Farm to Cup Benguet: Experience Coffee Differently!
Farm to Cup Benguet: The Do-it-Yourself Bar
Farm to Cup – Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet – I have been to numerous cafes and have seen them evolve through the years. It is also no surprise that the Cordilleras is home to some of the most delicious coffee varieties in the Philippines. Farm to Cup is not your typical coffee shop as it not only serves you coffee – you do it yourself! You can have a first-hand experience by (grinding and) brewing the coffee beans right on your table top!
Read also: Yolk Korean Egg Sandwich – The best pop-up shop in Baguio!
Do-It-Yourself Coffee Experience
To add to the coffee experience itself, this café in Pico, La Trinidad lets you experience a unique kind of coffee drink-making. I and my friends from the Elevate Benguet Movement had the privilege to taste different kinds of coffee roasts – from light, medium, and dark roast coffee from Atok. Sir Eli Natividad, the café’s manager, demonstrated to us how to brew the coffee by yourself. It takes precise measurements and time in order to get that perfect coffee aroma and taste. I was surprised because this café setup is quite new to me and their hands-on dedication to their craft is amazing. They even let us make our own coffee concoction inside their bar (apart from the DIY coffee experience!)
Farm to Cup Advocacy
As they are located inside the Philippine Nazarene College in Pico Road, the property is quite big and the owner / manager have maximized the use of the land by planting coffee seedlings around the 2.5-hectare property. Their coffee nursery boasts 1,200 plants of 6 different coffee varieties (Garnica, Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Catimor, and Mondo Novo). They also support local coffee farmers in the Cordilleras to ensure furtherance through their Farm-to-Cup program. This is also to give customers a taste of what coffee grown in the Cordilleras tastes like.
What to expect in Farm to Cup Benguet
Aside from their do-it-yourself coffee experience, Farm to Cup’s al fresco setup lets you enjoy grilling your food during Wednesdays and Saturdays! Ask the baristas how (there is usually a table setup for food offerings) and they will be more than willing to help. Bonfire nights are also common here so might as well bring in some extra marshmallows if you want to maximize the experience.
They are open from:
Monday – Saturday: 0900 – 2100 H
Sunday: 1300 – 2100 H
How to get there
From Baguio, you can ride a jeepney going to Puguis-Pico, La Trinidad. Fare is around ₱ 13.00 and travel time is around 15-20 minutes, depending on the traffic. Their garage is near the overpass past the Baguio Center Mall, before the Pilando Building / Victoria’s Magsaysay. Just tell the driver to drop you off at the Philippine Nazarene College. Walk your way up and tell the guard that you are going to “Farm to Cup.”
Via taxi, tell the driver to drop you off at Philippine Nazarene College in Pico. You can reach the place either via Magsaysay Road or Longlong Road. Taxi fare ranges from ₱ 180 – 200.
Via private car, you can easily locate the Farm to Cup Café on your preferred navigation app. Traffic going to the place is almost moderate to heavy during peak / rush hours. Parking spaces are available inside the premises. Just tell the guard / caretaker that you will visit the Café.
We’re born to (drink coffee and) travel!
About Aldrick 'chiki' Agpaoa
