When I first met Ros Juan, she introduced herself as the owner of Commune Café + Bar + Roastery and the president of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance Philippine Chapter. This past Sunday, I got to see her as the founder of the Coffee Home Brewers.
In an earlier interview I did with her, she recalled being asked about how she felt about more coffee shops serving Philippine coffee all the way back in 2017. Her answer was simple: “Perfect, because that’s what we were trying to advocate in the first place.” She didn’t view them as competition to beat out, but companions all in favor of a much sweeter cause.
As I walked back and forth along Paseo de Roxas, I made sure to get a good look at each and every coffee stall. Rather than taking note of the brands I recognized, I began to realize just how many names I hadn’t heard of yet.
Aside from giving space for local cafes and coffee bean sellers, KapeCon also held their own fun competitions for guests and sellers to participate in. They had the Latte Art Twosome Throwdown on the Saturday and the Kape’t Kamay Breakdown on the Sunday. Both competitions involve two teammates holding hands, each one only being able to use one hand, all while making latte art and brewing a cup of coffee respectively.
KapeCon exemplifies Ros Juan’s point exactly: There really is space for everyone.
You Don’t Need to Be a Champion to Brew Better Coffee
Luckily, I arrived on the second and last day of the event just in time to catch the panel discussion “Crafting the Perfect Cup: Bringing Competition Technique to Home Brewing.” The speaker lineup was stacked with our local champions of the coffee competition world, featuring 2025 Philippine Brewers Cup Champion Bene Sanchez, 2026 Philippine Brewers Cup Champion Red Abuel, and 2025 & 2026 Barista Champion Michael Harris. The talk explored the place coffee has held in their day-to-day lives before and after becoming champions.
It was so interesting to listen to all their stories of how they got into coffee and learn about how they go about being disciplined about coffee. In a way, it helped demystify specialty coffee and coffee expertise as a whole. Behind all the intimidation and seemingly rigid rules are real people genuinely passionate and nerdy about coffee in all of its moving parts and processes.
There was something reassuring about Red Abuel, our country’s latest Brewers Cup Champion, admitting he initially hated coffee. “Bitter water,” he used to call it. And when he did eventually get into coffee, he also adamantly hated tasting notes. He stressed that what’s written on the bag is a suggestion, not gospel. “One person’s chocolate doesn’t taste like another person’s chocolate,” was the way he put it.
Michael Harris shared how his coffee brewing habits at home were all about routine. Three months before a competition, he dials in every morning and brews his competition drink. My personal favorite fun fact from him was that he keeps a personal Notion database of all the drinks he tries and takes notes of how they taste and how he thought they made it to taste like that.
Lastly, I liked Bene Sanchez’ personal advice when it comes to practicing brewing at home: Every coffee you brew is not a waste. It’s only wasteful if it’s done without intention.
My KapeCon Finds
Obviously, I couldn’t try everything. My wallet and my caffeine threshold wouldn’t be able to handle it. So I decided on fulfilling three simple goals: (1) to buy a drink I would usually get, (2) buy a drink I’ve never had before, and (3) for one of or both of them to involve some local coffee aspect.
The first drink I bought matched my first goal: a Cloud Matcha from 621 Cafè Specialty. The cloud foam was nice and salty, which helped balance out the sweet matcha. The foam was actually made from asin tibuok, which is a type of sea salt from Bohol. The second drink I got came from Toyo Specialty Coffee + Matcha. It was my first time trying a cascara, let alone a cascara cola. The fizzy cola topped with a strong cinnamon-like flavor was an unfamiliar, but welcomed sensation on my palate.
I had brought some family members with me, so I was also able to get a sip of what they ordered. My eldest brother got this Dark Mocha drink from Hometown Cafe. When I asked the guy at the stall, he explained how they sourced the chocolate all the way from Davao.
Both my brothers also ended up trying the Spiced Orange Espresso, Choco, and Choco Chai from Primal Brew Coffee + Roastery.
I left Paseo de Roxas with a caffeine-fueled buzz and a Google Doc full of notes. My biggest takeaways from this weren’t just the brewing tips, fun competition setups, and the impossible wish of trying a drink from every stall. Rather, behind all the champion titles, fancy gear, and complex tasting notes are people who simply love coffee and love to share that love with others. True to Ros Juan’s vision, KapeCon is living proof that no matter how you take your cup, there is truly a place for you here.
Frequently Asked Questions
KapeCon is a coffee convention that serves as an accessible platform for coffee enthusiasts, amateur learners, and professional entrepreneurs to connect, share knowledge, and explore the local coffee scene. Beyond a specialty trade showcase, it offers a comprehensive cultural experience featuring unique coffee competitions, interactive brewing workshops, and direct-trade showcases highlighting Philippine coffee producers.
The Coffee Home Brewers was founded by Rosario “Ros” Juan, who also owns Commune Café + Bar + Roastery and serves as the president of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance Philippine Chapter. Her advocacy centers around building an inclusive, welcoming community where local coffee shops and home brewers are viewed as supportive companions rather than fierce competition.
KapeCon hosted fun, high-energy team competitions: Latte Art Twosome Throwdown on the Saturday and the Kape’t Kamay Breakdown on the Sunday. In both events, teammates are coupled together. They have to keep holding the other’s hand and are restricted to using only one hand each, all while making latte art and brewing coffee.
On Sunday, there a panel entitled “Crafting the Perfect Cup: Bringing Competition Technique to Home Brewing,” of which featured 2025 Philippine Brewers Cup Champion Bene Sanchez, 2026 Philippine Brewers Cup Champion Red Abuel, and 2025 & 2026 Barista Champion Michael Harris. Their discussion touched on how coffee remained in their lives before and after becoming champions and they shared some practical tips on brewing at home for those who want to try it for the first time and for those who are interested in eventually competing.
KapeCon 2026 was held along Paseo de Roxas in Makati, Metro Manila. The two-day Philippine coffee event brought together local cafés and coffee bean sellers, along with a panel discussion featuring Philippine coffee champions and paired latte art and brewing competitions held over a Saturday and Sunday.
