By Dionisio Dennis, Jr./PNA
BAGUIO CITY — The public is invited to have a sip of hot, freshly brewed coffee during the La Trinidad Coffee Festival on February 7-10.
“Free coffee will be served to everybody as part of the festival’s offering to the public on February 9 and 10,” La Trinidad Municipal Tourism Officer Valred Olsim said Wednesday.
Olsim said Benguet province produces high-quality Arabica coffee, which will be served to the public in different concoctions during the “unlimited coffee at the park.”
To avail of the free coffee, the public must bring their own cup or glass because no container would be provided — a move to encourage the public to patronize reusable drinking cups and minimize garbage generation.
He said farmers, coffee shop owners, sellers of beans, and other stakeholders of the coffee industry are expected to attend the four-day event. There will be a coffee conference in February, a “cupping” and “barista” demo and training, as well as a coffee techno forum.
Several visits and tours to coffee farms and facilities are also scheduled for the entire duration of the event.
Olsim said the free offering is the local government’s way of thanking the farmers, who work hard to boost the municipality’s coffee industry by promoting locally produced coffee.
He said that since the local government began promoting the coffee industry in the town, more people have engaged in coffee growing. The coffee farmers and sellers organizations have also tripled since then.
“We are now producing at least 50 metric tons of coffee beans a year,” Olsim said.
He said that locals are now seeing “coffee” as an alternative livelihood aside from strawberry production.
“We have convinced our constituents to consider coffee as an alternative livelihood aside from the usual strawberry,” Olsim said.
Arabica coffee products will also be sold to the public.
The coffee festival comes about two weeks ahead of the annual strawberry festival, which will feature a giant strawberry cake
