Coffee roaster wants to bring attention back to PH
Escolta Coffee Company (ECC) claims to have one of the best selections of Philippine coffee that you can buy from a one-stop shop.
“Others might have one or two selections, and that’s it. Here, we have at least five at a time. We have 15 kinds from different lots or regions within the country,” said Gabriel Villegas, who coowns the roasting company located on the 1st floor of the 105-year-old Burke Building on Escolta Street, Binondo, Manila.
On weekdays, the 85-sqm workspace serves as the roasting area for coffee beans sourced from farms located in Atok in Benguet, Sagada, Kalinga, Batangas, Nueva Vizcaya, Bukidnon, Davao, Zamboanga del Sur and South Cotabato.
On weekends, the place transforms into an all-Filipino single-origins coffee bar. “It’s similar to what happens in a fine dining restaurant. You get to have a one-on-one session with the chef, who will walk you through the process. Here, a brewer orients you on the coffee’s origin and the flavors it carries,” Villegas said.
Diverse
He added that ECC is one of only three shops in the country that offer a diverse selection of Philippine-made specialty coffee. “Coffee beans have different characteristics, but you evaluate them similar to how you do it with rice. You look at whether the beans are broken or whole. You also check for deformities or insect damage. When a shop sells specialty coffee, it means it has checked its coffee supply and found that it has almost zero defects,” Villegas explained.
“The idea is, during weekends, we offer a panorama of what Philippine specialty coffee is. We’ll brew it for you, but apart from manual brewing, you will also taste it as espresso.”
Villegas, who holds a fine arts degree in advertising, talked about his life prior to trading coffee. “The idea of going into the coffee business was formed when I was in college. I was an irregular student and had a lot of free time, so I decided to work part-time as a barista in a coffee chain. I later realized that I enjoyed my work even though it was very physically demanding. That’s also when I thought it would be good to venture into this kind of business in the future,” he recalled.
After college, he found a job as a graphic artist, and eventually became the art director for “Yes!,” the defunct monthly showbiz-oriented magazine. “I worked in publishing for nine years. Toward the end of this stint, I thought that, maybe it’s time to work on that idea that’s been ‘brewing’ in my head,” said Villegas, who eventually put up a shop in 2016 called The Den, located at the First United Building, also on Escolta Street.
“It’s a space where you get to experience the community of Escolta. It’s where people stop to get coffee and, at the same time, get exposed to the creativity of people who belong to this community—the designers and visual artists, whose shops or work can also be found in the building.”
The Den would also occasionally feature art exhibits and installations by these artists. “That’s what The Den offers, plus good food and coffee roasted by ECC.”
Six years after The Den was put up, Villegas partnered with Ivan Balmadrid (president) and Maricar Ricardos (executive director) to build ECC. He first met Maricar when the latter was still working for Kalsada Coffee, a roasting company that once supplied coffee to The Den.
Trained roaster
Villegas is ECC’s designated head roaster. To earn this position, he first had to take up classes on specialty roasting (foundation and intermediate) at the Filipino Coffee Institute in Tanay, Rizal. He also took up a course to become a Q Arabica coffee grader from the Barista & Coffee Academy of Asia in Muntinlupa City. “It means so much to the brand when you’re certified at something. This implies that you’re speaking the same language as the rest of the industry in terms of quality and standards.”
For Villegas, everything started with The Den as a personal goal. Today, the goal has expanded to include an entire industry. “Success shouldn’t be tied only to our growth in terms of income, it’s also about how we affect communities—the one here in Escolta, and geographically, the bigger one that includes coffee growers,” he added.
We asked Villegas to discuss the challenges currently faced by the coffee industry. “It always starts with agriculture, where raw materials are sourced. Are there still farmers who want to plant coffee? Are there any efforts from the LGUs (local government units) to teach them to come up with better produce? Next is infrastructure. How does the product get to its consumers?”
He pointed out the importance of encouraging consumers to support local products. “Most Filipinos still buy instant coffee, but we’ve taken some strides since six years ago. More people appreciate brewed and specialty coffee now because they’ve gotten exposed to different types of beans on their travels abroad. Our focus now is to bring the attention back to the Philippines. By deliberately choosing to roast locally produced coffee, the ECC is putting a stake in what it is advocating for. This isn’t just lip service for us. We actually walk the talk,” Villegas declared.
