Kalinga comes up with new brewed coffee brand

The Kalinga province in northern Luzon has come up with yet another brand of brewed coffee to capture the renowned "Kalinga taste" among coffee lovers. It is called the Saltan Brewed Coffee. A report in Ilocos Times, quoted Noryn Bagano of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial office as saying that the new brand carries the name of the place where it originates, along the bank of Saltan River in Taga, Pinukpuk. The Mananig Multi-purpose Cooperative (MMC), a group of coffee producers living along the Saltan River, produces the new coffee brand. The name Saltan first gained honor when it was adjudged as the cleanest river in Cordillera under the Clean and Green program of former president Fidel Ramos. The first Kalinga brewed coffee brand -- Kalinga Brew of Antuza Refalda -- has been out in the market for quite sometime now and has even gained demand abroad. Kalinga coffee has become popular because of its organic production, making it among the favorites of coffee lovers here and abroad. Countries in the Middle East prefer Kalinga coffee because of its acclaimed aroma and blend, which they say is not present in the taste of other coffee brands. Kalinga brewed coffee is a product of roasted ground coffee beans usually comes from the blend of three varieties -- robusta, arabica, and exelsa. As a prospering people's cooperative, the MMC, which was organized through the assistance of the defunct Cecap, started its coffee trade with Figaro, a Filipino owned coffee business chain. It is encouraging other producers in the province to produce similar brands of brewed coffee to add value to their crop. Coffee is identified as the major product of the province under the One Town One Product (Otop) program. It is now under the process of gaining organic certification from the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP).