Region: Pigtauranan, Pangantucan, Bukidnon

Wet Mill: Sitio San Roque

Growers: 55 smallholder family farmers

Process: Natural

Altitude: 1200-1800 MASL

Harvest: July 2025

RICH CHOCOLATE MALT, STEWED NECTARINE

Sitio San Roque is at the foothills of the Mount Kalatungan range, a protected area with a rich, biodiverse ecosystem that is home to the Manobo tribe and several endemic birds and plants. It has rich volcanic soil and a unique microclimate, making it an ideal area for growing coffee. The Manobos initially cultivated coffee for their own consumption and the commercial market until prices dropped in the 1960s. Since then, coffee as a primary crop has been replaced by sugarcane and corn.

In 2016, we were introduced to a cooperative of coffee farmers in Pigtauranan, most of whom cultivated robusta and only recently started to grow arabica. There was not much interest in arabica then because their primary market was commodity and specialty was just a buzz word in the Philippines. Coffees on this side of the coffee are unique, and we knew these coffees had a lot of potential. Coffees in this region started to get sought out after coffees we helped process won local competitions. In 2020, we built the Sitio San Roque mill. Cherries from different areas of Mount Kalatungan are brought to the mill either by habal-habal (motorcycle taxi), foot, carabao (water buffalo), or horse in areas where transportation is inaccessible.