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You may want to introduce yourself on the new members section, so the members know enough about you so they can help you in your search. Where you are moving from is important because it will frame you expectations. Seem like you have done some research already by the questions you have asked. That is a good start, you first two question focus on the major problems here.

I will start with question #1. Electricity 24/7, I read somewhere that Dumaguete is the city of Brownout? Is this true?
Yes, very true if you want 24/7 electricity do not move to the Philippines. One time when I had a brownout in a house I just moved to, my landlady came by shortly after the power went out. I told her with a troubled look : "I have no electricity", her answer was not calming me. She replied: "How many days?" That was not the reply I was expecting, and foretold my future electrical problems.

The reality is there are brown outs here, on a somewhat regular basis. The farther you get away from a City Center the longer they seem to last. You learn to live with them. You may want to rent a place with generator, so you do not have major electrical issues. You do not say where you are moving from, but you may want to take some electrical precautions regarding the power: 1) if you are bring 110 V appliances then you may want to buy/bring red electrical tape to wrap around the sockets so you do not accidentally plug them into the 220 V standard here. 2) you may want to bring/buy here an automatic voltage regulator, because you can use your 110 V appliances and also protect your most valuable appliance because the electrical supplied here is not a constant voltage. a continuous low voltage will diminish the life of an appliance almost as much as a power surge. 3) Bring some surge protectors for some of you sensitive equipment. Electronic equipment does not react nicely to power surges when the brown out end or electrical storms (Lightening) .

Constant Internet is another problem. The service varies on location and provider. There are few members on the forum that make their living off the internet so they can advise you better than I. Before moving in I would suggest you ask those in the immediate vicinity how their internet works here. Do not anticipate a trouble free internet service.There are really only two service provides here and the seem to screw us pretty consistently with a smirk on the faces: (You welcome sir") Most times when the power goes off, then the internet goes off too... so you have a double wamy many times.

It would be easy to make suggestions on your rental search if you gave more information: What is affordable to you? (there are places of live from 10,000 P to 30,000 P a month available, knowing you budget range will speed up the process.) Type of rental: Apartment, single family, compound group? How many bedrooms? Amenties: Pool, covered parking area, enclosed yard. What you want to be close by: downtown, resto-bars, beaches, mountain/natural areas and how long you plan to stay. There are a few "transitional rentals" that are short term and supply you with everything you need down to silverware, which make moving in easy, of coarse they are a little more expensive (I know one studio that even includes a motorcycle but cost 30,000 P a month). The more information you give about what you want the faster and easier it will be for everyone. I am sure you will find a few here willing to help. Good Luck

 

10 differences Between Robusta & Arabica Coffee
You may have noticed that some coffee bag labels brag about the fact that their coffee beans are 100% Arabica. Although it does sound like something magicians say, it isn’t gibberish – it refers to the type of coffee species in which the beans are from.

There are over 100 coffee species, however the two main ones that are widely produced and sold are: Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora (also known as Coffea Robusta).

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Here’s a list featuring 10 differences between the two coffee species:

1. The most commonly known: Taste. Often Robusta has its taste described as burnt tires or rubbery, which… sounds disgusting (can you imagine one of our taste swatches on the front page being a burnt tire?). Why the bad taste?
   
   
2. One reason that the taste isn't as good for Robustais that it has more caffeine compared to Arabica. Which may sound like a positive thing but caffeine carries a bitter taste which makes it an unpleasant drink. In fact the Robusta bean has 2.7% caffeine content, almost double the 1.5% of Arabica.
   
   
3. Lipid & Sugar content: As mentioned here, Arabica contains almost 60% more lipids and almost twice the concentration of sugar than Robusta. This factor also probably has a big impact on why we prefer the taste of Arabica.
   
   
4. From a price perspective, green beans of Robusta is about half the price of Arabica green beans on the commodity market. (Robusta vs. Arabica)
   
   
5. Robusta is easier to tend to on the farm, has a higher yield and is less sensitive to insects - the extra caffeine is a chemical defense for the coffee seed as the quantity in the Robusta is toxic to bugs.
   

All of these factors help bring up the supply and lower the input costs for farmers to produce. With this more attractive price point, a lot of roasters back in the day would add Robusta to their blend in an attempt to reduce their costs and increase their profits. When coffee was initially sold in the 1900s the quality of coffee slowly and slowly deteriorated in an effort for companies to squeeze the most profit.

1. Where you’ll find it: Nowadays, it’s not often you’ll find Robusta in a coffee blend. If you’re drinking instant coffee? Well, that’s probably all Robusta… but you probably don’t care very much about taste. In your espresso blend? That’s a mixed bag. Literally. Oddly enough, Robusta is still widely used as part of espresso blends – specifically Italian style blends. It is said to help improve the Crema. However, generally at a detriment to the taste, which in our opinion the priorities may be out of wack.
   

One thing to note is despite the association with Arabica of being higher quality, and Robusta as being lower quality, it’s not always the case. Top notch specialty Robusta coffee will usually taste as good as or better than low end Arabica. However, high end Robusta isn’t widely used or available. Rather, Robusta is usually used as a filler or cost reducer.

1. The Shape: Robusta beans are much more circular, whereas Arabica are more oval.
   
   
2. Plant Height: Arabica usually grows between 2.5 – 4.5 meters compared to the 4.5 – 6 meter height of Robusta.
   
   
3. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) content: This picture unfortunately, isn’t true – however something that is actually a part of coffee is CGA. It’s a significant antioxidant and an insect deterrent. Robusta is 7-10% CGA and Arabica has 5.5-8% CGA.
   
   
4. Cultivation: About 75% of the world’s coffee production is Arabica, about 25% being Robusta. Brazil is the most significant Arabica producer and Vietnam produces the most Robusta.