18 March 2022, Seoul - On March 11, 2022, the Philippine Embassy participated in the Tea Time and Coffee Break Special Exhibition at the ASEAN Culture House in Busan, Republic of Korea, by contributing different types of barako coffee samples to the exhibition.

In the Philippines, various types of coffee plants are grown, including the Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa, and Liberica. Batangas accounts for one percent of the world’s Liberica output, which locals call “Barako” coffee. The cool weather and rich soil of the mountainous provinces in the north of the country, namely, Benguet (Arabica), Bukidnon (Arabica), and Kalinga (Robusta), also grow their own coffee plants.

With a wide variety of locally produced coffee readily available, it comes as no surprise that coffee is the favored morning and merienda (afternoon snack) beverage, making the Philippines’ barako coffee an appropriate and stand-out product in the Special Exhibition. The Special Exhibition will run in Busan from 11 March to 19 June 2022. END