What sets Rey Sumania apart from all coffee lovers? His passion and his relentless effort to help coffee farmers and coffee lovers make a living from it.

When it comes to coffee entrepreneurship and expertise, it's the Sumania family of Jamaican F&B Training and Assessment Center in Metro CdO that comes to mind. And I couldn’t agree more.

Passion in a cup

Sipping a good cup of brewed coffee (or even a latte or espresso) is a pleasurable experience. Especially if all our senses is engaged with its enticing aroma, mouthfeel, flavor, and lingering aftertaste.

Coffee is subjected to a particular quality taste test. Coffee cupping is a taste test done by “cuppers.” The cupper’s remarkable taste for coffee allows them to tell specific origin or quality about the brew such as from which region the coffee beans were sourced and what brewing method was used.

Another technique of heightening one’s taste for coffee and sense of smell is through this “olfactory kit” introduced to us by Rey. The said kit is meant to sharpen our sensitivity to all sorts olfactory from aroma, odor, whiff, fragrance, and scent. Each numbered bottle corresponds to a particular aroma.     

Showcasing his expertise  

After years of working for a corporate company, Rey decided to establish a business which not only he enjoys but passionately and strongly feels about.

Renato S. Sumania, or popularly known as “Rey” to family and friends, is an HRM graduate and a Barista NC II who started his aspiration from the “expensive” coffee he serves to patrons in his previous employer.

Establishing Jamaican F&B Training and Assessment Center in 2003 presented him many opportunities for coffee lovers who are passionate in learning how to make excellent cup of coffee. Jamaican F&B (Food and Beverage, or according to Rey, Formulating and Brewing) is an industry-based training center specializing on coffee programs like Specialty Barista Training, Coffee Roasting Class, Green Coffee Grading. The center also accommodates consultancy for bar and café business.

Jamaican F&B got TESDA-accredited by 2006 and now has five registered programs like Barista NC II, Bartending NC II, Food and Beverage NC II & NC III and MTP Barista NC II.

At the moment, Rey serves as a speaker and facilitator for coffee appreciation, latte art demonstration, bartending, flairtending, cocktail preparation, wine appreciation, and in specialty coffee familiarization seminars. In addition, he also cater exclusive training in colleges and universities in the metro as well as various establishments around the country.

Rey also conquered other countries like Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India to train and share his coffee expertise and knowledge. The experience prompted Rey to amass many recognitions and awards including his stint as an official judge in the ASEAN Barista Championship in Thailand last 2013 and was awarded as TESDA IDOL for Region 10 in 2018.

In most restaurant or coffee shops nowadays, Jamaican F&B not only have a good quality of coffee beans, they also have proper equipment and highly skilled baristas. All of which needed to maximize the taste in a cup of coffee.

Showcasing their signature blend of coffees, they once offered Americano, Cappuccino, Café Latte and Mocha Latte during the Training on Farm Business School (FBS) for the Filipino Farmer organized by ATI-RTC X and it since became a partner of the center during the center’s 1st Info Caravan on Coffee in Maramag, Bukidnon on November 2018.

In terms of product development, Rey’s ready-to-drink White Brew, is his latest offering to the coffee-loving patrons in the region. White Brew's main ingredient is espresso, which is expertly blended with white chocolate, whipped cream, creme brulee, and fresh milk.

In one of his center visits, Rey is joined for a taste test by this author and our Development Management Officer Mael Japheth G. Alvarez.

Another product he purveys to the market are his drip coffees. Drip coffees are getting the attention it deserves now much like teas, since it also comes with convenient coffee bags. All of the beverages of Jamaican F&B are personally developed and supervised by Rey since he is also a Beverage Consultant and a Mixologist.

Family of coffee connoisseurs

Since 2019, Rey has started establishing his 7,000 square meter integrated farm with robusta coffee as the main crop intercropped with lakatan banana. Aside from helping coffee growers and the farming communities in Bukidnon by buying their coffee beans, Rey wants to ensure sustainability along the value chain as well as do his part in his “bean-to-mug” crusade.

While his wife Famela I. Sumania keeps their training center afloat as Vice Chair and by manning the Admin and Finance, Rey’s eldest son, Alexander Ray Sumania, teaches Specialty Barista at Jamaican F&B.

Alex is one of the only two Licensed Q-Grader in Arabica and Robusta in Cagayan de Oro City since 2017. He also served as judge in the 2021 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition in Davao last April 23 – May 21, 2021.

Alexander serves as Head Coffee Roaster in the family’s coffee roasting venture via Innovative Cuppa Coffee Roaster.

Innovative Cuppa Coffee Roaster is a micro roasting company that provides a variety of locally-produced roasted coffees. The company supports sustainable farming and prefers coffee produced by local farmers. They sell coffee packs ranging from P650 to P1,200 per pack.

The Sumania’s success of their coffee business and coffee smarts lies in their treatment to their staff, enrollees, partners, customers as family.   

Their philosophy is simple; they take their specialty coffee very seriously. They have technical expertise and years of experience. From coffee grinders to roasting machine equipment, they follow industry trends and adapt to the latest technology.

For more of Innovative Cuppa Coffee Roaster, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/innovativecuppacoffeeroaster/?ref=page_internal

For Barista, Bartending, Food and Beverage Services courses, feel free to visit Jamaican F&B Training and Assessment Center located at the 3rd Floor of Jaraula Building JV Seriña St. Carmen Cagayan de Oro City. Call or text them: 858-7324 or 0955-739-3474 and check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Jamaicantrainingcenter/?ref=page_internal