People drink over a billion cups of coffee every day, and Colombia is one of the world's top exporters. It is reported that coffee was introduced to Colombia by Jesuit missionaries in the early 19th century. Today, Colombian coffee farms range from Andean hills to Cordillera. Thank you for this different geography, the coffee cherries are ripe at different times, allowing for year-round harvests. Every year, Colombia produces more than 100 million predominantly Arabica beans (mostly Arabica beans), known for their soft, sweet taste with notes of chocolate, nuts and citrus.
The coffee here is grown on a small farm, high in the mountains, with just the right conditions and rich volcanic soil, rain and plenty of shade.
To see how amazing coffee is for myself, I visited a family farm near Pereira, an area city known as the “Coffee Axis.” What I wasn't expecting was how much work it would take to make a cup.
When I arrived, the farm was quiet and peaceful. The green hills stretched in all directions and were covered with short rows of trees, with small round fruits, and cherries in the coffee beans. My first task was to be guided by a local task and find bright red cherries that were bright enough to drink delicious coffee.
Coffee picking is a tough job. Pickers spend around 10 hours a day filling baskets weighing up to 150 kilograms. The more they choose, the more they will pay, but when they grab an immature or ripe cherries, they risk losing their job.
A regular coffee picker is either an older Colombian who has been doing this for decades, or a Venezuelan who is passing through the country on his way to Central America to search for work. Seeing the harsh conditions and low wages, younger Colombians are choosing to study more and more instead – there are over 70 universities in the capital Bogota alone.
There are many ways to improve the quality of coffee beans, but it all starts with the right plantation. One important trick is to never pull out old coffee plants. By keeping the roots in the soil, the plants will remain robust and thrive. It is also important to grow coffee near the bamboo. This helps to retain moisture in the soil. To reach the classic Colombian flavour, coffee plants are grown next to other fruit trees, such as avocados, which contribute to the sweet notes.
Once there was enough cherries, it was time to remove the outer layer. I put them in an old machine that had red skin removed. Inside was a small white bean, covered in a sweet, clear layer of lychee-like taste.
Next it was roasted. One of the family scooped up the raw beans, poured them into a pot, and held them over an open flame. She kept shaking constantly so that the beans wouldn't burn. Within a few minutes the beans were dark.
Then I crushed the beans into fine powders, which were brewed in the old fashioned way – hang a cloth filter on top of the pan and slowly drain the warm water.
Compared to strong espresso, this method creates a more gentle cup. Arabica beans with less caffeine and more oil and sugar than Robusta added to their smoothness.
