Japanese coffee franchise eyes raw materials from NegOcc

UCC is known for its distinct Japanese-style coffee-making that makes use of premium-quality beans. (File Photo: UCC Ueshima Coffee Philippines, Inc./Facebook)

BACOLOD CITY – Owners of the Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC) Clockwork franchise in this city are planning to source raw materials from Negrense farmers in the future.

Bacolod-born Steve Choa, president and managing director of franchisee ACC Top Food Ventures, said they are currently sourcing out coffee beans abroad and also locally, but not yet from Negros Occidental.

“It is my dream to promote and support coffee growers in Mount Kanlaon,” Choa said in a press briefing at the café and restaurant on Friday.

The newly-opened UCC Clockwork at the ground floor of Philippine National Bank Life Building on Lacson Street here is the Japanese coffee brand’s first branch in Western Visayas.

Choa said local cafés share the goal of supporting and educating farmers in Negros Occidental when it comes to coffee production and processing to scale up the quality of their produce.

“It might be a long-term goal as it takes years to develop the farms as well as other processes,” he added.

UCC is known for its distinct Japanese-style coffee-making that makes use of premium-quality beans.

Founded by Tadao Ueshima, known as the “Father of Coffee” in Japan, UCC was introduced in the Philippines by entrepreneur Hubert Young in 2000.

Young, in a message read by UCC marketing manager Tet Bachmann, said “it is providential that UCC is now in Bacolod to bring to the City of Smiles our world-renowned good coffee smile.”

Moreover, Choa said he wants to promote “third wave coffee”, which refers to higher quality of coffee that is still lacking in Bacolod.

In this concept, coffee is considered like an artisanal food rather than a basic commodity.

“I am very proud to bring in a coffee shop of this caliber and level here in Bacolod. I want to level up the quality and exposure of coffee in the city,” he added.