Colombia Coffee Region

Posted March 6, 2012 by Rahul Aggarwal

It was a morning flight from Bogota to Pereira,one of the three major towns in Colombia’s verdant coffee triangle. As the plane approached Pereira all I could see was mile-upon-mile of lush green mountains. We were greeted at the airport and whisked away to our hacienda where we were served the freshest Colombian fruit juice (passionfruit is widespread here and with good reason extremely popular).

After a filling lunch and some energetic dancing from some Colombian dancers, we moved on to the wonderful Hacienda Venecia, where the owner, Juan, gave us an extremely informative and interesting tour of his vast coffee plantation. There is a real science to coffee cultivation and he explained the challenges of unpredictable climate and trading in the international market. Starting from seedlings and the careful nurturing of the coffee plant, once the first leaves start to appear, the plant is shifted to the main plantation where it is nurtured until the coffee beans bear fruit. Only once the beans turn from green to red are they picked by hand.

Colombia is known the world over for the finest washed Arabica coffee, and the soil and climate lends the bean a sweet flavour. Juan then went on to show us the complex machinery used to ‘wash’ the beans. After washing, the beans have a green tinge and are then stored in large coffee sacks ready to be sold in the international market. Due to the ever-growing demand for coffee and the prices that can be fetched for raw beans, Colombia exports its best beans, which are then roasted abroad and sold in supermarkets and drank in huge volumes in coffee shops around the world.

Juan also showed us how the roasting process is carried out using a small roasting machine. In just 7 minutes, these green beans took on a deep brown colour, expanded in size, giving off the most delightful aroma. He then served us cafe tinto (black coffee) which tasted sublime. It was easily the smoothest cup of coffee I remember having in a long time. and the slightly sweet undertones also came through. We lounged around the hacienda and wandered around the vast lawn as the sun started to turn red and then it was back into the jeeps, as we trundled our way back to Pereira for the night.

Having spent a few hours in Juan’s company, it was clear to me that coffee production is a true skill which requires technical knowledge, dedication, enormous patience and a bit of luck.

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the link below to navigate through this journey.