CURVE’s Cherry Cruz makes highest bid for top Benguet-grown beans
“I am honestly scared, but I am happy,” shares Curve Coffee Collaborators (CURVE) Founder and CEO Cherry Cruz of how she felt when they made the highest bid in PCQC (Philippine Coffee Quality Competition) history and won.
Just the day before, Rodyio Tacdoy’s, a 22-year-old farmer from Benguet, bagged Top 1 in the Arabica category, his beans garnering a cupping score of 84.38.
Unbeknownst to Mr. Tacdoy, his remarkable win had already set things in motion.
“This is the moment we’d been waiting for to have meaningful intervention in the North,” shares Ms. Cruz. The northern region, she adds, is “a region that has been lacking in terms of awards for the longest time” and has “heirloom varieties threatened by extinction.”
“Then here comes a brave yet humble, energetic, and driven young farmer… with years of mentoring from his father, love for the land that they have, the desire to make a difference. We had to support him.”
As fate would have it, Mr. Tacdoy was seated right behind CURVE’s Qits Nalugon, wondering why the green bean hunter hadn’t been bidding throughout the auction. He was waiting.
“Top 1, last 3 seconds, doon lang ako nagtaas ng paddle. Doon na nag-start yung rally, until umabot na ganoong kalaki ang bid,” narrates Mr. Nalugon.
Heart racing at the skyrocketing bid, he remained sure: “Yun lang talaga yung hinihintay ko. Out of the 12 masasabi mo talagang deserve niyang maging #1.”
At the final auction price of P9,900, Mr. Tacdoy earned over one million pesos for 117kg of his award-winning, record-breaking Benguet Arabica.
This is “a bet for the future of Philippine coffee,” Ms. Cruz describes, one that she is always willing to make.
“I told Rodyio that it’s possible for him to grow from being a producer to a processor of coffees from other farmers to support his community,” Ms. Cruz shared.
Mr. Tacdoy’s mentorship with CURVE is underway, having gone through a post-harvest class in Bukidnon. He learned best farm practices and met with fellow young, progressive farmers like Marvin and Eljean Dagohoy. He was taught quality assessment by Mr. Nalugon and provided agri-related insights by no less than Renjie Lucas, whose deep expertise in coffee farming interventions stems from his work with the USDA-funded ACDI/VOCA-PhilCAFE (Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise) project.
This kind of sustainable, impactful change for the local coffee landscape is the “bet with purpose” Ms. Cruz always goes for. The only other PCQC 2025 coffee they bid for was Samuel Ochea Jr.’s Lanao del Sur Arabica, Top 7.
“Many BARMM Farmers have been left out of many trainings and farm interventions for years. But they have terrific coffees. So why not give them the platform and spotlight they deserve?” she shares on her Facebook post. “I hope this winning moment becomes a lightbulb moment for many.”
Both single origin, proudly Pinoy coffees were offered for tasting at the recently held WOFEX Manila F&B expo.
“It lives up to the reputation. It goes toe-to-toe with what I’ve tasted out there,” shares a coffee enthusiast of Tacdoy’s coffee.
“Kaya niyang makipagsabayan worldwide. Yung price na binayaran mo dito, it’s completely worth it,” says another.
Moreover, Mr. Tacdoy’s coffee is being sold at bid price: P9,900/kg or P495 for 50g, P990 for 100g, and P2,475 for 250g.
All proceeds from Tacdoy’s coffee will go to the young farmer, to be plowed back into his farm, into growing his business.
“Maraming, maraming salamat po sa CURVE. Malaking tulong po sa akin kasi makakapag-elevate po tayo ng facility para makapag-process muli ng ganoong quality ng kape,” he proudly shares.
With Love Your Origin at their core, CURVE—with its own farms, roastery, and cafés— improves the lives of people across the Philippine coffee ecosystem on a regular basis.
This has been recognized by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), a non-profit based in California. They named Cruz Educator of the Year (2025), making her the first Filipino to receive the prestigious award. They cite her “huge impact” on her community, sector, country, even for the whole “Southeast Asian community in coffee”.
CQI Director for Education Resources, Emma Sage, awards Cherry Cruz Educator of the Year for her immeasurable contributions to coffee communities around the region.
Mr. Tacdoy is now part of that ever-growing circle of Ms. Cruz’s positive influence. And he is ready for his moment on the coffee stage.
Follow Curve Coffee Collaborators on Facebook and on Instagram. Know more at www.curve.coffee.
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