Igorota trades in nurse's uniform for barista's apron

Nurse trades in uniform for coffee brewer’s apron
By Maurice Malanes
Inquirer Northern Luzon
First Posted 16:35:00 12/26/2009

Filed Under: Economy and Business and Finance, Entrepreneurship, Beverages, Education

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Many Filipino parents encourage their children to pursue a career, which, they believe, would lead to “greener pastures.”

A path toward entrepreneurship would be the last thing on their mind even if their children had shown potential to succeed.

April Lai Balanza, for example, was urged to take up nursing after finishing high school three years ago.

Her parents, grandmother and aunt persuaded her to take up a course, which, they said, could land her a job overseas. But after a year and one summer, Balanza quit nursing school, to the disappointment of her loved ones who pushed and supported her financially to take up the course.

Unknown to them, Balanza didn’t see herself cleaning hospital bedpans and taking care of patients. She wanted to do something else.

“Nursing really was not my line and no matter how they [parents, grandmother and aunt] would push me, I could not pursue something which I could not be happy with,” said Balanza, 19, the second in a brood of four.

Barista course

After quitting nursing school, Balanza drifted for a while as she did some soul-searching.

Then a friend, who had just finished a short course on bartending at a Tesda-(Technology Education and Skills Development Authority) accredited school in Baguio, encouraged Balanza to also to enroll there.

Balanza chose to enroll in a barista training course from mid-January to mid-February this year.

Compared to her nursing school, Balanza found her barista training much more fun.
She said she enjoyed blending roasted Arabica coffee with Robusta, and preparing espresso, cappuccino, café latte and other beverages.

That Balanza took up barista training was not accidental. Coffee had caught her fancy even while she was a child growing up in Asin village in Baguio City.

She said the various ways of roasting coffee she learned at the Tesda school brought back memories when, as an 8-year-old girl, she would relish the aroma of coffee, which her parents brewed in their kitchen.

“I just loved the aroma of coffee ever since I was a kid,” she said.

Inspiring break

After finishing her training, Balanza looked for jobs that would make use of her newly acquired skill. She ended up as a waitress in a Baguio restaurant.

But since August, she learned from an aunt that Café Maleng-ag, a coffee shop in this town, was in need of a baristas.

She grabbed the opportunity and she has since been helping prepare the best coffee from Arabica beans grown in the Cordillera.

The shop’s owners, couple Richard and Christine Abellon, are advocates of a coffee industry that encourages Cordillerans to go beyond growing Arabica, the most expensive coffee in the world.

The Abellons encourage others to engage in the other aspects and processes of the industry like marketing, roasting, packaging, cupping (the art of tasting quality coffee), barista training and setting up coffee shops.

“We should not just settle for improving coffee production. It is time for locals to learn the other processes that give value to coffee,” Richard Abellon said.

Competition

The Abellons encouraged Balanza to join a regional barista competition in November, which was part of the Department of Tourism’s “Wow Philippines!” promotional activities.

Joining such a competition for the first time, Balanza was nervous. She learned that the eight other contestants were competition veterans, one of whom was from the Metro Manila-based Philippine Barista Academy.

The last to perform among nine contestants, Balanza beat the 15-minute time-slot in preparing hot cappuccino, espresso and a signature cold coffee beverage. While cappuccino and espresso are standard fare in any coffee shop, the cold coffee beverage was her concoction.

“I just applied everything I learned from my barista training,” she said. “The rest I relied on instinct and know-how accumulated through the years after learning to brew and drink coffee at an early age in our kitchen.”

A day after the decision from the four judges, two of them cupping experts from Metro Manila, was released, Balanza was surprised and inspired. She topped the contest, making her the first Igorota to win in such a competition.

“It was a big break for me,” said Balanza, a daughter of Igorot parents. “Now I could prove something to them [parents, grandma and aunt] after I disappointed them when I quit nursing.”

Balanza said with her barista skills, she can now make choices.

She said she can still apply for a job overseas, save enough money and return home to start her own coffee shop.