The Philippine Coffee Board, Inc.. (PCBI) works to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable coffee value chain in the country by supporting local farmers and entrepreneurs, especially women, who play an active role in the coffee supply chain. In celebration of the Women’s Month, PCBI is honoring the contribution of women in strengthening the Philippine coffee industry by creating a special blend aptly called, The W Blend.
The W Blend is specialty coffee sourced from women producers throughout the country. This was made possible through PCBI’s partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) project, supporting women MSMEs in eight (8) secondary cities to accelerate economic recovery in this time of pandemic. This partnership activity is under the Women Global Development and Prosperity (WGDP) initiative of the United States government.
Through the WGDP initiative, PCBI and USAID-SURGE conducted a series of training webinars on coffee quality standards and flavor development that provided a venue for women coffee producers to learn best practices and techniques that will help improve coffee quality and economic viability. Through USAID-SURGE, PCBI was able to connect to women coffee producers who have viable coffee produce but lacked the opportunity to access new markets. PCBI celebrates these women coffee producers and the women who worked on this project in this special commemorative blend.
The W Blend represents the “women in the coffee supply chain,” emphasizes Tomoko Nagase of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Japan in a recent IWCA event. From women farmers to women roasters and now the W Blend will be available in cafes run by women, such as Commune in Makati City, Torogan Kape and Milestone Coffee in Cagayan De Oro City, and Dennis Coffee Garden in Zamboanga City. “It truly represents women in the value chain of coffee,” adds Chit Juan, President of PCBI.
Other cafes supportive of the “women in coffee” initiative are Coffee Brewtherhood in Iloilo City and Dennis Coffee Express in Cagayan de Oro. These coffee shops will sell the special commemorative blend for a limited time or while supplies last.
For more information, log on to the social media accounts of the participating coffee shops or visit www.philcoffeeboard.com.
