More Adventures in the Coffee Triangle

On our second day of exploration in the Coffee Triangle, we started with a visit to Jesus and Angela’s roasting facility. As I mentioned previously, it’s highly unusual to find a Colombian coffee grower who roasts his or her own beans. But Jesus clearly isn’t an ordinary coffee grower. (I actually think of him as Colombia’s unofficial coffee ambassador.) 

Part of Jesus’s commitment to producing the highest quality coffee is having complete control over the roasting process. It’s roasting that brings out the attributes of the coffee. The goal is to produce coffee that has the proper balance of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. Thus, Jesus did extensive research and set up a roasting facility in a small nondescript building in the town of Salento. 

Carlos, the master coffee roaster, was waiting for us. He obviously shares Jesus’s high standards. Roasting is a process of dehydration and Carlos led us through the exacting series of steps. First, the beans were peeled to get rid of the husk (the thin outer layer of parchment). Carlos did a careful visual inspection, rejecting any defective beans, such as those with beetle bites, which were reserved for the darker roasts since dark roasting burns everything away (and results into a lower quality product). Hmmm, I’ll have to remember that next time I start to reach for a can of dark roast coffee at Trader Joe’s. 

Jesus relies on a special piece of equipment imported from Germany, as well as the expertise of Carlos, to roast the beans to the optimum point. 

When the process begins, sugars in the beans caramelize and the beans start to change color from green to brown. With the roar of the machine in our ears, we watched Carlos check the color of the beans periodically. It’s important to check frequently because every batch of beans is different. The desired look for this medium roast was beans that looked matte and brown. If they appeared shiny and black, that would mean they were overdone. 

Once the beans reached the desired point, the heat was reduced, allowing the beans to cool. Then they fell into a spinning tray where a raking arm swept through them. This allowed Carlos to do another visual check to sort out any beans that didn’t look quite right. 

The entire roasting cycle generally takes 12-16 minutes. Of course, this depends on the desired roasting level – light, medium, dark, super-dark. Spanish roast is the darkest of all, followed by Italian and French. 

In addition to learning about roasting, we also learned that brewing method is another factor to consider. Some brewing methods are very quick and others take a very long time. For example, espresso has a very short brewing time while the cold brew method takes about 12 hours. A longer brewing time results in more caffeine in the coffee. I wonder how the pour-over method I use at home compares. 

In the center of Salento, we stopped by the Jesus Martin Café, owned by Jesus and Angela, to try some of Jesus’s coffee. We didn’t only get to enjoy the excellent coffee. We also got a lesson in “latte art” from Jhonny, one of the baristas at the café. 

Then it was our turn to try. I ordered a macchiato (1:1 ratio of espresso to foamed milk) rather than a capuchino (1:3 ratio of espresso to foamed milk) in order to get the maximum coffee flavor. Here is my attempt to recreate one of Jhonny’s artistic designs. As you can see, I need a little more practice. 

I would have enjoyed walking around Salento, but while we were in the café, the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. I darted into shops selling handicrafts, determined to find a souvenir. These iron birds, crafted locally, now hang on the wall in my kitchen. 

Salento in the rain

Even if you’re not a coffee lover, the Coffee Triangle is worth visiting. The small towns are delightful and the countryside is spectacular. The small town of Filandia (the name is derived from Greek words meaning “son of the Andes”) dates back to 1878. It looks similar to Salento but is smaller and a bit less touristy. Like Salento, its steep streets are lined with colorfully painted houses and storefronts. Once again, I was struck by how the people of this region surround themselves with art in their everyday lives.

Throughout our stay in the Coffee Triangle, I marveled at the beauty of the countryside. Something about the sight of those green rolling hills calmed my soul.

Forests of the native bamboo, called guadua, were everywhere. I’ve mentioned this bamboo before but I learned more about it while we were in the Coffee Triangle. Guadua is considered sustainable since it’s very quick growing. In fact, it can reach a height of 75 feet in 6 months. However, its wood cannot be harvested until the tree is two years old. It was fascinating to learn from Alejo that the indigenous people believed that the best time to cut bamboo was during the last quarter of the moon’s cycle. This has something to do with the tides, which are controlled by the moon. They timed the cutting to take place when the water level in the tree is at its lowest point so that the bamboo would be as dry as possible. 

The biodiversity of the area’s fauna is quite impressive. We didn’t have time to go in search of animals, but Alejo told us that the Coffee Triangle is home to pumas, ocelots, red howler monkeys, possums, coatis, two kinds of snakes, tapirs, red and black spotted poison dart frogs, spectacled bears (the only bear native to South America, it looks like it’s wearing glasses), and over 600 kinds of birds, including the majestic condor, a national symbol of Colombia. Speaking of the condor, I actually spotted one! You’ll see it if you look closely at the photo below. 

The condor sighting took place on the same day as our visit to Salento, when we were hiking in the Cocora Valley Nature Park. “Cocora” means “water star” in the local indigenous language, and our visit to the Cocora Valley was one of the highlights of the trip. The park is privately owned, which accounts for the somewhat off-putting theme park design at its entrance. Once past that distraction, however, you can focus on the breathtaking views as you ascend steep paths to various lookout points. The hike up left me panting for breath (the altitude may have been a factor), but I’m so glad I pushed onward. And thanks to fellow traveler Gwen for encouraging me and reminding me to hydrate when I felt my energy lagging. 

As you can see in the photos, distinctive wax palm trees, Colombia’s national tree, dot Cocora Valley. This is the tallest variety of palm and it only grows at elevations of 6000 to 11,000 feet. It takes decades of growth to reach its final height, which can be 220 feet. The tree gets its name from the waxy substance that covers the wood, “waterproofing” the tree. 

One tourist attraction in the Coffee Triangle that was not on our itinerary was Parque del Café, the National Coffee Theme Park, aka Coffee Disneyland. If I ever come back here with my grandchildren, I’ll check it out. In any event, I was totally enchanted by the Coffee Triangle.

"The magic and taste of real Colombian coffee"
(In the Jesus Martin Café)

In Search of Juan Valdez

Growing up in the US in the 1960s, I have a distinct memory of Juan Valdez, the ruggedly handsome Colombian coffee grower who rode across our television screen on horseback, inspecting his coffee plantation and extolling the qualities of Colombian coffee. Of course, Juan Valdez was an entirely fictional character, created in 1959 by a New York City ad agency working for the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation to promote their product. The name Juan was chosen because it’s the most popular boys’ name in South America and the last name Valdez was chosen because English speakers had no trouble pronouncing it. 

 

I may have mentioned that I stopped into a Juan Valdez coffee shop on my first full day in Bogota. These shops exist throughout the country. The coffee was okay but nothing exceptional. Somehow, I always expected that I’d be drinking some of the world’s best coffee during my time in Colombia. You can imagine how disappointed I was to discover that the country exports nearly all of its best coffee, leaving the less desirable stuff for domestic consumption. No wonder Colombians drink more tea than coffee!

 

Coffee originated centuries ago in Ethiopia, but it is the crop most closely associated with Colombia. Today, it is produced throughout the country. Perhaps the best known coffee-growing region, called the Coffee Triangle, is located in the Andes, west of Bogota and south of Medellin. In fact, UNESCO has designated the Coffee Triangle as a World Heritage Cultural Area. 

 

To reach it, we took a short flight on a prop jet from Medellin to Pereira, one of the main cities in the region. Even from window of the plane, I was struck by the intense greens of the undulating countryside. 

On the drive south from the airport to the rural area where we’d be staying, we noticed forests of bamboo and fields of bananas and plantains. Alejo noted that tomatoes, avocadoes, and pineapple are other important crops grown in the region’s fertile soil. 

 

About that bamboo, which we were surprised to see – it’s not the same bamboo that grows in Asia. This bamboo is native to South America and it’s the primary building material in this part of Colombia. Since bamboo is not a long-lasting material, structures built by the indigenous people who lived in this area (there were hundreds of different tribes) before the arrival of the Spanish have not survived. We do know something about their lifestyle, however. They grew corn, hunted the abundant game, and gathered the plentiful wild fruits and vegetables. They also excelled as goldsmiths. 

 

The Spanish arrived in the area in the early 1500s and forced the indigenous people to pan gold from the rivers. But the amount of the precious metal produced didn’t satisfy the greedy Spaniards so before long, they moved on to the area inhabited by the Muisca tribe and established the city of Bogota, leaving behind no permanent settlement in the coffee region. 

 

Our accommodations at the Hotel Bosques del Saman were spacious and delightfully rustic. My suite of rooms, consisting of two bedrooms, a tiny bathroom, and a separate hammock room with refrigerator, could have accommodated a family of four. 

The hotel was actually was a finca, i.e. small farm, located near the town in Alcala. Walking around the property, we noticed a zip line, a couple of cows, a playground, a pool, and some strange trees called fish tail palms. 

At an elevation of 4500-5000 feet, the Coffee Triangle experiences comfortable temperatures and humidity throughout the year. Once the sun went down, it was delightfully cool, and stars were flung across the dark sky. We enjoyed a simple dinner at the hotel (white fish with passion fruit sauce) and then a quiet night to rest up for the next day’s exploration of coffee country. 

At dawn, it was quiet, save for the chirping of the birds, the crowing of the roosters, and the braying of a lonely burro. I opened the shutters at 6:30 am and took a deep breath of the fresh air. The sun was coming up, and the temperature was starting to rise. Alejo advised us to dress in layers, as it would reach the 70s by midday. 

 

Most likely, coffee first came to Colombia in the mid-1700s, possibly brought by Jesuit priests from Spain. Commercial coffee cultivation, for export, began around 1830. In terms of latitude, geography, and climate, Colombia is similar to Ethiopia. Both are located in the “coffee belt” between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Today, Colombia is the world’s third largest producer of coffee, after Brazil and Vietnam. As I previously mentioned, Colombia exports its best coffee. The United States is the number one importer of Colombian coffee, followed by Germany and Japan. 

 

You’ve probably heard of Arabica coffee and possibly Robusta coffee as well. These are different types of coffee plants. Only Arabica beans are grown in Colombia. Arabica, which cannot tolerate extreme heat, is grown at elevations of 3000 to 7000 feet. The heartier Robusta coffee is more heat resistant and can be grown at elevations of 1000 to 4000 feet. There are definite differences in quality between the two types. 

 

Alejo described the hierarchy of coffee quality as a triangle. At the base is Robusta, which is rather bland. Next up is “natural” Arabica, produced from beans that are dried with the skins on. Somewhat higher in quality is “washed” Arabica, produced from beans that are peeled, then washed and dried. At the top of the triangle you find specialty coffees. These are the very best quality and include varieties such as Kona (from Hawaii), Blue Mountain (from Jamaica), and civet (which I tried in Vietnam). 

 

According to Alejo, the most expensive coffee in the world is Black Ivory, which comes from Thailand. If you’re interested in trying it, you should know that the coffee beans are eaten by elephants and are then retrieved from their poop. I just checked on Amazon and it sells for about $45-$100 per ounce. That would make about 3 cups of coffee. 

 

At the present time, about 550,000 Colombian families have coffee farms. The overwhelming majority (80-85%) of these farmers have small plantations, called fincas, of 1-20 acres. About 10-15% of Colombian coffee farmers have medium size plantations of 20-100 acres, also called fincas. Only 5% of Colombian coffee growers have plantations of more than 100 acres. Farms of this size are called haciendas. 

 

After the coffee is picked, most farmers sell their coffee beans at coops run by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation in the small towns. In other words, they are not involved in the roasting process. 

 

Our first morning in the Coffee Triangle, we set out in our bus right after breakfast, heading south for a full day of exploration. When we reached the town of  Montenegro, we divided up into groups of four and climbed into the open backs of Willy’s jeeps. 

These unlikely vehicles are an important part of Colombian coffee culture. After World War 2, many were shipped to Colombia for military purposes where they quickly replaced mules on the rugged mountain roads in the coffee region. Today they are the main provider of public transport throughout the Coffee Triangle. 

 

Our bumpy 20-minute ride brought us the Buenos Aires coffee farm owned and operated by a friendly local couple, Jesus and Angela. We stopped to talk to a few of the workers who were out in the field along with Jesus. 

Humberto, one of the workers on the coffee finca

Much of the work on coffee farms is done by seasonal migrant laborers who are paid according to how much they pick. There are two harvests a year, one in April/May and another in November/December. During picking season, the work day lasts from 6am to 5pm. It’s hard physical labor for relatively low pay (about $35-40 a day on average) and Jesus told us that it’s difficult nowadays to find young people willing to do the work. 

We continued on to the house where we met Angela and sipped some of the coffee produced on the farm. Now this was the kind of coffee I had been hoping for! 

 

Jesus and Angela are a rarity among Colombian coffee farmers – they roast their own coffee beans and operate a café in the town of Salento. Jesus spoke passionately about his commitment to producing coffee of the highest quality. The finca had been started by his grandfather. Although Jesus worked for many years as a lawyer, he never gave up his dream of running the farm. 

Jesus, of Jesus Martin Coffee

 

Out among the coffee plants, Jesus showed us how coffee is a fruit like a cherry with skin, sweet flesh, a thin layer of parchment, and then a seed inside. A display of coffee at various stages in its development added to our understanding. The seedlings will not produce coffee until 2 ½ to 3 years after they’re planted. 

In order to obtain the highest quality coffee, Jesus uses no chemical fertilizers. He had to train his workers to take the time to sort through and pick only those beans that are totally ripe and red. At most other plantations, all the beans are picked at the same time, regardless of their state of ripeness. 

 

We saw small white flowers on some of the plants. After the flowers fall off, the beans should be ready to harvest in about 9 months. 

 

After the beans are picked, the workers bring their bags back from the fields and do another round of sorting. They are squirted with water and any beans that float are rejected, as they’re not dense enough and will be second quality.  

 

A third sort is visual. Workers check for the perfect color, rejecting any that fall short of their high standards.  

 

Once these sorts have been completed, it’s time to decide which process to use: natural or washed. For washed beans, a machine removes the skin and washes and dries the coffee fruit. For the natural process, the coffee skin is left on and the fruit is put into plastic containers to ferment without oxygen for about 1000 hours. 

Drying is the next step. Rather than using an oven, Jesus dries all of his coffee using only the sun, a time-consuming method which he learned in Africa. It was toasty hot in the drying room, which resembled a greenhouse. More sorting was done as the coffee beans dried. We watched Jesus and one of the workers pluck out any less than perfect fruit. 

We were more than ready for lunch at this point, especially since we’d be smelling mouthwatering aromas wafting from the kitchen. Angela served us sancocho, a traditional dish made throughout Colombia. Meat (chicken, beef, pork) or fish is cooked into a broth with corn, potatoes, and yuca. The meats, potatoes, plantains, yuca, rice, salad, avocado, and arepas are served on the side along with a sauce made of tomatoes and onions. Diners can garnish the broth with cilantro and lime to taste. 

Nora cooked the meal.

Sancocho

I may not have met Juan Valdez, but I certainly learned a lot about Colombian coffee culture. 

with Angela and Jesus

  

Colorful Guatapé

While based in Medellin, we made an excursion to the town of Guatapé and the surrounding region. Before reaching the town, we stopped for a morning snack of hot chocolate and pan de queso (a cheese bread similar to almojabanas). Alejo revealed the secret to making potently rich Colombian hot chocolate: you dissolve a pure chocolate bar into water sweetened with panela (a block of the unrefined juice of sugar cane). 

 

Alejo holding a disk of panela

Master baker Carlos demonstrated how he forms the dough for the irresistible cheese bread. Of course, we were able to sample some still warm from the oven. 

 

The clouds had rolled in while we were finishing our snack and the sky looked threatening by the time we reached a nearby marina where boarded a small boat for a ride around an artificial lake. 

A towering rock called El Peñon de Guatapé dominated the landscape. This 60-65 million year old monolith is part of the Antioquia batholith – a type of igneous rock that forms when magma rises into the earth's crust, but does not erupt onto the surface.

 

Mansions belonging to Colombia’s wealthiest families dotted the shores of the lake. Alejo also pointed out the ruins of the house that belonged to notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. 

We disembarked in Guatapé and boarded lavishly decorated tuk-tuks for a ride around the scenic town. 

Guatapé, located about 2 hours from Medellin, is one of Colombia’s most popular tourist destinations. People come to see the colorful and distinctive zocalos (painted bas reliefs) that decorate many houses in the town center. 

 

Alejo introduced us to Nacho (short for Ignacio), a local zocalo artist. 

Close-up of a zocalo

Nacho told us about the religious background of zocalos. It grew out of a local tradition of donating sheep during the Corpus Christi celebration. Around 1919, people decided to decorate the facades of their houses with three dimensional images of sheep. The designs changed over time to become more geometric. Nowadays, many zocalos tell something about their life or identity of the owner of the house.

We had a chance to see zocalo-making in progress as we explored the town on foot. The first step is to outline the design on the wall. The artist then roughs up the surface of the wall with a chisel and applies cement. When the cement is dry, he or she carves into it. Finally, the design is painted with enamel paint. 

Throughout Guatapé, we were dazzled by the vibrancy of the colors.

We concluded our visit to Guatapé at a parrilla for a hearty lunch of grilled steak or chicken, potatoes, and salad.