Allegro Beverage Hosts The 2019 Philippine Grand Barista Cup

Filipinos have embraced the coffee lifestyle and this is not just because there's a growing number of coffeeshops here in the country but also because the Philippines produces four varieties of coffee: Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa and Liberica.

And in line with this, Allegro Beverage Corporation is once again hosting the Philippine Grand Barista Cup (PGBC) which is now on its 13th year. This is the country's longest running coffee-making competition and aims to recognize talents in the art of coffee mixology.


This year's participants are: Karl Zouriel Lat (independent competitor), John Richard Co (Chapter Coffee Roastery & Cafe), JC Landicho (Magnum Opus), Kenneth Prado (Pares Coffee and FlavorsCraft), Essamuel Casablanca Jr. (Scholar Cafe) and Clark Daniel Bernales (Scholar Cafe).


"Allegro means happy in Italian and we are happy to have been organizing this barista competition for 13 years now. As we all know, coffee is the 2nd most important commodity next to oil. People drink coffee not just because it tastes good but it also acts as a tonic for the digestive system. The first wave in the coffee industry refers to instant coffee, then second wave is the espresso based drinks. The third wave refers to the specialty coffee like the ones that we get from Sagada."


"I am also happy to introduced the new Allegro syrups that we developed for the coffee industry. These syrups are crafted in Seattle, USA and is great for coffee, tea, milk, and even soda water."

A total of 10 Allegro Gourmet Syrups was introduced to the media: Vanilla, Caramel, Hazelnut, Almond and Chocolate are great for coffee (hot or cold) and fruity flavors for tea or any beverage- Strawberry, Peach, Lychee, Mint and Green Apple.


The 13th Philippine Barista Grand Cup partners are: Expobar Onyx Pro espresso machines, Frnke Coffee System, Mahlkonig Coffee Grinder, Caffe Moak, 1883 Syrups. Major sponsors are: Milklab by Grand Nourriture, UCC Philippines, UCC Coffee Academy, Blizzard Refrigeration, BDO, Lotus Biscoff and Far Eastern University.


The panel of esteemed judges for this year's cup are: Marco Poidomani (2019 Italian Barista Champion), Fabian Fredriksson (Marketing Manager of Crem, APAC), Tristan Destura (1883 Maison ROUTIN Brand Ambassador), Fernando Menendez (Franke Coffee Systems Asia Sales Director), Ernie Mesina (Espresso Chef and Master Barista), Joe Marie Lichangco (2018/2019 Philippine National Latte Art Champio), Kevin Israel (EDSA Beverage), Errol Martin (PNBC Technical Judge), Robert Ian Paguiligan (UCC Coffee Master II), Vanessa Caceres (Training Manager of Commune), Rezeneil Bernardo (PNLAC Technical Judge), Paul Vincent Asuncion (Head Barista, Toby's Estate), and Sherwin Halasan (Customer Care Engineer Allegro Beverage).

The Grand Champion will take home a trophy, a FRANKE Fully Automatic espresso/cappuccino machine worth 100k, Expobar Barista kit worth 15k, Coffee Class at the UCC Academy and Local Coffee Appreciation and Farm Tour in Atok, Benguet, Milklab products, and much much more.

The 13th Philippine Grand Barista Cup will be held on September 13, 2019 at the World Trade Center.