A Stone's Throw Away: Naturally Processed Coffee from Mindanao, Philippines

For the past few years, we’ve been featuring two lots from Kalsada Coffee: one washed from Sitio Belis, and a natural from Sitio Naguey, which almost exclusively produces natural coffees. However, during the most recent harvest season, heavy rain and strong typhoon winds made it risky to process the coffees naturally, as high humidity and wet environmental conditions would make the cherries susceptible to mold and other defects. So, coffees from Sitio Naguey went through the washed processed this year.

Assuming that the climate in the upcoming season will be better, Sitio Naguey will go back to naturally processing their coffees. For a moment, we considered getting the washed Sitio Naguey so that folks would have the opportunity to taste it on this rare occasion. However, we were blown away by Kalsada’s latest addition to their offerings from the most recent mill they built in Sitio Pigtauranan, Bukidon, located in the Southern Island of Mindanao. Pigtauranan is at the foothill of the Kalatungan mountain range, a protected area with a rich, biodiverse ecosystem that is home to the Manobo tribe and several endemic birds and plants. It has rich volcanic soil and a unique microclimate, making it an ideal area for growing coffee. The Manobos initially cultivated coffee for both commercial and their own consumption until prices dropped in the 1960s. Since then, coffee as a primary crop has been replaced by sugarcane and corn.

Alyn Libante, Mill Manager, breathing in the view from the mill in Pigtauranan

Kalsada was introduced to a cooperative of coffee farmers in Pigtauranan in 2016. At the time, most cultivated robusta and arabica, in which the latter had little attention since robusta dominated the commodity market. After helping process coffees in the region and tasting it’s potential, Kalsada was able to build the Pigtauranan mill in 2020. 

The Kalsada team exploring farms with community members during one of their first visits

Cherries from different areas of Mount Kalatungan are brought to the mill either by habal-habal (motorcycle taxi), foot, carabao (water buffalo), or horse in areas where the transportation is inaccessible. The cherries are brought to the mill daily during harvest and are floated in water to revolve defective beans. The cherries are then dried on raised beds and agitated every couple of hours to ensure even drying. Once dry, the coffees rest in grainpro bags for 4 weeks before being hulled and hand-sorted.

A small nursery and raised drying beds at Pigtauranan

We had a lot of fun doing R&D on this coffee before launch. No matter what approach we took, we found sweet, effervescent qualities that would linger through the finish! At first sip, this coffee has a sparking quality that reminds us of strawberry seltzer. It has a juicy, refreshing mouthfeel akin to watermelon, and at the finish, it has a sweet, delicate, almost floral tasting note of pandan, which is sometimes referred to as the “Asian vanilla.” This coffee is a new favorite for a handful of our staff. It’s smooth and easy to drink, but still exciting enough for the most adventurous coffee aficionados!