Figaro: Putting Philippine Coffee Back on the Map

Figaro Coffee Company is a Filipino-owned coffee chain that has been in business for sixteen years. However, I only rediscovered Figaro this year—and my rediscovery coincides with my love story with coffee. So I ask your indulgence to let me recount my story.

***

I love coffee. It’s in the blood. My dad is an avid coffee drinker (at his peak, he would drink 5 cups a day), and I learned to appreciate the joys of coffee from him. Even though I wasn’t llowed o drink coffee as a child (and quite rightly so—I don’t think stimulants like caffeine are good for growing children), I enjoyed the way it smelled, and the kind of ritual that went inot making a cup—regardless of whether it was instant coffee, or the barako coffee grounds that my mom put into our small drip coffee maker at home.

So it wasn’t a surprise that I embraced coffee wholeheartedly from college on. Coincidentally my college years were also those of the coffee shop boom at the start of this decade. Suddenly, coffee was no longer just a choice between instant and brewed. With espresso machines, coffee presses, and cappuccino came a rediscovery of the centuries-old global coffee culture.

I learned to taste the differences between different varieties of coffee beans, drank my coffee without sugar, and tried out different name-brand coffee shops to find which one served the best cappuccino. In coffee shops, I also found a new, multi-purpose place to study. As someone who lived away from home for the whole of college, coffee shops were where I could study until late in relative peace, without the distractions of my roommates’ chatter.

The main beneficiary of this was the branch of an American chain that was conveniently located across the street from my school. It was also less than a block away from my off-campus dormitory, a walkable, convenient distance.

Immediately after college, though, I went away to work in the mountains of Mindanao, farm from any coffee chain. Sure, I still loved my coffee, but the whole coffee shop culture and the 100-peso cups of coffee were far from my consciousness.

When I came back to Manila after a year and started working here, I became a lot more conscious of my money and where it went. Especially at my starting salary, I felt like I needed to bleed every little peso of all it was worth. (In short, naging kuripot ako.) Going to a coffee shop became a luxury. While I was away, it seemed like my mom and dad had gone on several trips, just the two of them—something that they hadn’t done ever since I was born. One of the trips that my mom told me about was some “coffee tour” that they took in the Batangas-Cavite-Tagaytay area. I didn’t really remember much of the details, though.

As my earnings increased, and I started my little business last year, I had more disposable income, and started going back to coffee shops again. I would still go to the big American chain, but I also started trying out less ubiquitous brands. Strangely, though, it was only after a Figaro stall opened near my work that I decided to try Figaro again (I last went to a Figaro store in my senior year of college), but it was initially for convenience’s sake. It was less than 50 meters away from my office building. :p

Earlier this year, I received Figaro gift checks. As I planned to spend a lot of time writing and reading for my thesis this summer, I decided to save it until my summer vacation and only use it then.

So this summer, I’ve spent several hours working at different Figaro branches, mainly at the Figaro in Gateway Mall, Cubao. Aside from rediscovering their coffees (my personal favorite is the cafe au lait), I also learned to appreciate the ambience of their stores. The marble-topped tables, graceful wood chairs, and wood panelling give their stores an old-world calm and simplicity, in contrast to the more frenetic, American-style interiors of many chain coffee shops.

And it was only recently that I remembered that the “coffee tour” that my parents went on a couple of years ago was a Figaro Coffee Company-organized tour. As I tried to recall the details of tour, it slowly dawned on me that Figaro wasn’t just a Filipino-owned coffee shop, but rather that Figaro was also and more importantly all about Filipino-grown and roasted coffee.

How so? Well, they use all Philippine-grown coffee beans for their stores, generating income for Filipino coffee farmers. But it’s not just about buying beans from farmers—Figaro is engaged with coffee farmers on so many levels: promoting organic farming methods, organizing co-ops for farmers, providing support…

…and most importantly in my eyes, Figaro has helped farmers to grow more Liberica beans. This is a very important achievement, because the Liberica bean is also what we more commonly call barako coffee—and the Philippines grows a special varietal found nowhere else in the world. Before Figaro and other groups stepped in, the barako variety was at risk of being lost forever, because coffee farmers in the Southern Tagalog (the traditional home of barako) were affected by coffee rust (a disease that affects coffee plants) in 1880, and by the the latter part of the 20th Century, they were being pressured to switch to growing Robusta and Arabica beans, beause the big companies and conglomerates bought those beans.

There are so many reasons to choose Figaro coffee–they’re putting Pinoy coffee back on the map.

Product Review: Face Canvas Moisture Glider and Make-up Base (Leyende Bath and Body)

I have to be up-front about this: I have been using Face Canvas for the last 6 months, and I love it–and my skin loves it, too.

Face Canvas is one of the products of Leyende Bath & Body–owned and founded by Neva Talladen, whom I know from college. What’s so great about Leyende is not only is it Philippine-made, it’s also proud to make products that use all organic ingredients.

(You may be wondering, what’s all the fuss about “organic”? And what’s the difference between “organic” and “natural”–aren’t they the same thing? The simplest  way to make the distinction is: “natural” simply means that something is derived from nature; while the term organic refers to plants and their by-products that are grown without contact with industrial pesticides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, antibiotics, and other harsh chemical treatments.)

In Face Canvas, this lack of harsh chemicals results in a creamy moisturizer that provides the right amount of moisture and protection, without feeling heavy or thick. The texture is light, almost mousse-like. The scent is very mild–it smells faintly of pineapple, mango, with a hint of milk or coconut milk.

(more…)

Product Review: Biolink VCO Hot Oil Conditioner

It’s not intentional, but the fact that my second product review is another hair-care product is quite telling. Pinoys–especially Pinoy women–really take pride in their hair. Just within a one kilometer radius of my home in Mandaluyong, you can find about five or six hair salons!

I don’t know if I fit the stereotype of the hair-obsessed Pinay–I don’t like having long, straight hair (I prefer my hair short, but my mother insists I look better with long hair), I don’t like combing often, I’m not obsessed with making my hair look shampoo-commerical perfect, and I rarely go to the salon/parlor. Thrice a year is about it for me.

I am still fond of hair products, though–and thus without intending it, the review below is for a conditioner–to match with the shampoo review. Hehehe.

The fact that I even tried Biolink VCO Hot Oil Conditioner is proof of the effectivity of product sampling. I received a free sachet while walking through a mall one day, used it while at the beach, and liked what I saw. So, the next time I went to the supermarket, I looked for a bottle of it, and started using it regularly.

What I really like about this product is not only that it’s locally-made, but also…

(more…)

Buy Pinoy: My Story

Six months ago, while getting into the shower, I realized that almost all of the bath products I used were made in other countries—from my shampoo, conditioner and soap, even to my toothbrush and dental floss. I was surprised because, as a child, I had been raised to Buy Pinoy—buy locally-produced products to support local industry—yet here I was, with 90% of my bath products made elsewhere. Coincidentally, I had recently taken an online test that mapped out my carbon footprint as an individual—measuring the amount of carbon emissions that my kind of lifestyle generates. In the process, I learned that a tons of carbon emissions are generated each year by the importing process—and that amount keeps growing as the demand for imported good rise. After that realization, I started paying close attention to the labels of the products that I bought at the supermarket, taking note of where each product was made, making an effort to by locally-made products.

Paying attention to the labels of products then led me to pay more attention to the ingredients lists of these products. After encountering a whole host of names that I didn’t understand and wasn’t familiar with (Dimethicone, anyone?), I decided to educate myself about these ingredients—and what I learned surprised me. There are so many chemicals that go into commercially-produced shampoos, conditioners, even food products that are safe in small amounts, but not so safe in large amounts. Even though these chemicals are technically safe for human use, many of these chemicals end up going down our drains and into our sewers—and given the kind of sewage system we have in Metro Manila and in the rest of the country, these chemicals eventually end up in our groundwater, causing all kinds of chemical contamination.

Knowing all of these things was a deal-breaker for me—I felt very frustrated about my unconscious contribution to polluting the Philippines and the world (not to mention making multinational companies richer in the process), a negative contribution that I’ve made over the past 24 years of my life. It also made me start asking questions about whether there are any alternatives to the kinds of consumer products that I usually buy—alternatives that cause less pollution, are made locally from ingredients that are kinder to the environment, and generate sustainable development through providing training and jobs to my fellow Pinoys. I was skeptical at first—apart from organically-grown vegetables, I wasn’t sure if there were any other products that fit these criteria.
So, where did I start? Well, the internet, of course! And I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of products available—online and offline—that met all of these criteria. Little by little, I started buying products and trying them out, just to see if they could be viable alternatives. I also started seeking out alternative shops, cafes, and restaurants. The more I looked, the more alternatives I found!

Then it came to me—what if there are other people like me who are looking for products and services that are responsible alternatives to those provided by big companies (some of whom have unjust environmental or labor practices?). What if there were people who wanted to find out more about Philippine-made products, but didn’t know where to start? So I began thinking, what can I do?

The tipping point for me really was two things:

1. I received a Facebook invitation to join a Cause from a friend, and it led me to the website onetama.com. I don’t know anyone behind the website, but its message truly inspired me—that we Filipinos can make our country a better place, one tama (right action) at a time. And one of the actions listed there was: buy Pinoy (and encourage other to do so as well).
2. While taking a bath yesterday, I suddenly realized that, without any real effort/difficulty, all the bath products I use now are Pinoy-made—some even sustainably-made and socially-responsible. If it was easy for me to make the transition to Pinoy products, then maybe it could be easy for many others. People just need to know what options they have, and maybe I can help others know of these options.

And so, this blog was born!

What can you expect from me? You can look forward to updates 1-2x a week, featuring product reviews, news, information about products and “alternative” lifestyle options—and of course, stories of my efforts to buy Pinoy products.

Happy reading, and I hope to hear from you, too!

(Happy Easter, as well! )