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.
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.
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.
Gaitania - a village nestled in a wild and beautiful valley in southern Tolima, Colombia. From Bogota it takes 11 hours in a small bus, crowded with people, chickens and dogs. And it’s worth it.
At the end of this journey, about a week ago, we met with the winner of Colombia’s 2015 Cup of Excellence competition, Astrid Medina Pereira, plus a whole host of other cafeteros (coffee growers) living in the area.
Luckily for us, Colombia has plenty of public holidays.
And like all good ‘Bogotanos’ on St. Josephs Day, we took to the road for a day trip, this time to visit 'Hacienda El Porvenir', a coffee farm about two hours downhill from Bogota. On a very sunny day, we were warmly welcomed by Orlando Fierro, the owner of this beautiful 35-hectare ‘finca’.
