FAQ'S
Q. Is Kafe Balos real civet coffee produced naturally by the Asian Palm Civet?
A. Yes our coffee is 100% authentic civet coffee. The name "Balos" comes from the B'laan tribe here in the Philippines, “Civet” in their dialect is translated "Balos". We DO NOT mix our civet beans with ordinary beans like some other suppliers do. We practice honest and integral business.
Q. Are the civets wild (free) or are they caged?
A. All of our civets roam free along the mountainside. Many areas in Indonesia, Vietman, and even in the Philippines have begun to cage their civet cats out of greed. Some farmers noticed how much money could be made with this exotic coffee so they decided to cage the civets and hand feed them allowing the farmers to work less and produce more beans BUT little did they know that this also lowers the quality and taste of the coffee as well as puts a lot of filipino's out of work, so now those that were doing that are starting to realize that's it's coming back to bite them. There are an estimated 2,500 wild civet cats that live in the area surrounding the coffee farm/plantation. We DO NOT cage any of our cats for two reasons, 1) We believe it is in-humane and unethical and 2) Caging the cats brings down the quality of the coffee.
Q. What is so special about the SOCKSARGEN region?
A. The SOCKSARGEN region of the Philippines in southern Mindanao is where over 64% of all the nations coffee is grown due to it's ideal climate and terrain unlike that of coffee grown in areas like Luzon and Northern Philippines. This is also why Davao and Southern MIndanao are known for their fruit, bottom line it grows better here.
Q. Do you practice fair trade?
A. Yes, we practice fair trade, which means we don't cheat the farmers/workers and we are very proud of this, in fact this is a driving factor of our long term vision. We also have a group that is stationed on the mountain that is teaching the local farmers how to grow their own crops (aside from coffee) as well as build houses, and educate their youth. So far we have built one small school for the students between the ages of 6-12 that live there in the tribe. We also provide the students with school materials (paper, pencils, books, crayons, etc). So this coffee LITERALLY gives back to the Filipino people.
Q. Why is Kafe Balos priced slightly higher than other suppliers?
A. We believe in QUALITY, not quantity and we take pride in knowing our coffee is of the highest quality.
