From bean to business: MPSU launches Mt. Province’s first Coffee Museum

Bauko, Mountain Province – Mountain Province State University (MPSU) has officially opened the province’s first-ever Coffee Museum and Entrepreneurship Training Center at the university’s coffee center in barangay Sitio Ba-ang, Bauko on December 31, 2025, marking a major milestone in the province’s growing coffee industry.

The new facility aims enhance coffee skills and promote tourism and entrepreneurship, boosting livelihoods and local business in the province.

According to PIA – Cordillera Administrative Region, MPSU President Edgar G. Cue described the museum and training center serving as a place where not only students but also partner agencies and local coffee farmers can learn about coffee cultivation, processing, roasting and marketing.

“More than a repository of history, this museum is also a living classroom. This will be a space for learning, research, innovation, and extension. It will serve as a platform for capacity-building, entrepreneurship, tourism, and sustainable development, benefiting not only our students but also our partner communities,” Cue was quoted saying.

Mt. Province’s coffee industry

Mt. Province is known for its high-quality Arabica coffee, particularly from high-elevation areas like Sagada, where small-scale farming produces beans that consistently sell for ₱1,000–₱1,500 per kilo.

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is one of the most popular and widely grown coffee species in the world. In Mountain Province, Arabica coffee is the main variety grown among local coffees in the place.

In February 2020, Mountain Province Arabica Coffee Enterprise (MPACE) was launched with P14.3 million worth of funding which helped unify production and improve market access for cooperative farmers.

Just last year, in January, the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) approved an additional P33 million allocation to modernize Sagada’s coffee processing enterprise, including an FDA-complaint roaster and cupping lab, enhancing the province’s reputation for premium coffee.

Meanwhile, although coffee farming in the province is mostly small-scale, ongoing investments in processing, training, and marketing are helping make coffee both an important part of the province’s culture and a key source of income.