Brewing Beyond the Meta: My Journey to the Philippine Brewers Cup Podium
A personal account of risk, preparation, and an unexpected Kenyan coffee that changed everything.
When I first stepped onto the stage of the Philippine Brewers Cup Championship in Manila, I was surrounded by 17 other competitors many of them seasoned brewers carrying coffees that the competition world already considered proven winners.
I carried something else.
I carried a Kenya Oxyco MK2 Isolated Batian from Coffea Circulor, roasted by Ivica, and a belief that understanding a coffee matters more than simply choosing the most fashionable varietal.
Where the Journey Began
The road to Manila started much closer to home.
I competed in the Ilocos Norte Brewers Championship and finished as 1st Runner-Up. That result gave me the confidence to pursue the national stage. I decided to enter the Philippine Brewers Cup scheduled for June 10 2026.
There was just one problem: my preparation was anything but ideal.
Reality check
Very limited prep time
I had only two weeks to prepare before competition day.
Order placed to Coffea Circulor at May 15 2026
Competition date was June 10, 2026
Coffee arrival
June 4
Time left to cup, calibrate & finalize
5 days
At first, I assumed I would use a Geisha varietal. In today's Brewers Cup landscape, Geisha is almost the default choice. Many competitors build their routines around it because of its clarity, florals, and proven track record on the world stage.
But as I searched for a coffee, I kept thinking about my roots.
The very first Geisha I ever bought came from Coffea Circulor a Panama Altieri Dilgo Geisha wayback in 2023. That coffee had a huge influence on my brewing journey. Remembering that experience, I reached out to Coffea Circulor again and ordered the Panama Poseidon from Altieri Farm.
A Shipment That Changed Everything
I placed my order on May 15. With the competition only weeks away, I was nervous that shipping delays would ruin my preparation. I emailed Ivica directly and asked if he could help track the package and any updates on my order.
His response went far beyond what I expected.
Instead of sending only the coffee I ordered, he included three different coffees, each in 500-gram bags, so I could choose the best one for competition:
Kenya Bishop Ruiru 11 Wet Hypoxia 500 g - One of the additional coffees included for selection.
Kenya Oxyco Isolated Batian (MK2) 500 g - The coffee that would ultimately earn a place on the national podium.
Panama Poseidon (Altieri Farm) 500 g - The original Geisha-direction concept I had been preparing around.
The package was expected around June 2, but it arrived on June 4. Suddenly, I had only five days to cup the coffees, adjust recipes, and finalize my entire routine.
Choosing the Unlikely Coffee
I spent those five days brewing nonstop.
Every instinct told me to choose the Geisha. It was the safer option. It was what many competitors were expected to use.
Then I cupped the Kenya Oxyco Isolated Batian.
It stunned me.
The coffee had a clarity that reminded me of top-tier Geisha coffees. The florals were extraordinary. Roselle hibiscus dominated the aroma and flavor, while a bright cranberry character remained clear from hot to cold.
What fascinated me most was how it seemed to hide its traditional Kenyan profile. Instead of the typical blackcurrant-heavy character, it showed delicate florals, elegance, and transparency that felt remarkably Geisha-like not sugarcoating but when you read heres comes the fun part.
I brought the coffees to members of the Ilocos Norte Brewers Community. We brewed all three coffees for a small audience of four coffee enthusiasts.
All four chose the Kenya Oxyco. None of them could believe it was a Kenyan coffee. and didnt even believe me more that why does a kenyan tasted like that
That was the moment I committed.
I would compete with the Kenya Oxyco even though I only had 500 grams total and would have to conserve every dose. By the time competition arrived, I was working with roughly 200 grams remaining.
The risk I accepted
Choosing a Kenyan Batian over a Geisha in a Brewers Cup field where Geisha is often the meta. I had limited coffee, limited practice volume, and no guarantee the decision would work.
The Elimination Round
I stepped onto the stage expecting nothing beyond giving my best performance.
After my routine, I honestly believed my competition was over. The field was strong, and I assumed I would not advance to the compulsory round.
Then they began calling the names of the Top 12 competitors.
When my name was called, I was stunned.
I was moving on.
The Compulsory Round: A Towel and One Cup
The next day, the compulsory round began.
Many competitors arrived with extensive preparation kits like sifters, UV flashlights for detecting defects, and specialized tools. I walked onto the stage with one extra towel and a single tasting cup.
I noticed my technical judge quietly smiled when he saw my setup.
I wasn't trying to make a statement. I simply trusted my brewing skills.
During preparation, Ivica had told me something that stayed with me:
“Don't search for the best coffee. Understand the coffee, and it will unleash its full potential.”
That became my mindset.
For eight minutes, I brewed three coffees on stage and relied entirely on what I had learned from those frantic days of preparation.
When the judges announced the Final 6, my name was there again.
Even more surprising: I had topped the compulsory round.
A turning point
The same coffee I had chosen despite the risk and brewed carefully because every gram mattered earned the highest compulsory-round score.
The Final: Trusting a Coffee That Had Changed
Reaching the finals created a new challenge.
I had only 90 grams left of the Kenya Oxyco for the final presentation.
Three days had passed since my elimination routine. Coffee changes as it rests: extraction behavior shifts, flavor balance evolves, and notes can become more or less pronounced. I no longer had enough coffee to recalibrate extensively.
So I trusted what I had already learned.
I trusted the coffee. I trusted Ivica's roasting. I trusted the flavor memory that had carried me this far.
The Recipe
Brewer
Hario V60 01 (Neo) + standard Hario paper filter
Brew ratio
1:14 15 grams
Pour structure
Bloom
60 mL
Second pour
120 mL
Final pour
220 mL
Water profile
Minerals of Magnesium + Sodium Bicarbonate just my standard home brewing setup.
Target TDS
~30 ppm
During testing, I discovered that higher bloom water volumes dramatically increased the coffee's floral expression. The cup became intensely aromatic, with vivid hibiscus and tulip-like florals layered over cranberry sweetness.
I also learned that higher mineral concentration suppressed those florals. At around 90 ppm, the coffee felt heavier and less expressive. Dropping the water to roughly 30 ppm allowed the florals to open up while maintaining clarity.
Finally, I found that prolonging the final pour produced a more stable cup with longer-lasting flavor definition.
The resulting profile was unlike anything I had brewed before: roselle hibiscus, tulip-like florals, and an intense cranberry character that remained vivid from hot to cold. It felt less like a typical Kenyan coffee and more like cranberry juice layered with floral aromatics.
The Reaction
After the finals, several people approached me with the same question:
“Why did you use a Kenyan coffee when the other finalists used Geisha?”
One of the most memorable conversations came from Sir Fred of Archers (UAE), the 2024 UAE Brewers Cup Champion and a World Brewers Cup competitor. He told me that choosing a Kenyan coffee at that level was “very risky and very brave.”
Hearing that from someone with world-stage experience made the journey feel even more meaningful. Sadly most of my audiences and fellow brewing enthusiasts were asking for an extra dose but i couldn't provide one since I already used them for practice and for finals. All i can provide was it was roasted by Coffea Circulor and you could purchase it easily on their website.
Standing Beside the Giants
Then came the announcement.
2nd Runner-Up. (3rd place)
I found myself standing on the podium beside Red Abuel and Gio Visitacion two names I had long admired in Philippine coffee Scene. Gio had competed in multiple World Brewers Cup and World Barista Championships, and both of them were part of one of the country's most respected roasting organizations and was the one who took first in specialty coffee scene in the Philippines.
Just a few years earlier, I was watching brewers like them from the audience, attending coffee expos, and tasting their coffees during bar takeovers.
Now I was standing beside them.
What made it unforgettable was that I got there with a Kenyan coffee. A coffee that many would have considered unconventional for a Brewers Cup podium run.
What the Journey Taught Me
This competition changed the way I think about coffee.
I entered believing that success depended on finding the perfect varietal. I left understanding something much deeper: great brewing comes from understanding a coffee so thoroughly that you can reveal what makes it unique. Not every winning cup needs to follow the trend.
The Kenya Oxyco MK2 rewarded careful observation: bloom management, mineral balance, extraction control, and trust in the coffee's identity. Every gram mattered because there were so few grams available.
And perhaps that limitation became the greatest advantage of all.
When you only have a small amount of coffee, you stop wasting brews. You pay attention. You listen. You learn.
That is what carried me from a rushed two-week preparation, through the Top 12, through a compulsory-round victory, and onto the national podium.
Not a search for the best coffee.
But a commitment to understand the coffee I had.
Just as you requested ill be sending you my finals open scoresheets of my sensory experience on my open service prelims and finals for it might help you on your future purposes. The coffee was really doing its peak but i didn't managed to deliver the flavor, i got dumped in the mouthfeel portion for saying a wrong flavor descriptors.
Sincerely Yours,
Richard Tungpalan
