Sipping Colombian Coffee on the Coolest Coffee Tour in Bogota

If it’s your first time here in Colombia, how can you not indulge in the world famous Colombian coffee?

A brief glimpse at Colombian coffee

Although Colombia has actively been growing coffee for the past 200 years, coffee has never been quite as cool as it is abroad. If you’ll notice; cappuccino, espresso, macchiato, and latte for example, are all Italian methods of preparing coffee. The most well-known methods of preparation come from Europe and the U.S.

But today, Colombia is seeing coffee with a new admiration and the whole scene is starting to be seen as a cool industry to work in.

Now, getting the perfect roast is sexy, an art. A few years back, it was seen as a poor man or farmers’ work and young people in the coffee region were leaving the farms for better opportunities in the city. Over time, many are starting to go back to the coffee plantations with a new love and appreciation for the art of cultivating coffee.

Exportation of Colombian coffee

Colombia’s best coffee beans have always been exported to the U.S and Europe where they went on to roast the beans to perfection themselves, giving coffee its distinct and rich aromatic flavor.

And even though Italian coffee is well-known, you’d be surprised to know that Italy doesn’t actually grow a single bean. All of its coffee is imported from countries such as Colombia, Brazil and even Vietnam.

And also the smoothest at that. Although Brazil produces larger quantities of coffee, it specializes in robusta coffee which is a lower quality bean than Colombia’s coffee.

All in all, Colombia remains the No.1 producers of Arabica coffee production worldwide.

Exploring the coffee tour in Bogota

Personally being a tea drinker myself and not knowing a thing about coffee, I ventured on Karen’s from Flavors of Bogota coffee tour in the capital’s prime trendy area: Chapinero Alto.

Although I must admit I probably went to bed much later than usual due to my abnormal levels of energy and coffee buzz, the tour was a real delight.

During our Bogota Coffee Tour, we perused the coolest streets of Bogota. Despite the fact that Karen knew we were practically locals, being the expert of the area, she would sometimes stop and point out local hot spots for hidden gems and eateries in the neighborhood.

Expectation

I don’t know why, but I was surprised at the coffee we tried on the tour. As a non-coffee drinker, I thought I’d try coffee in its different forms (cappuccino, espresso, etc.) Silly me. I wouldn’t be able to recognize the many aromas and distinguish the natural flavors with all the extra foam, milk and spices.

Reality

We roamed the best streets and sipped coffee with no sugar, milk or anything added in the quaintest bars of the city, all within walking distance. Although it was a new flavor for my taste buds, I learned that coffee can be much more than your standard cappuccino.

I was surprised to learn during Karen’s coffee tour in Bogota that the largest Colombian Coffee chain, Juan Valdez, is the main contributor to the production of individual coffee growers in the country. Juan Valdez created the Colombian Coffee Grower’s Federation which consists of 500,000 independent coffee producers and guarantees a fixed purchased price in the case they don’t sell. So even if you’re drinking Juan Valdez, you are still supporting small businesses.

We sipped rich coffee from various regions of Colombia and were asked to guess the different aromas and flavors. I never knew coffee could taste so different!

Although I must say that tea still gets the best of me, Karen’s Bogota Coffee Tour gives great insights into Colombian coffee, is a wonderful plan for those who are in Bogota for a few days and a fantastic tour to discover the neighborhood of Chapinero and give coffee lovers an intro to Colombian coffee.

Have a few hours to spare in Bogota and looking for a coffee tasting tour? Contact Karen and delve into the world of delicious rich Colombian coffee!