Bontoc1

Cofee to go..
Joel T. Fagsao

Move over Starbucks, your coffee is simply no match for Bontoc's coffee. Served at the Bontoc Public Market at only six pesos (P6.00) a cup, the brew keeps people from all walks of life a coming. You can also order soft pan cakes at P6.00 a piece smothered with home made peanut butter. From five in the morning up to five in the evening, joggers, church goers and men of the ili (village) are the day's first customers. Businessmen, government workers, the town's visitors come in at ten A.M. and up to three in the afternoon. News, gossip, deals and simply sweet nothings are made at the coffee shops. As the saying goes, you can get to know the latest about the lives of whoever it is at the coffee shops. The secret to the coffee is in the manner of preparation.

The beans come from Malegcong, Bontoc, Sadanga, Fedilisan in Sagada, Kalinga and as far as Cervantes Ilocos Sur. The coffee beans are roasted over a slow fire using charcoal. The job of roasting belongs to a very few inin-a (old women). Like baket Cheg-ey (Bocyong) who has been roasting coffee for some decades, mastering the technique of slow-fire roasting takes some time. You don't find coffee makers or roasters in the coffee shops. The roasted and ground coffee beans are prepared just enough for at least two to three day's of consumption. Thus, coffee is always prepared from freshly roasted beans.

One time, during President Arroyo's visit at the kickoff of the campaign season in Bontoc, the President's advance party were simply bowled over by Bontoc's coffee. The presidential guards drunk to their hearts contents exclaiming that a cup of coffee similar to the one served in Bontoc would run to eighty pesos in Manila. Of course, the rest of the municipalities in the province can also lay claim that they have a good brew. The only difference is in Bontoc, part of the enjoyment is in the ambiance, the fact that you come out of the shops filled not only in the stomach but also the day's latest gossip as well.