitions. I enjoy the pressure and pushing my skills to the limit; this is one of the best ways to bring the best out of myself and grow as a coffee professional,” said Conlin.
Out of over 30 competitors per category, Sta. Maria, Laguna’s Liberica won the Silver award in Signature Coffee Award: Latte; while Balili, Benguet’s Arabica won the Bronze award in the Signature Coffee Award: Brewer.
The coffee competition was judged by 12 world-class coffee experts in a blind round of judging, with the judges not knowing who the barista was.
Most barista competitions put a focus on the barista. It’s rare that the barista takes the back seat, and the coffee gets a chance to take the main stage to compete in a global coffee competition.
Conlin’s Henry & Sons team worked closely with coffee farmers from the Juan Santiago Agriculture Cooperative (JSACOOP), an OTOPreneur from Santa Maria, Laguna, and the Dado family of Agnep Benguet Arabica farm in processing and introducing the country’s Laguna Liberica and Benguet Arabica to the world.
