Salento – At the Heart of Colombia’s Coffee Area
Coming to the end of our time in Colombia we decided that we couldn’t leave without visiting the traditional coffee-growing area (eje cafetero) and the popular town of Salento. Up to now we’ve avoided the touristic hotspot, concerned about crowds, but curiosity won out and it was definitely worth the visit.
Roasting up a storm in Bogotá
Just because a gringo has long hair and a neck tattoo, it doesn’t mean they’re right”
Alvaro Pelaez, roast master
Or put another way, drinking some of the ultra-light roasts currently in vogue may make you feel ill, no matter how trendy they are. Which is not to say that here at ZipaCoffee we’re endorsing burnt coffee. Obviously it’s a question of balance.
Coffee tasting at Varietale
Will we have a female Juan Valdez?
A Colombian roaster in Oxford
In the fabled university town of Oxford, one woman is making a name for herself.
Milly Barr left Colombia in 2000 to study in the UK, and four years ago decided to set up Exotic Coffee Roasters.
Get ready for Cuban coffee
Cuba – land of cigars, rum and sugar, all wrapped up in a salsa beat.
That’s the cliché, and after a recent visit we can say, it's true! There is, however, also coffee production.
In fact Cuba used to be a coffee powerhouse, generating more money from the tasty bean than sugar in the 19th Century. The arrival of the Castro brothers and subsequent breakup of the USSR saw investment levels drop, leading to a slump in production.
