In High-Altitude Davao, a 28-Year-Old Processor Bites Her Way to Specialty Coffee Success

 

Before a testing instrument can confirm whether a batch of coffee beans has the right moisture, Princess Dian M. Tapdasan relies on an older method: her own teeth.

In Sitio Pluto, Balutakay, a mountain hamlet in Davao del Sur province, the 28-year-old processor presses a parchment bean between her molars. The crunch tells her the exact moisture content—a technique known locally as the paak method.

Tapdasan owns no coffee trees and no farmland. Yet as head coffee processor for the Balutakay Coffee Farmers Agriculture (BACOFA) Cooperative, she holds ultimate authority over the post-harvest operations that shape some of the country’s finest Arabica beans.

"I do not chase quantity; I focus on quality," Tapdasan said. "From picking and sorting to processing, quality is what the cooperative stands on."

Her meticulous standard has taken her far beyond the slopes of Mount Apo. Tapdasan earned a spot as a finalist representing the Philippines in the Arabica category at the Southeast Asia Green Coffee Competition in Vietnam after placing in the national qualifiers. For Tapdasan, entering high-stakes competitions is less about personal accolades and more about evaluating bean performance to elevate her cooperative’s reputation.

Her journey into specialty coffee was largely accidental. The daughter of local vegetable farmers, Tapdasan grew up familiar with agricultural labor but had no specialized training in coffee. When she joined the cooperative in 2022, she expected to work in field surveying and harvesting. Instead, leadership assigned her to coffee buying and post-harvest handling, a role where she had zero prior experience.

Without formal training, Tapdasan learned every phase of the pipeline on the job. She mastered bean sorting, moisture monitoring, and wet and dry processing techniques, quickly establishing herself as an all-around operator. Recognizing her discipline, cooperative leaders eventually entrusted her with deciding which processing methods—such as washed, natural, or honey processes—to apply to incoming harvests.

"It was a big challenge because I started with no knowledge at all," Tapdasan said. "They taught me everything on the floor, and I realized how crucial every single detail is to the final cup."

In the high-altitude highlands of Mindanao, agricultural labor was historically viewed as heavy physical work dominated by men. Tapdasan is part of a growing shift of women taking command of the technical, quality-driven phases of specialty coffee production. She credits women’s patience and attention to detail as key assets during the labor-intensive sorting and processing stages, where a few defective beans can ruin an entire batch.

Though Davao Region is better known for its cacao and coconut, its coffee story is quietly unfolding in the highlands: about 15,821 hectares are planted with Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa, nurtured through shade-grown agroforestry and smallholder innovation. Unlike SOCCSKSARGEN, which dominates Mindanao’s coffee output at 8.33 thousand metric tons in Q4 2025, Davao’s strength lies in specialty Arabica micro-lots from places like Balutakay and Maragusan, where farmers experiment with natural and honey processing to capture premium markets.

Yet challenges remain—aging plantations, limited seedlings, and infrastructure gaps keep production volumes modest. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reports that while national coffee production reached 15.94 thousand MT in late 2025, Davao’s contribution was overshadowed by its larger coconut and cacao yields.

In response, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) XI are investing in climate-smart training, regional innovation centers, and plantation expansion programs, positioning Davao not as a bulk producer but as a distinctive origin for high-value, specialty-grade coffee. This makes the region’s narrative less about competing in tonnage and more about carving out a dignified niche in the global coffee map.

However, operating in specialty coffee presents structural hurdles. Coffee trees require years to mature, and the slow return on investment often discourages young people in rural areas from pursuing agriculture. Tapdasan frequently encounters youth who show little interest in farming, often influenced by the economic hardships experienced by their parents.

"Coffee requires patience because the return on investment takes time," Tapdasan said. "That is why many get discouraged. My challenge now is to share knowledge and show the youth that farming has a viable, dignified future."

To stay competitive, Tapdasan avoids complacency. She continuously tests different fermentation strategies and processing variables to extract distinct flavor profiles from the harvest. Her guiding motto among peers has become simple: "Trust the Princess."

Though she rarely gets to savor the final specialty roasts derived from the green beans she processes, seeing her cooperative’s name on national and international leaderboards provides validation.

"It is a great honor to serve my community as their coffee processor," Tapdasan said. "When someone tastes the coffee and appreciates it, all the hard work becomes worth it."