u/DiorSavaugh

tanginang inflation yan wasak na wasak na tayo. nagpapaka-stress na lang tayo sa negosyo para mapasahod mga tao at i-survive mga negosyo natin. halos hindi na natin mapasahod mga sarili natin. kailangan na mag unwind kaunti at makapag get together kahit papano tayong mga lumalaban nang patas at pinipilit ibigay ang best natin sa customers kahit lahat sila halos madali na magalit kasi ayaw din nilang nasasayang pera nila

I asked for permission first from u/malarayat_cf if I can post my feedback on this subreddit. They gave it a green light after I made them realize that this feedback is aligned with their goal of promoting Philippine coffee.

I noticed that Malarayat Coffee's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (their first and only imported beans so far) has a lot of sold despite being new. I think I only started seeing it in their Shopee just this month, but the owner (handling their subreddit) already gave me a heads up about his plan on this.

I asked him why there's a lot of buyers. He said that their customers were very eager to try because their Ethiopia Yirgacheffe was a whole lot cheaper compared to other local roasters.

To be honest, I had high expectations for these beans because duhh that's Ethiopia. We know they're really good, and that's the birthplace of coffee beans as we know it today.

But man, it did taste above what I consider to be mediocre but it's barely what I can call "really good coffee" especially when I compared it with Malarayat Coffee's other offerings, which are all PH origins. Every single one of them taste great! (not "really good coffee" mind you. They're way above that line. "great")

This made me realize deeper that Philippine Coffee is really special and possibly the real hidden gem origin of coffee in the world. Well yeah, there's "specialty coffee" which was based on the standards set by people from the west who thought that they might have always been superior. (Remember the rise of Nazism?)

Pero grabe sobrang sarap nung Claveria Arabica ng Malarayat Coffee sa Espresso. I think this is my new favorite PH-origin arabica for espresso. I found Daguma to be lacking in "character" lately. I'm not sure if I might have just tasted a Daguma cup that came from a harvest 2 seasons ago, just roasted freshly.

I also found Mt. Apo to be too sweet for espresso, both their natural and honey process. Although I found it to be great for Iced Americano. (The sweet fruityness shines bright with a mellow floral undertone, despite being an espresso shot. I only usually taste those notes when I do pourover filter brew.)

But my favorite daily coffee drink is milk-based, iced, with an espresso that tastes chocolatey, mildly nutty (imagine almond), and the right amount of sweetness that comes from its fruity base notes. I also require that the espresso will also blend well with the syrups I bought for my home coffee corner, which I discovered through my favorite coffee shops like Wicked Coffee and 1C.

I think that was the reason why Brazil arabica became the staple and the real go-to of most coffee shops because it established the taste that people of my age were looking for. (Yeah Vietnam arabica just can't even lol puro commercial grade)

Although the problem with Brazil arabica is sometimes, local roasters receive old and stale green beans. (Which were concealed and undisclosed by the importer/trader/dealer.) This was the exact same problem that Bodega Coffee Roasters experienced, which I personally think that it was the reason they disposed that batch as soon as possible by offering cheaper blends to their partner coffee shops.

Sadly, the quality and taste isn't just there. I must admit, I used to frequent Variables Specialty Coffee in Sto. Tomas, Batangas (shout out to Enna for that super yummy Iced Mandarin Dark Mocha Latte recipe she developed for Variables, that was my wife's go-to coffee whenevdr we visit as she laughs at me for paying over ₽400 for just a cup of pourover. She didn't understand specialty coffee back then. But going back to the Iced Mandarin Dark Mocha Latte, it was totally perfect for the Sultan Kudarat / Daguma Arabica they got from Bodega back then when this recipe was developed.)

Right now, whenever I pass by that coffee shop's area, I never fail to notice the significant reduction of tables with customers even during the supposed peak hours. I guess they really lost some regulars like me after they switched their espresso beans.

I can only imagine how tasty that Iced Mandarin Dark Mocha Latte will be if they use Malarayat Coffee's Claveria Arabica. I guess I'll never know. I tried emulating that recipe but I'm not able to achieve it with my trusty Delonghi ECP 35.31 and Lahome Commercial Grinder with 64mm burrs.

But one complain I have for Malarayat Coffee is their packaging. The seal just isn't up to standards. I experienced one time that the seal of the pouch gave up. I'm not sure for how long it has been like that, but thankfully the Lipa Signature Barako didn't taste stale. Hopefully this is something that they can improve. They also have a huge room for improvements especially branding. They need something that doesn't need explanation. (Tinanong ko kasi dati yung owner kung bakit ganun na sobrang simple lang tapos medyo maraming empty space. Sabi niya sadya daw yun para i-reflect yung suggested brewing methods niya sa mga niro-roast nilang kape. Simple lang din daw yung kailangan na brewing method para ma-appreciate at malasahan ang sarap, hindi kailangan ng mga kumplikado at mahal na equipment tulad ng espresso machine. "Gana" na daw kahit french press lang. Natawa ako dun sa term niya na "gana" e HAHAHAHA young stunna yarn? Trenta anyos ka na bro! jk.)

How about you guys here? What's your experience with Malarayat Coffee? I noticed din kasi na nagiging active ulit yung owner dito sa r/CoffeePH so high chances na mabasa niya mga feedback niyo.

Ayun lang skl. Sana masarap kape niyo bukas ng umaga haha

To be clear, I'm not undermining their efforts and knowledge. Personally nga good deal na rin yung 4k na bayad para sa courses nila plus a little coaching para sa store and ads management.

The point is, meron talagang SLOW SEASON for certain categories sa eCommerce. This is something that business owners need to accept and work around. You don't have to force it and keep bleeding cash by doing so. Just think of ways to still be on the positive range in terms of ROAS kahit gaano pa kababa yung total GMV mo.

And while you're exerting less energy because of the slow season, you can use your brain to:

1. Further study your store's and individual products' performance. Diagnose kung bakit mataas traffic pero mababa conversion. Diagnose kung bakit mataas impressions pero mababa click through rate. Hanapin kung saan ka kulang at idagdag ito habang may extra time. Para pagsapit ng peak season, di ka manghihinayang mag-invest nang malaki sa ads and marketing.

2. Expand towards other channels where your products and services might also be needed despite the slow season.

3. Venture into other categories na may stable movement during the slow season ng main line mo. pwede mo ring ilagay yung new categories sa store mo para hindi mawalan ng overall traffic.

Salot sa negosyo yang mga kulto na yan. Pansinin nyo ugali at pakikisama sa mga katrabaho. Baka nga sakit din sa ulo ninyo yang mga yan.

Dito sa lugar namin laging problema ng mga negosyante yung mga na-hire nilang INC, anlalakas daw bumale. Kadalasan sila din dahilan kung bakit nagkaka-one star sa Google Maps mga negosyo. Nagiging basura kasi service pag wala yung business owner.