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CURVE’s Cherry Cruz secures highest offer for premium Benguet-grown beans
“I am genuinely anxious, yet I am joyful,” expresses Curve Coffee Collaborators (CURVE) Founder and CEO Cherry Cruz regarding her emotions upon making the highest offer in PCQC (Philippine Coffee Quality Competition) history and emerging victorious.
The previous day, Rodyio Tacdoy, a 22-year-old cultivator from Benguet, clinched Top 1 in the Arabica category, his beans achieving a cupping score of 84.38.
Unbeknownst to Mr. Tacdoy, his extraordinary triumph had already initiated a series of events.
“This is the moment we’ve anticipated for meaningful intervention in the North,” conveys Ms. Cruz. The northern area, she notes, has been “a region that has been deprived of awards for a long time” and possesses “heirloom varieties at risk of disappearing.”
“Here arrives a courageous yet modest, dynamic, and motivated young farmer… with years of guidance from his father, affection for their land, and the ambition to effect change. We had to back him.”
As luck would have it, Mr. Tacdoy was positioned directly behind CURVE’s Qits Nalugon, wondering why the green bean seeker hadn’t been participating in the bidding throughout the auction. He was anticipating.
“Top 1, final 3 seconds, doon lang ako nagtaas ng paddle. Doon na nag-start yung rally, until umabot na ganoong kalaki ang offer,” recounts Mr. Nalugon.
Heart racing from the soaring bid, he remained confident: “Yun lang talaga yung hinihintay ko. Out of the 12 masasabi mo talagang deserve niyang maging #1.”
At the concluding auction price of P9,900, Mr. Tacdoy earned over one million pesos for 117kg of his award-winning, record-setting Benguet Arabica.
This is “a wager for the future of Philippine coffee,” Ms. Cruz describes, one that she is always prepared to take.
“I informed Rodyio that it’s feasible for him to evolve from being a producer to a processor of coffees from other farmers to aid his community,” Ms. Cruz shared.
Mr. Tacdoy’s mentoring with CURVE is in progress, having attended a post-harvest class in Bukidnon. He learned optimal farm practices and interacted with fellow young, progressive farmers like Marvin and Eljean Dagohoy. He acquired quality assessment knowledge from Mr. Nalugon and received agricultural insights from none other than Renjie Lucas, who possesses extensive expertise in coffee farming interventions from his work with the USDA-funded ACDI/VOCA-PhilCAFE (Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise) project.
This type of sustainable, impactful transformation for the local coffee landscape is the “bet with significance” that Ms. Cruz consistently pursues. The only other PCQC 2025 coffee they placed a bid for was Samuel Ochea Jr.’s Lanao del Sur Arabica, Top 7.
“Numerous BARMM Farmers have been excluded from multiple trainings and farm interventions for years. Yet, they cultivate marvelous coffees. So why not provide them with the platform and recognition they merit?” she expresses in her Facebook post. “I hope this victorious moment becomes a lightbulb moment for countless others.”
Both single origin, proudly Filipino coffees were presented for tasting at the recently held WOFEX Manila F&B expo.
“It lives up to the reputation. It stands neck and neck with what I’ve sampled elsewhere,” shares a coffee aficionado regarding Tacdoy’s coffee.
“Kaya niyang makipagsabayan globally. Yung amount na ibinayad mo dito, it’s entirely worth it,” remarks another.
Additionally, Mr. Tacdoy’s coffee is being sold at bid price: P9,900/kg or P495 for 50g, P990 for 100g, and P2,475 for 250g.
All proceeds from Tacdoy’s coffee will be directed to the young farmer, to be reinvested into his farm, facilitating the growth of his business.
“Maraming, maraming salamat po sa CURVE. Malaking tulong po sa akin kasi makakapag-elevate po tayo ng facility para makapag-process muli ng ganoong quality ng kape,” he proudly states.
With Love Your Origin at their essence, CURVE—with its own farms, roastery, and cafés—enhances the lives of individuals across the Philippine coffee ecosystem consistently.
This achievement has been acknowledged by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), a non-profit organization located in California. They honored Cruz as Educator of the Year (2025), making her the first Filipino to earn the esteemed accolade. They cite her “profound impact” on her community, sector, country, and even for the entire “Southeast Asian community in coffee.”
CQI Director for Education Resources, Emma Sage, presents Cherry Cruz the Educator of the Year award for her invaluable contributions to coffee communities throughout the region.
Mr. Tacdoy is now a part of that ever-expanding circle of Ms. Cruz’s positive influence. And he is poised for his moment on the coffee platform.
Follow Curve Coffee Collaborators on Facebook and on Instagram. Discover more at www.curve.coffee.
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