Brewing Change in Mindanao: The Pioneer Behind Davao’s Third-Wave Coffee Revolution

 

Before she ever stepped into the local coffee scene, Gina Ellorango-Ableitinger was strictly a tea drinker. Raised in a farming family from Davao del Norte, she spent her youth favoring sweet milk teas over coffee.

That changed in 2012 when she met her Austrian husband, Markus Ableitinger, in a Hong Kong coffee shop. He handed her a cappuccino—a bitter introduction that sparked an unexpected journey. Today, Gina is a dual-licensed Arabica and Robusta Q Grader, a certified roaster, and a pioneering advocate driving Mindanao’s specialty coffee movement.

In March 2015, after Markus completed his training in Hong Kong under the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe, the couple moved to Davao City to establish FrogKaffee café on Torres Street. The name “FROG KAFFEE” combines the German-Austrian word for coffee with the phrase “Fresh Roast of Great Coffee.” Thus, FROG Kaffee & Coffee Roastery was founded in December 2015.

It was Davao’s first specialty coffee shop, introducing Mindanao consumers to "third wave coffee"—a movement treating coffee as an artisanal food rather than a commodity, prioritizing bean origin, roast profile, and brewing precision.

"Public response was a mix of curiosity and overwhelm," Gina said. "Specialty coffee was new in Davao, and imported beans made it expensive. Educating consumers through experience was our biggest challenge."

To bridge the gap, the couple offered European pastries alongside carefully crafted drinks, while baristas walked customers through the origin and sensory notes of each cup. But as shipping costs and delivery delays for imported beans mounted, Gina shifted her focus to a pressing issue closer to home: the plight of local coffee growers.

Through the Kapwa Upliftment Foundation Inc., she connected with the Balutakay Coffee Farmers Association (BACOFA) in Mt. Apo, Davao del Sur. Despite farming in optimal volcanic soil at high altitudes, the growers struggled with post-harvest processing. Sacks of unselected beans sat unsold, fetching a meager 80 pesos per kilogram.

"I realized we can compete with global quality, but not in yield," Gina said.

Working alongside initial initiatives like the ACDI/VOCA’s MinPACT Project, she selected and trained local farmers, including women growers, in selective harvesting, proper sorting, and cherry drying.

She offered a premium purchase price of 180 pesos per kilogram for beans that met strict specialty standards. The intervention paid off. Farmers under the program improved their yields dramatically, with BACOFA members later winning top honors at the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) and placing Philippine Arabica on the international stage.

The MinPACT Project, or Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade, was implemented by ACDI/VOCA and funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress program. This development initiative focused on increasing the incomes and productivity of smallholder farmers—particularly those in the cocoa, coconut, and coffee sectors across Mindanao.

To deepen her technical authority, Gina earned her Q Arabica Grader license in 2017 as part of a pioneering Philippine cohort, followed by her Q Robusta Grader certification in 2018. She also served four consecutive years as a PCQC judge, witnessing firsthand the surge in local coffee quality, particularly the rapid rise of fine Robusta.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of their café, the couple pivoted. They relocated operations to Ma-a, Davao City, transforming FrogKaffee into a specialty roastery, equipment distribution hub, and specialized training school.

As a scholar of the MinPACT project, Gina structured the Frogkaffee Academy around affordable, continuous mentorship. Her curriculum covers the entire supply chain—from post-harvest processing to sensory analysis and barista skills.

Through collaborations with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, and local cooperatives, she frequently offers free training to marginalized farmers who lack access to formal coffee education.

"I was a scholar myself, so I pay it forward," she said. "Farmers struggle to sell because of quality gaps. If we bridge those gaps, I don't need to import coffee."

Now a business-to-business consultancy and education hub, Frogkaffee continues to mentor entrepreneurs, baristas, and growers across Mindanao.

"Coffee connects people," Gina said. "If you are a good teacher and your student excels, you feel proud. The more people exposed to specialty coffee, the more the entire community benefits."