Bayani Brew is a social enterprise that is brewing farm-fresh iced tea made from organically grown local ingredients. They draw inspiration from ridiculously healthy tea recipes found all over the country, and primarily use climate-resilient and perennially-grown crops.
The refreshing drinks of Bayani Brew consist of native formulation of lemongrass (tanglad), pandan, and other indigenous leaves that are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin C. Bayani Brew was first introduced to the visitors at the GK Enchanted Farm. GK founder and father Tony Meloto had a eureka moment and thought that serving this ice cold and possibly bottling these refreshing drinks would be a good start-up. Visitors and patrons would then ask for more and the rest is history.
The guys running Bayani Brew (aka The Brew Crew) are Xilca Alvarez, Ron Dizon, and Shanon Khadka. They like to unabashedly describe themselves as a ragtag team of individuals in the midst of a premature midlife crisis. Their earnest need to do something fulfilling pushed them to undertake Tony Meloto’s arduous mandate to develop this livelihood program into a full-fledged enterprise. The project aims to create lasting social change in the lives of GK’s wards and help establish more GK Enchanted Farms all over the country.
The name Bayani Brew does not just stand for our love of country or “bayan,” but also for honoring the unsung heroes and more sentimentally, for the “bayanihan” effort of local talent, farmers, and social entrepreneurs to bring this idea to the market. Bayani Brew wants to be remembered not only for its refreshing beverages, but as part of brewing a social innovation movement comprising a new breed of Pinoys who are learning to love living a healthy and natural lifestyle.
Bayani Brew is now available in several locations throughout Philippines and comes in different flavors: (1) the Bayani Brew Purple Leaf, a concoction of all-natural sweet potato purple leaf tops with additions of calamansi; (2) the Bayani Brew Kick-ass Lemongrass (Classic), brewed from all-natural lemongrass and pandan; and (3) the Bayani Brew Artiseasonal, a variant brewed from all-natural Moringa and Alagaw with Dalandan.
Bayani Brew advocates the use of local & indigenous ingredients, and sources from organic farming communities such as the Center for Bayanihan Economics Farm in GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan; the agrarian reform beneficiaries in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan; Goodfood community in Tarlac; and other subsistence farmers in the surrounding barangays. Apart from this, Bayani Brew also aims to provide farming communities with planting materials and/or interest-free loans for the implementation and maintenance of scholarships for the farmers’ children.