Sitio Kisbong | Phillippines

TL;DR: our partnership with Kalsada has gone from strength to strength over the last few years. This partnership is everything we hoped for when starting Core, it's about people, community, and flavourful things.

 

Some words from Kalsada who brought us this amazing coffee:

 

The Sitio Kisbong mill was born in 2019, through a partnership between Filipino coffee brand Bo’s Coffee and 14 farmer-families who expressed a willingness to run a mill of their own. Kisbong is approximately 17 kilometers from the central Belis mill and sits on the only flat area in the community.

 

Our very first purchase of green beans from Benguet actually came from Sitio Kisbong in 2014. Back then, only a couple of farmers could produce 35 to 50 kilos of green beans with unpredictable levels of quality. Now, with its on-location mill, Sitio Kisbong is able to produce at least two tons of specialty grade coffee every harvest.

 

 

It’s really hard to put into words how much this post, and these coffees mean to us.

 

Through a somewhat random series of events that started with @akasya.kape asking us to roast some coffee for them, which lead to us hosting our first ever event for Filipino Coffee Month last October. This was where we first  showcased what was, and continues to be, truly outstanding coffees from the Philippines. 

 

We then got to see our roasts taken back to the people that grew and cared for the trees that made this coffee happen, and to hear that they enjoyed our version of their hard work was one of the most uplifting and heartwarming experiences we could have.

 

This then lead to us being given the immense privilege of roasting samples and hosting @teredomine and @paulbarreto for a cupping of the new season lots from @kalsadacoffee, as well as showing the short film  @maamterefilm.

 

We were then given the chance to purchase new season lots, allowing us to bring in 3 new coffees from @kalsadacoffee to share with you this year, and for many more years to come!

 

We’ve kept things light here, we want to show off the skilled farming and processing of these coffees as much as we can. You’ll get lots of fruit, a gorgeous acidity, and more sweetness than jumping in a river of chocolate….

We prefer our filter brews from a v60, but we won’t judge for use of anything at all to make yourself a coffee - even a (clean) sock.

 

Our recommended ratio when brewing filter coffee is 60g of coffee per litre of water. Simply scale this down, or up, for your desired size of brew.

 

With all methods, you’ll want: a grind size similar to granulated sugar, boiling water, and about 3 minutes of brewing time. This goes for v60, aeropress, plunger, and the (still hopefully clean) sock.

 

Our favourite recipe for v60:

• 20g of medium to coarsely ground coffee, it’ll feel a little like granulated sugar.
• Set your kettle to boil, and ready your socks to be rocked.
• We use a 60g bloom, with a swirl of the slurry to make sure it’s all wet. You can stir of that’s easier, just don’t rip the paper!
• After that, when your timer is at 45 seconds, add more water to a total of 200g, and swirl gently.
• Then finally at 1:15 on your timer, add the rest of your water, to 330g, and do one last little swirl.
• Wait till it drains through, roughly 3:30 is a good time, pour into your favourite mug, and let those socks be rocked.

 

If you’d like more info or tips, get in touch! hello@coreroasters.cc