Brief History:
It was in the 1950’s that Mr. Domingo Garcia, of Lipa, Batangas, started to do business by buying and selling coffee. He would travel from Batangas to Baguio to sell coffee and then buy vegetables as his back load going back to Batangas. Eventually, in 1961, he was able to get a stall/space at the Hangar Market and concentrated on selling coffee. Consequently, his wife and children migrated to Baguio to help in the business. By 1970, he started to buy raw coffee coming from the neighboring provinces of Baguio, particularly from the Mountain Provinces. He would, eventually, have the raw coffee transported to Batangas for roasting. He would transport back to Baguio the roasted coffee beans for retail at the market. Initially, Barako beans were displayed for selling. Then he came up with the Benguet coffee, which is his own original blend of coffee.
With a growing business, he had to expand by obtaining the adjoining space of the market. By 1975, he built a three story building on the spaces obtained. The basement and second floor served as a store room for roasted coffee and raw coffee. In 1996, Mr. Domingo Garcia died. The business was eventually managed by his wife, Marcela Garcia and one of his sons, Danny Garcia (now deceased).
However, in 2001, due to old age and a lingering illness, Mrs. Garcia had to relinquish the total management of the business to her son, Antonino Garcia. With the help of Mr. Antonino Garcia’s wife, Eli Angel-Garcia who took charge of the marketing and advertising, the business grew further, in terms of sales and products. Several blends of coffee were introduced. Flavored coffee was launched. An anchor product, like Mascovado, a botanical and/or natural sugar was introduced to enhance and complement the roasted coffee beans. Clientele now includes almost all coffee shops and restaurants in Baguio, even extending to and reaching numerous provinces, including Manila. Bulk orders are regularly shipped through Victory Liner and other bus lines.
By the end of 2006, the business expanded further by being a concessioner at SM Supermarket, Baguio. A year after that, Garcia’s Kape, Tinapay, Atbp, was launched at Porta Vaga Mall, which is located at Upper Session Road, Baguio City. It’s a resto-caffe and store in one.
