IN THE heart of Bukidnon Province in Northern Mindanao lies a paradise for coffee to grow, bear fruit and ripen into world-class beans.
The Finca de Garces farm is found right on the slopes of the Kalatungan Mountain ranges, 1,400 meters above sea level, giving it the well-balanced humidity and unique microclimate to grow a variety of local beans.
Proudly organic, Finca de Garces is one of the few sustainable coffee farms focused on producing the best quality and authentic beans through meticulous and scientific natural processes.
From the strategic planting of the coffee for each variety to the drying and fermenting processes, all are done by hand. The farm has employed scientific methods to extract the unique flavors of each coffee bean variety.
Maynard Garces, the owner of Finca de Garces, told SunStar Cebu that they started the farm during the pandemic in 2020 and began to study how each coffee shrub would thrive.
“I was not a coffee drinker when we started the farm, but as we continued to grow more beans, I began to taste the different flavors of each variety, and that pushed me to study coffee more,” said Garces in Cebuano.
Finca de Garces’ own Sweet Coffee won the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) Best Coffee for 2023.
In an exclusive farm-to-table experience hosted by The Good Cup Coffee Co. on July 23, a select number of people were able to taste the coffee variety of Finca de Garces.
Three major varieties were exhibited, including the Finca de Garces Catimor, Bourbon and Sweet Coffee varieties, presented in pour-over, espresso and latte versions.
Catimor
The Catimor variety is originally a cross of Timor and Caturra coffee. It is known to be a strong and flavorful coffee.
Garces said Catimor is often looked down on as an “inferior” coffee, yet the strong flavor of the coffee is desired by many.
At Finca de Garces, the Catimor trees are tagged and grown in spacious ground so their branches can spread wide.
The beans are sorted, handwashed, and sun-dried for days, with farmers meticulously turning beans over by hand to ensure proper drying.
“It is through this process that we are able to increase or decrease the bean’s acidity and manipulate its flavors,” said Garces.
In the end, the Catimor pour-over produces a refined cherry-like taste, significantly reducing the bitterness, with a smooth soft texture.
The Catimor espresso takes the flavor to the next level with a jaw-clenching, hard-hitting caffeine shot in a small cup, waking even the sleepiest soul.
Mixed with milk, the Catimor latte has a subtle chocolate taste reminiscent of eggnog. The aroma is sweet and brings memories of Christmas mornings.
Bourbon
The Finca de Garces Bourbon variety is difficult to grow. The farmers work hard to ensure the trees are far from pests and other external disruptors.
The Bourbon beans are delicately treated during the processing and even stored in a cool place maintained at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius.
The beans undergo double sorting and a meticulous drying process.
The farm’s Bourbon beans yield a fruity flavor with a light and airy texture. The coffee has a mild vanilla texture.
The Finca de Garces Bourbon coffee is a perfectly balanced coffee that is a manifestation of its organic process.
Sweet Coffee
The crowning glory of Finca de Garces is truly its Sweet Coffee. This specific varietal is an heirloom variety that is locally known as “sweet coffee” because it yields a literally sweet flavor profile.
It is classified as an Ethiopian heirloom & typica by World Coffee Research.
Since the Sweet Coffee trees are sensitive to sunlight, Finca de Garces has planted them under the shade of other endemic trees, allowing the beans to grow to their full potential.
This award-winning variety of the farm has a long history in the region, as natives have already planted Sweet Coffee around Bukidnon due to its natural sugary taste.
Finca de Garces perfected the bean by ensuring a stable environment for growth and by preserving the flavors with proper sun drying.
The Finca de Garces Sweet Coffee tastes so sweet and soft that it is nearly tea-like. The farm has encapsulated the Bukidnon coffee culture in this sweet bean.
Farm-to-table
As Finca De Garces continues to grow, Garces said they are hoping that buyers notice more the Philippine coffee farmers who have pushed for more sustainable coffee farming.
With the growing interest in sustainable coffee farming, the Philippines have started producing high-quality and world-class beans, which Garces hopes will rise in value in the next few years.
The family hopes to add more areas to the farm and study the soil and environment better to produce even better varieties of coffee beans.
As for Good Cup Coffee Co. founder, Gio Visitacion, the farm-to-table projects specifically aim to bring coffee farmers closer to the consumers.
“We hope that farms such as Finca de Garces gain better recognition through our farm-to-table [projects]. We also hope that the farmers learn from the consumers and brewers on how to improve the quality of their beans,” Visitacion told SunStar Cebu.