Coffee Aficcionados Anyone?
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Coffee etc
Coffee drinkers club, anyone?

IF SOCIAL clubs can have afternoon tea parties and other groups like Alcoholic Anonymous, and the Big FM Breakfast Team can do their craft in between sips of good coffee, then why can't anybody form a coffee drinker's club? Besides, hot coffee brew is a most welcome drink especially during the cool months.

Baguio was once known for its cafeterias and restaurants that served good native coffee to customers but because of changes in eating habits and new developments in the food distribution business, only a few landmark coffee shops remains.

A Baguio boy and a coffee aficionado himself, Art Tibaldo, a multimedia artist is toying with the idea of inviting those interested to form a club that is purely for the appreciation of the local drink. This concept stemmed when Tibaldo, who is the media specialist of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional office, observed that the aroma and taste of local coffee is at par with the coffee varieties coming from Brazil, Columbia and other parts of Latin America.

According to him, the Arabica variety grows well in Benguet and elsewhere in the Cordilleras, and when it is mixed with Robusta or other lowland varieties, it can offer a distinct taste that beats the flavor of internationally acclaimed brews.

While in Sagada early this year, Tibaldo observed that the Pidilisan coffee served to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her entourage became an instant hit when they visited the upland town.

He explained that the club's objective is not to create a formal organization that follows certain rules. There will not even be officers or membership dues so that those who would come and join will enjoy coffee as friends, Tibaldo added. It will not even compete with coffee shops because the members themselves are the ones that will grind and brew their drink at a designated area. The proponent also said that the cost of the drink will definitely be lower, especially if the host won't charge payment for the electric consumption of the percolator or coffeemaker.

Roasted coffee varieties may be ground on the spot by a handy blender to achieve its best aroma and to achieve a personalized flavor.

Other than drinking coffee, Tibaldo said that the club can be a venue for healthy discussions or fora of any topic under the sun without a moderator or a leader. Coffee growers may also join to give samples and promote their products.

He has written articles about coffee in support to the Cordillera's "One Town-One Product" or OTOP wherein coffee is chosen as a model product representing the region.

The positive response by media to the Kalinga coffee served in one Kapihan sa Baguio forum also proved that Cordilleras native coffee is not by far world-class as an organic drink.

Just like any other growing civic clubs wherein a member volunteers to host a meeting at a given period of time, the Coffee Drinker's Club may meet once or twice a week until such time that a regular schedule is fixed. Interested individuals may call Art Tibaldo at the DTI regional office at Nos. 442-8634 or sign up at the SOSCFI Center at the 3rd Floor of the Porta Vaga Building along Session Road. A notice of the Coffee Drinkers Club's activities may also be posted at the SOSCFI Center or be announced in local broadcast media. (CNA)