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.
So you’re the hippest hipster in town, oozing effortless cool and immaculate good taste, but do you know where that good taste in your morning cup of coffee comes from?
The answer is a whole range of different factors including bean variety, farm ‘terroir’ and processing method, not to mention the degree of roasting and ability of your local barista.
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.
Mention the Galapagos Islands and most minds turn to oversized tortoises, blue-footed boobies or maybe Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution.
There is, however, a small coffee industry on the volcanic rocks that sit in the Pacific Ocean, about 900 kilometers west of the Ecuadorian coast. And as we discovered on an amazing trip to the Galapagos earlier this month, the beans they produce are surprisingly good.
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’.
