Juan Valdez Café Orígenes, Bogotá, Colombia
Juan Valdez, the smiling, mustachioed “cafetero” with his mule and sacks of coffee, is perhaps one of the most recognizable coffee brands worldwide. The character – portrayed by actual coffee farmers since the 1960s – is a proud icon of the 500,000+ Colombian small farm coffee producers who co-own the brand through the national federation...
Amor Perfecto Cafe, Colombia
Founded in 1997, Amor Perfecto is one of Colombia’s pioneering specialty coffee roasters. From their base in Bogotá, their reach is beginning to expand outside of the country as well (their coffee is now available through Amazon – though I’d try to find a fresher source myself). I lucked out when I visited as the...
Catación Pública – must-visit cafe in Bogotá
Up on a hill in Usaquén, in the northern part of Bogotá, I had the pleasure of meeting Jaime Duque, owner of Catación Pública – and a man on a mission. You see, for many in Colombia, like most countries where coffee production is a major sector of the economy, the best coffee is often ironically out of...
Inside Cenicafé, Colombia’s national coffee research center
Earlier this year I visited Colombia to see how coffee is grown, harvested, and processed. One of the most exciting, geeky parts of that trip was our visit to Cenicafé, Colombia’s 77 year old national coffee research center. Cenicafé is one of the world’s leading centers for scientific coffee research, looking for innovative ways to...
Cafe Devotion – Bogotá, Colombia
Cafe Devotion recently opened a beautiful new cafe & roastery in Brooklyn (called Cafe Devocion in the US), so when I learned that they’re based out of Bogotá, I had to visit when I was in Colombia. Serendipitously, just a few blocks from the hotel I was staying at, Devotion has a cafe at...
Where does coffee come from? A Colombian case study (Part 2)
If you missed Part 1 of my recent trip with Cafe de Colombia, check it out at “Where does coffee come from?.” We left off where farmer Alirio Rios and his pickers had harvested the coffee cherries. The next step is to remove the seeds at the beneficiadero, or processing station on the farm. It’s an...
Where does coffee come from? A Colombian Case Study
A lot of terms are thrown around to describe where coffee comes from. This is especially true in our world of ‘single origin’ coffees, where we’re more interested in epicurean discovery than a quick jolt of caffeine or a ‘bold,’ ‘balanced’ base for a cup full of milk and sugar. The more we focus on...
Check out Stumptown Coffee’s source videos
I just came across these awesome videos put out by Stumptown Coffee & produced by filmmaker Trevor Fife, showcasing the various locations where they source coffee and the people that live and work in and around the farms. Check them out below and get a brief, beautiful glimpse into where your high-end coffees are coming...
