January 22, 2021 IT IS undeniable that the people of the highlands of the Cordilleras have been coffee drinkers for a long time immemorial. It has become a part of the tradition and lifestyle of our people. In the 1990s when I was based in Bontoc, Mountain Province, we would be able to taste the different coffee of the different ilis where they grow, process and drink their own coffee. I remember when I was desk-bound in Baguio, I nearly got addicted to coffee, if there was such a thing as addicted to coffee.
Then I moved on to be with the tea drinkers of the Himalayan region. This was a change for me, but tea is part of the culture and history of the Himalayas. Yet, every tea plantation I have visited, I was given or buy a tea package with the name of the tea producer. In the tea plantation, there is where the processing center is located, it is an industry of itself.