It was a rainy morning – a perfect day for a hot cup of coffee. Or any day, actually but coincidentally that day, I was scheduled to visit the Coffee Farmhouse on the outskirts of Tagaytay. As a coffee lover – one who prefers black rather than the sugar-bombed Frappucino from that popular cafe franchise – I find this tour quite interesting. More importantly, I was headed there in a Ford Territory, the company’s second-bestselling model in 2021.
Little did I know, that deep-dive into our country’s small coffee industry is also a way for me to get reacquainted with Ford’s crossover. Here are a few parallels between the two.
Comforting treat
I find coffee comforting, especially in the cold morning when most of us are reluctant to get up from bed. And just like world’s most famous drink, the Territory is a comforting companion in its own ways.
The 70-kilometer drive from my place to Tagaytay wasn’t exactly a breeze. I had to go through several roads of varying girth, with a combination of long straights, steep inclines, and tight provincial streets. The Territory made the journey more bearable in these situations with its superb and highly commendable ride quality – a comforting drive, I must say. Despite the obvious heft of the vehicle, plights on unideal roads weren’t much of a pain, especially while being nestled inside a spacious ad cozy cabin filled with soft-touch materials.
The Coffee Farmhouse in Tagaytay was also a comforting place to be in. Apart from the coffee tour (with free-flowing cups of joe), the place also housed a garden, a swimming pool, and various recreational activities. Overall, the tour was a homey experience that you’d miss if you live amid the urban hustle and bustle.
The right amount of perky
Before this trip, I didn’t know that there were four types of coffee beans, namely arabica, liberica, excelsa, and robusta. The caffeine content, taste, and product yield between these four vary, with the robusta offering more yield and bolder (read: more bitter) taste, while arabica has less yield with a more refined flavor, which makes it more expensive. Whichever coffee bean type you choose, perkiness is part of the deal but in varying degrees.
And just like coffee, the Territory has different degrees of perkiness too. In Sport mode, the compact crossover acts like when you’ve had a robusta. On the contrary, the Territory was calmer and more controlled when in Normal mode – just like after a cup of arabica coffee.
A needed process
From the coffee fruit to the brewed goodness from roasted beans, there’s a process in making a cup of joe. It had to go through several steps before those tiny sips of joy. And more importantly, loving a pure cup of brewed coffee takes time – just like in the Ford Territory.
Truth be told, the Territory isn’t for everyone. The bevy of colored displays and digital controls isn’t for those who prefer tactile buttons and knobs, while the high-tech features might alienate conservative car owners. But just like coffee, you need some time to get used to these stuff. After all, improvement in technology is constant, so it’s better to stay up to speed with the times.