Philippine National Coffee Championships 2020
It was that time of year again where the best of the best baristas in the Philippines battle it out for the title of Philippine national champion. This year the National Championships was organized by some of the industry’s leading thought leaders, united towards one goal, that is to find and support the national champions that can be sent to the world competitions as the official representatives of our country.
This year the organizes, ran three events The Philippine National Barista Championship (PNBC) the Philippine National Latte Art Championship (PNLAC) and The Philippine National Brewers Cup (PNBrC). 2020 Philippine National Coffee Competition was held from March 9 to 11, 2020 at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall, which was a great and accessible venue to host the championships.
It was an exciting 3-day event where both coffee enthusiasts and industry professionals had a chance to get together, share ideas, and show comradery. The event gave some of the industry’s leading companies a chance to showcase their product offerings as well as their coffees at the event’s open brew bar. The brew bar featured coffees from companies that came as far as Cagayan de Oro (H proper roasters) Cebu ( The Good Cup coffee company ) and Davao.
Now more about the competitions! The Philippine national brewers cup (PNBrC) was a really tight battle, as most of the competitors were veterans like last years runner up Luther Garcia, Dave Dource, Joe Marie Lichangco, and Larry Lloyd Andrada just to name a few. In the end, it was the 2019 brewers champ the late John Michael’s friend and partner Gio Visitacion of The Good Cup Company who captured the win!
The Philippine National Latte Art Championship was the next event, latte artists from all over Philippine competed and showed off their talent with 2-time undisputed National Latte Art Champion Joe Marie Lichangco capturing the title for the third year in a row.
Last but not least is the most prestigious and highly coveted Philippine National Barista Championship where the barista is required to serve 4 judges 3 courses ( espresso, milk, a signature course) in 15 min. It is the most difficult and most skill-intensive competition format in the World coffee championship line up. As the 2019 National Barista Champion, I know how difficult and how much thought and practice goes into creating a winning routine.
This year I coached the 2020 National Barista Champion Adrian Vocalan and the second runner up Gian Valencia and the. Gian’s routine focused on trust, he took a risk with a very unconventional move where he not only guided the Judges through meditation while preparing their espresso course he also gave the judges a choice of milk course or signature dink as their second course, this move was very impressive and I believe it will be the trend for barista championships for years to come.
Adrian’s routine was the most meaningful barista routine I’ve seen to date. As Adrian’s coach, we spent hours helping Adrian dig deep to discover why he wanted to compete and to discover what his purpose is and what his legacy in the coffee industry is going to be. During the self-discovery process, we found the following recurring themes in his life story we were are able to develop this routine into a meaningful message
” In a competition where the barista with the most expensive coffee and the most resources wins. We believe that an ordinary barista, with ordinary means, can inspire baristas and farmers around the world by using creative methods that can transform ordinary coffee varietals ( typica and bourbon) into something extraordinary and win PNBC and WBC. Proving to the world that Filipinos and Philippine coffee can be world-class. ”
All throughout early January this year Adrian spent weeks in Itogon Benguet picking, processing and drying his competition coffees. He used a modified carbonic maceration process by adding a SCOBY ( from the kombucha grown by Institute for coffee excellence chief educator Roaoul De Peralta) the centuries-old yeast and bacterias added pineapple notes and sparkling acidity to Adrian’s coffee. It was Adrian’s passion, hard work and technical skills that propelled him ahead of all the PNBC competitors this year, an ordinary barista, with ordinary means, can win the Philippine National Barista Championship and inspire baristas and farmers around the world by using creative methods to transform ordinary coffee varietals into something extraordinary.
Our 2020 Philippine National Barista Champion Adrian Vocalan
This year’s Philippine National Coffee Competition was a success, it was a true example that the Philippine coffee community can unite and work together towards a #beautifulcoffeefuture. As a barista and as a member of the coffee industry I would like to thank the organizers, the sponsors, judges ( local and international) and all the volunteers that made this amazing event possible.
Congratulations to the 2020 Philippine National Champions
Philippine National Barista Champion (PNBC): Adrian Vocalan
Philippine national brewers cup (PNBrC): Gio Visitacion
National Latte Art Champion (PNLAC): Joe Marie Lichangco
