The Biyaya Sustainable Living Festival held from 14 to 16 March at Parqal was a celebration of Filipino culture, creativity and craftsmanship.

The event used to be known as the Manila Coffee Festival, but having grown beyond coffee to showcase the work of the country’s underrated yet unmatched artisans, it unrolled this year as Biyaya, a word that means “blessing” in Filipino.

Through craft, coffee and clothing, Biyaya champions cultural heritage while promoting sustainability.

At this year’s festival, DAILY TRIBUNE had an exclusive one-on-one interview with Rich Watanabe, festival director and co-founder of Biyaya, and head of Coffee Heritage Project, to ask what the 10 heritage coffee brands are that everyone should know about and why.

“I chose these coffee brands because, to me, they truly represent Philippine coffee. They speak of the land where they were grown and, of course, they are all delicious and exceptional,” Watanabe reveals.