A Brand Brew Day: Where Hope Shines in Every Cup

Freshly brewed sunshine with the scent of home –SINAG is the answer to satisfy the day’s cravings.

Sinag Coffee Roastery tops the searches for coffee hangout places in Calapan City as the taste of every drop with the cozy atmosphere is like no other. Even with a business worth the boast, the coffee they roast never strayed from its humble, local roots. After all, SINAG was born in Mindoro as a shining ray of hope for the coffee farmers and consumers, and a standing example of following God’s footsteps of generosity.

As the man behind it all: coffee roaster and owner, Paul Bañas puts it:

“So kaya naisipan namin yung SINAG kasi parang symbol siya ng bagong pag-asa…So para siyang, it symbolizes a new hope for the coffee farmers even sa mga consumers rin na makakatikim ng coffee galing sa Mindoro.”

Bean There Before

From being just a part of the map in his journey, Mindoro became the unexpected perfect spot to stay.

Bañas was a 10-year missionary under the Medical Ambassadors Philippines (MAP) which he described as a group of nurses and doctors volunteering to go to tribal communities and teach them holistic development.

At the time, his main focus was community work, not coffee. Still, that’s when he first heard of the coffee crisis that drove him to create SINAG.

Initially, Manila was supposed to be the base as SINAG was more renowned there. It really started with trading and shipping roasted coffee weren’t Mindoreños, they always seemed to make their way back to the province.

With that, SINAG opened to the public’s eye with the Lalud branch last October 1, 2021, and the Masipit branch last November 18, 2022. The second branch came to be as the first branch was too small to accommodate all their customers –having about only seats for 2-3 groups and lacked parking space. With deep gratitude to the owner of Villarica who offered their place to house the Masipit branch and the green go signal from God, SINAG is now how it is today.

Cup-le with Christ

You can’t spell SINAG without G, God.

From the short period of time spent on successfully establishing themselves to the consistent flood of praise and demand for SINAG, Bañas firmly believes that God is the greatest reason behind it all.

“Nagkaroon na agad ng roastery dito sa Mindoro, ‘di ba? Actually, ang daming nabibilisan. Pero wala eh, ganoon siguro talaga ang kalooban ng Diyos. Huwag lang matakot talaga magrisk.”

Even the main concept of the shop –hope, is modeled after their Christian faith. With the heart to provide service for and to others, SINAG expanded its operations to include food. Their munchies, pasta, desserts, and pastries were a hit that left customers searching for more. Truly, food made with their own hands and packed with love is the secret to a delicious dining experience.

It doesn’t just end there. SINAG has a Christ-centered staff known to share Bible stories and pray to taste the maximum potential of the coffee. Adding to that, dining at SINAG is also experiencing the untapped potential of our local bakers.

With so much potential in Mindoro, Bañas makes it his mission for the Mindoreños (and eventually, the Filipinos) to fully see, use, and appreciate it. A well-known manifestation of this is the presence of his precious roasting machine that anyone can see when they visit the Masipit branch.

Another appeal is how SINAG is set up differently than the standard cafes in the city. Instead of going the obvious route of being placed by the busy roads, the path is a discovery itself —a discovery that once you’ve reached the doors, the aroma of coffee will welcome you to stay.

Espress(o) Yourself

Coffee is not the only art SINAG has on display. As an artist himself, Bañas offers the shop as an avenue for local artists to proudly show their masterpieces to casual viewers and buyers alike. It’s open to exhibits as he emphasized that arts, culture, and the community are already ingrained parts of SINAG.

“Pwede nga rin mag-art exhibit dito… Kasi before si Ma’am Jinky Rayo, she’s a famous watercolor painter. Ano yan, uhm, nakasama ko sa mga first exhibit niya. And then si Ma’am Jinky she supported some of my mission work sa mga Mangyan before. Hanggang ngayon pa rin naman.”

Arvin Sortejo, an artist fresh in the music industry, with Igway Music Production chose SINAG as the location for the release of his single on Spotify and Youtube last Valentine’s Day. Though they currently don’t have regular gigs, Bañas is already entertaining the idea of weekend jamming sessions in the near future.

Fancy a cup or a meal with local art and beats? SINAG has got you covered.

Farms For Future

SINAG, though popular for many reasons, should be well-remembered for its cause: the Mindoro coffee farmers and their work.This pushed SINAG to continue and encourage the farmers to keep planting in Mindoro. Bañas as a roaster, serves as the second-in-line in ensuring the coffee they harvest will not go to waste. As of writing, he is already drying out beans to roast for the Mangyans to experience great Mindoro coffee. Bañas also is determined to find out what sets Mindoro-made coffee apart from the others.

“Kasi meron nang mga coffee trees dito, irerestore na lang siya so parang may minor works ka na lang gagawin para makapagproduce sila nang maayos.”

Another initiative is to network the SINAG coffee beans with other coffee shops. This way, it does not only spread the name but also the greatness of Mindoro-based coffee. Bañas, as a roaster, is very hands-on in the connections formed between Farmer-Roaster-Consumer and even fellow coffee makers and sellers.

With his expertise in coffee roasting, Bañas sets out to show Mindoro that there’s more to coffee making than just the instant powder sachets. Outside the province, coffee comes with the image of baristas and roasters who are true to their crafts. SINAG delivers it all and will continue to deliver with many future plans scheduled.

“Kami sa SINAG Coffee Roastery, part din kami ng bigger coffee organization yung Philippine Coffee Guild. Yung advocacy nun naman talaga is to restore coffee plantations in different areas of the Philippines.”

The Mindoro coffee industry isn’t dead. SINAG devotes itself to making sure of that as the first-ever roastery coffee shop in the province. As a new day starts at the first sun ray, trust that hope comes in many flavors— may it be a missionary finding a home in Mindoro, an artsy roastery, or an order of SINAG coffee.

SNOWBALLIN’ & DANCIN’

Despite not being one of the powerhouses in dance sports yet, DWCC’s Senior Latin Duos marked an almost DWCCian-avalanche after a phenomenal silver & bronze peat in the PRISAA MIMAROPA 2023 Dancesport Competition, Senior Latin Category at DWCC Gymnasium, March 9.

DWCC erases PCST’s twice-tobeat advantage, snatches gold

DWCC Halcons Men’s Volleyball flawlessly revenged the powerhouse PCST team twice in the PRISAA MIMAROPA Men’s Volleyball Finals to grab the championship title at the DWCC College Gymnasium, March 11.

Having a huge points advantage, DWCC continued on controlling the tournament as they widened their lead into 11-point that pushed them to seal their ticket in nationals.

This victory destroyed the long drought of Calapan City on clinching the golden trophy in Men’s Volleyball.

Halcons set the game with firepower attacks and excellent aces which led them to pull away, garnering the six-point advantage halfway through the set. Along with the exchange of powerful hits, the PCST setter executed combination plays that confused the Halcon’s middles and ran the rallies. But they failed to tame the Halcons as the team continued on attacking and whooping 13-point control and marked the set, 25-12.

After falling short in the first set, PCST Spikers established composure and intelligence with their bombs as they continued their aggressiveness in the court, stealing the second frame, resulting in 25-23 tallies.

Extending game one into a deciding set, both squads urged to display massive spikes that roared the crowd; however, the superb defense of the Halcons reigned and pushed them to secure their three won, 25-19.

DWCC started the Game 2 with execution of highpowered spikes and blocks while PCST was unable to give strong offense and defense, completely outplaying PCST in the middle of the set.

PCST resumed struggling with their plays and had no answers to the offenses by the Halcons which pushed the team to totally secure the first place podium.

Arenillo, San Juan march to the nat’l, stand undefeated

Twosome Tsunami!

DWCC Halcons’ Macquiel Benroe Arenillo and Zeus San Juan concluded a lossless gold after ousting JPC, 3-0, in the finals’ berth of Table Tennis Doubles Men (Senior Category) in the MIMAROPA PRISAA Regional Games 2023 at DWCC AVR, March 11.

It was not a merciless scoring frenzy as JPC drew the first blood followed by a match-point clash with set scores of 10-12 and 11-13, respectively.

Though Halcons towers a twice-to-beat advantage to the JPCian duo, Arenillo and San Juan asserted dominance all the way to the concluding moment of the game with a score tally of 12-10, 11-5, and 11-8.

DWCC’s Arenillo and San Juan will be competing in the PRISAA Nationals in July 2023.