The Philippine Coffee Expo 2025 "Charting New Frontiers" Slated May 9-11 at SPACE One Ayala

Filipinos love for coffee is not surprising. If I'd ask you how many cups you've had for a day, you would probably lie to lessen the guilt or just throw in a number and call it a day. We are after all the second largest coffee consumer in Asia right after our neighbor Japan, because those cups of coffee in the morning gets counted too. Our coffee culture is undeniable, and the industry is still growing. The strong market actually has issues, supply isn't enough locally. Surprise, surprise!

Recently, they launched the 2025 edition of The Philippine Coffee Expo which they labeled as "Charting New Frontiers". This will happen on May 9 to 11 at One Ayala's events facility called SPACE which is directly accessible from the Ayala MRT Station in Makati. The media conference was arranged by Perdem Hay Marketing Solutions Inc. and their sponsors Gourmet Farms Inc., the Provincial Government of Sultan Kudarat, the Department of Agriculture's Philippine Rural Development Project and National Project Coordinating Office, the kind people from Easy Brand PH (who's got awesome products btw!), Eighty Plus, Top Creamery, and the folks from Curve Coffee Collaborators too.

The event will also house the annual Philippine Coffee Quality Competition where they choose the best coffee beans and recognize the farmers that produce it. They also recognize the folks in between, who make sure those who get those beans from the land they came from to your coffee cup. They follow strict guidelines to make sure they acknowledge those who have merits. Exhibitors include Lasa, Cavite State Polytechnic University, Food inc., the good people of Cordillera Coffee, Agnep Heritage Coffee, Cafe Vera, Ciento Cookies, Milestone Coffee + Kitchen, D'Baristroe, Drip Kofi, Messy Summers, Subtle Coffee, Agkafetta Coffee, Cafe Sartog, and more. If you are planning to put up a cafe, or simple trying to source products for it, this would be the best event you could go to. They also had different artists do Coffee Art, which was so nice to see done live!

There will be local and international resource speakers, Coffee and Story Sessions, exhibits, business connections, cupping events, several pop up cafes on site, international specialty coffee exhibitors, Barista and Roasting competitions too.

 

Ms. Brenda Claver the PCG Director for Audit  says "I've been doing talks in different regions, from barista, supplier, and just about everyone in organizing this event. Coffee is a source for comfort, and the Philippine Coffee Expo has been an occasion to come together to share our expertise. Bringing the world together, from our exhibits, demos, it will be a feast for the senses. We have roasters,  equipment manufacturers to showcase the latest products in the coffee world. It's not just about coffee, but community, to promote and work together in an environmental way, spreading the love for coffee."

 

 Philippine Coffee Guild Chairman Mel Garcia says "Coffee is part of my research, this is more than just celebrating produce, but beyond that, it's an industry that involves producers and consumers deeper than the usual. We have members across the chain, even educators and enthusiasts who are members. Composer of those that represent stakeholders, public or private, and we are an organization that represents the industry and its members. The first one was in Davao in 2022 and we promoted farm entrepreneurship. We are going around the country and did it in World Trade Center, and now we are the highly accessible One Ayala and their SPACE. Foot traffic was great, and we had to beg off some attendees because there were so many folks coming in. We need to look beyond the industry, the sheer number of is visibly growing, but perhaps, not really maturing. With your help, we want to use our platform that would be able to help us. Some of our sponsors are here. Help us to tell people that our market needs to mature. We need to address volume, an entire ecosystem, this great venue will house a multitude of regions and represent their provinces. This would be a great place for you to get first dibs and network with like minded individuals, and surely baristas will fight for their place. They will be judged with world class criterion, in this annual coffee competition. You could see how  lives have changed with it."

 

Here's the press conference on video, please enjoy!

 

 

 

  

He adds "We are recognized by DTI and have SME's, Pop Up Shops participating. They are leading brands that you would be good to talk to about the industry and various sectors."

 

As you can see, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have yet to discuss a lot about the Philippine coffee industry and its promising future. If you would want to acquire tickets to the event, please visit their official site philippinecoffeeexpo.com and register there.

 

MAKI Hints Full Album Release at BUGHAW Single and MV Launch

One of the nicest songs of this generation I heard was from this artist named Maki. He's gotten a huge following, not surprised because of the quality of the song, but it did have a notion of it being a one hit wonder, til I head the rest of the songs he came out with.

Speaking of which, he just recently released a song called BUGHAW. He also directed the music video, sort of his directorial debut too. This is under Tarsier Records which is under Star Music. They had a launch a few days ago at Matrix in Quezon City. It was quite intimate, with not just his fans in tow because his fellow artists and his whole family went there to support the very talented boy. Angela Ken, his brother Haro and ethereal sounding Dani Zam also performed before him, it was quite a revelation of songs that I haven't heard yet. I felt music in the Philippines had a very bright future after seeing that, no joke.

Here's the part where he got to talk to his fans that evening:

The Zushis, his fan group, all went in throngs to support him. All I heard from them and his family is how he remained humble, down to earth despite the remarkable success he's had for quite a while. He also hinted a full blown album which he plans to release soon, so stay tuned for that. He also wants to create his own short film, preferably Anime themed because he's quite fond of doing the art form. Here's why people adore him, check out the performances that evening on this video:

 

 

Make sure you stream his new single, and wait for the full album he plans to release this year.

Is this THE END of Luxxe Wh!te?!

Folks were startled with the recent announcement of FRONTROW International (on their socials) about their flagship product Luxxe Wh!te. This was also seen at the Edsa-Guadalupe area where their billboard  stated "Goodbye, Luxxe White". FRONTROW founders RS Francisco and Sam Verzosa has yet to issue statements about it because their community remains nervous for their premier selling products that have lead the market for over 15 years. 

A list stars like Regine Velasquez, Cha Eun Woo, Gretchen Barretto, Daniel Padilla, Catriona Gray, Vice Ganda are some of the brand endorsers, and folks have continued to trust them, why are they mum about this? 

Are they keeping a huge secret?

IVANA ALAWI Enters Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition House

It was a nice afternoon to see Ivana Alawi right before her PBB stint which none of us was aware of. It was a simple thanksgiving event which she arranged for the support she's getting from the press and bloggers, so it was certainly a surprise to see her in the famous house days after.

Were there any clues?

None at all, because much of the talk that transpired that afternoon revolved around her success, the brands she's representing, and getting married among others.

The YouTube star will certainly be seen in a more "personal" way now that she's in the ABSCBN and GMA partnered celebrity edition of the show which they dubbed as COLLAB, something she's quite used to.

She mentioned during our small talk that most of her content didn't really have scripts and just happens when it happens. She was very witty, down to earth, and doesn't mind answering even the most controversial of issues thrown at her. She confirmed some jewellery endorsement woes are on trial which prohibited her from speaking about it. 

Will she do good on the show?

Definitely. Her personality shines in her recent YouTube episodes and her hunger to even create interesting talk with Barbie Forteza (which she deems is still the same person she was with years ago) is a testament for the kind of person she is in or out of the cameras.

She also shared how she wanted to work with previous winner Fyang soon. Maybe that'll happen when she gets out from the house of Kuya.

Here's our interview with her a few days ago:

I'm rooting for her.