Budding coffee producers dreaming of shade-grown Benguet Arabica in the Cordillera range of mountains in the Philippines.
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Welcome to Agnep Heritage Farms.
Filmed August 2021
We are budding coffee producers cultivating shade-grown Benguet Arabica Coffee. We envision planting coffee under the canopy of Benguet pine and Alnos trees. Shade grown coffeeis a way of growing coffee in concert with nature.
It is our goal to encourage a future generation of coffee growers in Benguet using sustainable agricultural processes.
Planting started May 24, 2018 with 1,000 seedlings from Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Regional Field Office of the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-RFO CAR)February 2020 : Coffee seedlings, planted on May 2018 on its second year. January 21, 2021 : Coffee planted in 2018 and 2019 are so tall nowFebruary 2022February 2022Our first harvest started in December 2020 but around only 20 kgs. We used sun drying but the rainy weather brought molds to the dried cherries. Our next bountiful harvest was from December 2021 until Apri;l 2022. We used the washed method for processing.
We are grateful to the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Regional Field Office of the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-RFO CAR) through the Regional High Value Crop Development Program (HVCDP) Coordinator Joan Dimas-Bacbac for the coffee seedlings they provided for us since we started in 2018.
About us
Who We Are
We are a family of budding coffee producers cultivating shade-grown Benguet arabica coffee in Balili, Mankayan, Benguet in the Cordilleras mountain range of the Philippines. Our farm started in January 2018 with a simple question: “What if we could grow coffee using our great-grandmother’s land?”
Intrigued by this possibility, we took a closer look at our ancestral land in Benguet, and discovered that its forest-like environment had just the right amount of shade for growing coffee. In fact, our great great-grandmother Agnep was Bontoc native and a backyard coffee grower who kept typica plants underneath a thick canopy of Benguet Pine, Kalasan and Alnos trees. Several years ago, Purita Hora-Dado, our grandmother and Sean Luke Dado, our uncle planted Typica, Granica, and Red bourbon coffee plants, which ended up yielding cherries despite being left on their own. This was all the encouragement we needed to begin our coffee journey.
Five months later, we finished planting 1,200 red bourbon coffee plants, and we are learning everything we can about coffee farming and processing. Our dream is to offer Philippine specialty coffee to the world, while providing sustainable benefits to local farmers and nurturing the next generation of coffee growers in the Benguet region.
As of today, October 10, 2022, we have planted 7,320 coffee plants and recently sowed 2,000 seedlings.
(Written by Lauren and Marielle Dado)
Our Mission
To be among Benguet’s leading producers of specialty coffee that grows sustainable, high-quality Arabica. We aim to be cost-competitive and aligned with global quality standards, while following environment-friendly growing processes. Through our farm, we want to provide sustainable benefits to farmers, processors, traders, exporters and consumers.
Core Values
Environmental responsibility. We value the environment where we grow our coffee. We will only use sustainable agricultural practices that preserve our forest system and maintain the productivity of the land over time.
Commitment to the community. We are committed to giving fair compensation for the work of our coffee farmers. We aim to educate and empower the next generation of coffee farmers in Benguet, so they can grow along with us and develop sustainable livelihoods of their own.
Continuous improvement. We strive to maintain high standards in everything we do, while improving our methods with practice. Through our culture of constant education, research, and growth, we aim to constantly refine our methods as we strive to make our Benguet arabica meet global standards.
We are grateful to Joey and Tess Dado, who paved the way to get our coffee seedlings from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Regional Field Office of the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-RFO CAR) through Joan Dimas-Bacbac.
Note: Our award-winning coffee is now available for sale. Click our order form to buy our coffee. We, at Agnep Heritage Farms can proudly say we grow award winning coffee. Michael Harris Conlin relayed the good news that the washed reds (from our first harvest ) used for the 2022 Global Coffee Championship, Signature Coffee …
That perfect cup of coffee you are sipping, touch many hands. In our farm, at least 30 pairs of hands bring you our award winning coffee from digging to storing before it goes to roasting. Around 67% are women. Paying tribute to our coffee farmers , helpers and family members as they help us with …
Let me share some videos I took in our coffee farm. It’s our fourth year of planting and I want to share the progress of our coffee plants. Here is an introduction to Agnep Coffee Farm.
Benguet Arabica is listed in Ark of Taste
The coffee variety, ARABICA, is now officially in the Slow Food’s Ark of Taste as the number of trees in Benguet continue to dwindle. Many reasons contribute to its declining population, such as climate change, coupled with the diminishing interest of the younger generation to go into coffee farming. Read more?
Our farm is located at Balili, Mankayan, Benguet, Philippines. “Agnep Coffee Farm” is the registered business name with the Department of Trade and Industry. As of the moment, we don’t conduct farm tours. Please contact Philippine Coffee Board for the schedule of farm visits.
For any inquiries on collaboration or partnerships, please contact us below:
