Kalinga's new brewed coffee out in market soon

SunStar: Coffee lovers, who find bias of taste on the renowned Kalinga Brew, would yet have another savory coffee experience with the expected coming out of the new local coffee brand in the market. Noryn Bagano of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Saltan Brewed Coffee, which carries the name of the place where it originates, is the second brewed coffee the province has produced next to Kalinga Brew. Saltan is a village stretching along the bank of Saltan River in Taga, Pinukpuk, where coffee farmers belonging to the Mananig Tribe live. This group of farmers organized the Mananig Multi-purpose Coop. and ventured into the production of Saltan Brewed Coffee. Saltan first gained honor when it won awards as cleanest river in the Cordillera under the government’s clean and green program in the 1990s. Demand for Kalinga coffee has become popular because of it being organically produced aside from its alluring aroma. Countries in Middle East have high preference for Kalinga coffee because of its acclaimed blend, which they said is lacking in taste in other coffee varieties. Kalinga brewed coffee comes from the blend of roasted and ground coffee beans from three varieties Rebusta, Arabica and Exelsa. As a prospering people's cooperative, MMC which was organized through the assistance of the defunct CECAP, started its coffee trade with Figaro, a Filipino owned coffee business chain based in Manila. The cooperative encourages its members and other coffee farmers in the province to produce similar finish products to add value to their crop. Coffee is the major product of the province under the One Town One Product Program. It is now under the process of getting organic certification from the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines.