Coffee Alamid - The Philippine Civet Coffee

MANILA, Philippines - Cafe Alamid is one of the most coveted among coffee connoisseurs the world over, fetching price tags of up to US$1,000 a kilo.

With great pride, it is found, picked, roasted and sold in the Philippines.

Alamid takes its name from the animal to whom we owe the interesting flavors of these coffee beans - the Palm Civet (Paradoxorus Philippinensis), locally known as alamid.

So what makes Coffee Alamid so special? It starts off with the alamids picking the ripest and finest berries to eat, by smell. The animals stuff themselves with it and excrete them all in the morning as the beans cannot be digested.

It is in their digestive tract that miracles happen. The stomach acids and enzymes affect the chemical structure of the beans.

In fact, a whole study was done on Indonesian Kopi Luwak by Doctor Marcone. It is this process, the fermentation of the beans in the civet cat's digestive tract that separates civet cat coffee from the rest,  according to Basil Reyes.

Coffee entrepreneurs

Basil and Vie Reyes, the couple behind Alamid coffee, are hands-on from soil to cup, from natural and organic farming methods to a good cup of freshly roasted coffee. The couple fondly define themselves as "coffee entrepreneurs."

Vie goes on by saying that their encounter with coffee happened quite by coincidence. "When we started Cafe Alamid, we were not even coffee drinkers. We didn't know anything about coffee at all!"

It began while we were doing conservation work for the sugar palm trees for production of kaong vinegar, being the makers of the famous Arengga vinegar as well.

We learned that there are three animals that cohabitate in the sugar palm tree - the musang known as the Malaysian civet, the alamid - the common palm civet and cloud rat.

Then a thought came to mind, if there's Kopi Luwak (Indonesian Civet Cat Coffee) in Indonesia, given the same topography, why shouldn't we have it here?

The Reyeses then asked the mangangarits (vinegar collectors) if they had encountered civet cat droppings on the forest floors, which, the mangangarits confirmed.

These findings prodded the couple to investigate further, this time, tapping the elders of Indang, Cavite and Batangas who also verified gathering and collecting the droppings ever since they were little. The droppings were divided half roasted for their consumption, while the rest, sold and mixed with other types of beans and sold to the market.

Vie adds, No one actually thought that we were going to succeed! Why waste your time on something that is so time-consuming and so expensive to produce, were questions perennially thrown their way.

One thought kept us going, if Kopi Luwak was successful in Indonesia, again, why not here? Besides, my husband and I believe that there is always room for quality.

The Reyeses are enlightened entrepreneurs who believe in doing business with social development. Yes, they are motivated by profit but profit with social consciousness. There's money in CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility, says Basil.

All over RP

Civet coffee is found all over the Philippines wherever forests are lush, where civets thrive and coffee beans grow. The majority of the Alamid beans are from the open sights of Malarayat, Lipa, Batangas and Mt. Matutum, General Santos, South Cotabato.

To date, communities are sustained by Bote Central-Cafe Alamid's mother company who exports them to Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, United States and Italy.

We produce one to 1.5 tons a year, we could go higher but we are very particular about the quality of the coffee and the protection of the environment, says Vie.

The highlight of their career as coffee entrepreneurs was the Tea & Coffee World Cup in Geneva, 2007. We were the first Filipinos to ever join and participate. And the coffee we brought, Philippine Alamid, was sold out!

And rightfully so! I had my first cup of alamid last week. On the pamphlet it said hints of chocolate. I am sorry, Basil and Vie, to disagree with you. You give your coffee very little credit.

Yes, there may be hints of coffee, cinnamon, even roasted nuts. But to me, Alamid is that and so much more.

Personally, it is best described as designer / boutique coffee in aroma and in taste. On the mouth it feels like it's tailored, blended just for you.

The entry non-invasive, smooth; the mouth feel well rounded, developed, with no acidity; on the palate, the coffee makes perfect harmony, like fine-aged wine!

Alamid makes such a sublime cup. To appropriately describe the experience leaves me at a loss for words. For this pudding, the proof is in the sipping!

Indeed, Cafe Alamid gives us yet another reason to be truly proud Filipinos!

Call Cafe Alamid at 8050713, 8360216 or 0917-8124477.

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Source: INQUIRER.net