Life
El Union Coffee co-founder Kiddo Cosio says his initial goal was to ‘serve a few great coffees to a sleepy neighborhood, while funding a simple life at the beach’. But since the business opened, San Juan has gone from sleepy surf town to booming tourist destination.
‘We source most of our coffees from northern Philippine specialty coffee farmers and producers, with whom we trade directly, without the assistance of middlemen. We pride ourselves [on] our transparent and direct trade with coffee-farming communities,’ says Kiddo.
Aside from the cafe, El Union Coffee has a cocktail bar called The Shrine of Satisfaction and a recently added small roastery, from where its single-origin coffee beans are sent around the Philippines. The team are also working towards setting up their own farm in the future.
‘Our company is out to positively impact how Filipinos eat, drink and live, no matter how long that takes. I love our team, including our alumni, some of whom are now coffee entrepreneurs on their own,’ says Kiddo.
This article was first published in 100 Ways to Make a Living 2022. To purchase a copy or become a subscriber, head to our webshop.
