Philippines Milalittra Typica Honey

MILALITTRA—Miarayon, Lapok, Lirongan, Talaandig Tribal Association—represents 150 indigenous farmers from the Talaandig Tribe across four barangays in Talakag, Bukidnon, collectively stewarding an 11-hectare ancestral domain protected under a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title. What began in 1997 as a community initiative formalized in 2019 as the Milalittra Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (MILFACO) under the leadership of general manager Joannah Dumaquita. For the Talaandig people, coffee cultivation is inseparable from environmental responsibility—as Dumaquita explained at the 2025 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition awards ceremony: "We are responsible for protecting our ancestral domain. Growing coffee is suitable for this because it protects the environment while giving our people good lives."

This exceptional honey-processed Typica showcases how traditional Talaandig farming wisdom combines with modern specialty coffee practices to create remarkable fruit-forward profiles. After selective hand-picking of fully ripe cherries, farmers use mechanical depulpers to remove the outer skin while leaving the sticky mucilage layer intact around the bean. The beans are then dried with the mucilage still attached, which is a process that requires constant attention to prevent over-fermentation. As the mucilage breaks down during drying, its natural sugars are absorbed into the bean, creating the characteristic honeyed sweetness and juicy fruit notes of blueberry, cherry, grape, and crisp red apple. This honey method sits perfectly between washed and natural processing, delivering intense sweetness while maintaining the clarity that allows Typica's inherent clean cup profile to shine through.