Highlights
- Tumira sina Felis at ang kanyang pamilya sa Negros ng dalawang taon bago sila lumipat ng Australya.
- Nagbabago ang lasa ng kape dahil sa processing, roasting and brewing.
- Nais ng tatlo na magdala ng mas marami pang Filipino coffee sa Australya upang matulungan ang mga Filipino farmers.
SBS Filipino's 'Kape Serye' is a collection of features celebrating Filipino-owned cafés; Filipino baristas, producers, distributors and coffee aficionados; and of course, the Philippine-grown coffee bean.
"In Negros, when we would take a jeep to or from San Enrique where we lived, we would be asked to get dropped off by the akasya [acacia] tree. It was a landmark, a meeting place, a waiting spot for the community even if we weren't going anywhere," saad ni Felis Sarcepuedes.
Mula sa pagiging isang marker ng kabataan ni Felis, ang puno ng akasya sa San Enrique ay naging representasyon para sa kanya at sa mga kasosyo niya sa negosyo. Para kay Felis, sa kanyang kapatid na si Inday at sa kanilang kaibigan na si Joel, ang akasya ang nagsisimbolo ng pagtitipon ng mga komunidad ng mga coffee aficionados sa Melbourne at mga coffee farmers sa Pilipinas.
Felis, Joel and Inday Source: Akasya Kape / Maysie Lecciones
Kabataan sa San Enrique
Tumira si Felis at ang kanyang pamilya sa Felis sa hometown ng kanyang mga magulang sa San Enrique, Negros Occidental dalawang taon bago sila lumipad patungong Australya.
"We all moved to Negros from Manila except mum because she was still working. It was our way of saving up and spending time with our grandparents before moving to Melbourne. I was only 10-years old when we left for Australia."
Kahit matagal ng hindi nakakadalaw si Felis sa San Enrique, malaking bahagi pa rin ito ng kanyang buhay.
"My fondest memory was picking fruits from our lot to sell to our teachers and classmates because we didn't have pocket money. We had fruit trees like santol and mabolo.
Even though it has been a while since Felis has been to San Enrique, she still feels connected to the little town. Source: Felis Sarcepuedes
"Everyone was always over our house because we lived near our school. We played probinsya [provincial] baseball without a proper bat. It was good. Life was simple."
Ang simpleng buhay ang na-miss ng kanyang mga magulang. Pagkatapos magka-stroke ng kanyang ama at napilitang mag-retiro ng kanyang mga magulang, napagdesisyunan ng dalawa na tumira sa Negros ng kalahati ng taon at sa Melbourne ng natitirang kalahati.
"Maybe in the last three or four years, whenever they would go back, I would ask mum to bring coffee back for me because that was the only way I could get Filipino coffee. It made me think that if I was interested in Filipino coffee, I'm sure others would be as well.
"Being part of , it brought on the inspiration that if I needed something done, I could do it myself."
"Being part of The Entree.Pinays, it brought on the inspiration that if I needed something done, I could do it myself." Source: The Entree.Pinays
Mahjong at kape
Hindi alam ni Felis kung paano umpisahan ang kanyang ideya; ngunit, sinuswerte na naglalaro ng mahjong ang kanyang ina.
"So I shared this idea with my sister Inday and because my mum was always at Joel's mum's house to play mahjong, she found out that Joel had plans of building his own café. Mum told him to hit me up so we could create something."
Ang 'something' na ito ay ang Akasya Kape.
"Finding a supplier wasn't that hard because I was already following a few coffee people in the Philippines already. I ended up messaging Kalsada.
That something was Akasya [acacia] Kape [coffee]. Source: Akasya Kape
"What was difficult was the documentation. It was mid-pandemic and there was no way we could ship the green beans via sea. We went through DHL which is more expensive but quicker."
Nag-order ang tatlo ng isang sako ng Sitio Belis mula sa Kalsada.
"We chose Sitio Belis because we liked the flavour profile. It has a hint of calamansi [citrus fruit] and coconut jam. It has a rich, nutty and bold flavour.
"We chose Sitio Belis because we liked the flavour profile. It has a hint of calamansi [citrus fruit] and coconut jam. It has a rich, nutty and bold flavour." Source: Akasya Kape / Kalsada Coffee
"We decided to outsource roasting because we wanted to make sure it was done right. We only had one sack and we didn't want to take the chance. I looked into roasting ourselves, but I didn't want to stuff up," tawa ni Felis.
Ang Little Gecko Roasters ang gumagawa ng roasted beans.
"Grace of The Entree.Pinays referred Little Gecko to us. Ollie, the owner, knows Grace. We're lucky because he really took his time. He knew we didn't know much about coffee, so it was a huge learning process for us. He caters to a few cafés around Melbourne, so he knows how to roast for the local palate.
Their beans are roasted by Little Gecko Roasters in Newport. Source: Akasya Kape
"Coffee has so many nuances. Two people can roast differently and that changes the taste of the coffee. Brewing also changes it. Taste depends on so many factors."
Dito at doon
Nakadepende din sa farm level and lasa ng kape.
"The kind of crop, soil and processing affect how coffee will turn out. That's why the communities who tend to the crops are important.
"These communities go through so much already growing the crops. Men, women and children are all involved. Now that there's a pandemic, they don't know if products are going to sell or how they're going to get them to the city.
"We and in Sydney consolidate our order and we're hoping to get more people to join. We want to be able to support farmers and buy their crops. It's a slow process, but we're hoping to get more cafés interested."
"These communities go through so much already growing the crops. Men, women and children are all involved." Source: Akasya Kape / Kalsada Coffee
Malaki ang pasasalamat ni Felis sa mga Filipino cafés na sumusuporta sa kanilang negosyo.
"Melo of Migrant Café is a good friend of mine and she's stocked our coffee. We also have a couple of bags in . They display our coffee so people know about us.
"Getting Filipino coffee out there is fulfilling. We sent some of our coffee bags to the farmers so they can see the final product. They're so proud to have their produce around the world, to see their efforts paying off. For us, it's just a cup of coffee; but for them, it's their life."
"They're so proud to have their produce around the world, to see their efforts paying off. For us, it's just a cup of coffee; but for them, it's their life." Source: Akasya Kape
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
