03/12/2025
👇🏽
I have worked in the Philippine coffee industry since 2018. I am still young in this industry but I consider these years as the most fruitful years of my life.
I have operated my own coffee shop company. I have trained baristas. I have mentored hundreds of coffee shop owners across the Philippines who are now operating thriving businesses. I am working with our partner farmers and have visited their farms with a goal of making their lives better. I have spent countless of hours roasting coffee and conducting training in different parts of the country.
And if there’s one hard truth I’ve learned, it’s this:
Our coffee culture is not dying because of lack of talent.
Not because of lack of good beans.
Not because the market is small.
It’s dying because of crab mentality.
We keep pulling each other down.
Instead of lifting the community, we attack it.
Instead of sharing knowledge, we gatekeep it.
Instead of celebrating different approaches, we argue about who’s “right.”
Every week, I see it:
Baristas fighting over “standards.”
Groups bashing other groups.
Experts belittling beginners.
Coffee shop owners attacking competitors instead of improving their craft.
People insisting there is only one correct way to brew, roast, or taste coffee.
This is killing us.
Because while we argue, other countries are moving forward.
We confuse ego for expertise.
In other countries, baristas collaborate. They exchange notes. They help each other grow. They uplift the entire industry.
In the Philippines, too many people treat coffee as a battleground.
Parang kailangan lagi may “panalo.”
Parang may competition kahit wala naman dapat.
We forget that the customer doesn’t care about our arguments.
They care about one thing: good coffee and a good experience.
But how can we serve good coffee if we’re too busy fighting each other?
Standards matter — but humility matters more.
Yes, coffee has standards.
Extraction. Roast profiles. Brewing ratios. Espresso parameters.
But standards should guide us — not divide us.
A standard is not a weapon.
A standard is not an excuse to insult.
A standard is not a reason to shame someone who is learning.
The world’s best baristas became the best because someone mentored them, corrected them with respect, and gave them space to grow.
We need to do the same.
We hate seeing others succeed.
This one hurts, but it’s real.
A local shop expands? People say, “Sikat lang kasi.”
A barista wins a competition? People whisper, “May favoritism.”
A roaster gets praised? Others say, “Overrated.”
Instead of asking, “Paano kaya ako matututo dito?”
We ask, “Bakit siya? Bakit hindi ako?”
Crab mentality slows us all down.
It keeps us small.
It keeps us insecure.
It keeps the Philippine coffee scene stuck in the same cycle every year.
We are forgetting the real mission.
Coffee is bigger than ego.
Bigger than arguments.
Bigger than “brew vs instant,” “specialty vs commercial,” “barista vs home brewer.”
Coffee is livelihood.
Coffee is community.
Coffee is culture.
Coffee is a bridge between farmers and consumers.
Every time we fight each other, we forget our farmers who work quietly in the mountains.
We forget our entrepreneurs who risk everything to start a coffee shop.
We forget our students who dream of becoming baristas.
We forget the future we are supposed to build.
Here is what I believe the Philippine coffee community must do:
Respect different skill levels. Beginners are not threats. They are the next generation.
Stop gatekeeping. Share knowledge. Share opportunities.
Collaborate, not compete. A rising industry lifts everyone.
Celebrate others’ success. Someone’s growth does not erase yours.
Focus on the customer, the farmer, and the craft — not your pride.
Coffee culture will die if we don’t change.
But it can also thrive — if we choose to fix ourselves.
Philippine coffee deserves better.
Our baristas deserve better.
Our farmers deserve better.
Our customers deserve better.
We deserve better.
And it all starts with one thing: leaving crab mentality behind.
Franz, The Coffee Mentor☕
