Colombia Report
Isaiah and I returned Tuesday night from Colombia. It was a great trip. We went back to Concordia, Cristina Garces' hometown. I ran into some of the same people I met last time I was in Concordia, and everyone was gracious and kind. The people fed us too much delicious food- beans, rice, plantains, yucca, avocado, potatoes, pork, chicken, beef, fruit juices... sometimes all in the same meal. It was ridiculous and I ate every bite.
We discovered things we didn't know, like the tree tomato, which tasted like a tomato with apple-type sweetness. We did things we've never done, like riding fiery show-horses. We met people we've never met, like Cristina's boyfriend Ariel, who has agreed to help us learn even more about coffee. Ariel is doing some experiments for us. He is going to separate one lot of coffee during this fly crop harvest and process parts of the lot in different ways- no fermentation, 20 or so hours of fermentation, pulp natural, and fully natural. So, in theory, we'll get to taste the same coffee processed in these four different methods, so the resulting differences should be the difference in processing only. That's exciting. And what if one method is far superior to the others? Time will tell.
We were fortunate to spend a good deal of time with Alfredo and his wife. They are fantastic people, and I like them a lot. We took some coffee with us from last Monday's roast and we brewed Alfredo's coffee, San Rafael, for him to drink. He drank six cups of it. They don't normally drink their own coffee in producing countries. They only drink domestic consumption coffee (which is the worst coffee) or instant coffee (I don't have to say anything about that). So he was excited to drink this top-tier coffee that he produced, and unlike normal, he didn't put any sugar in it.
There isn't a lot of coffee being harvested right now, and it rained every day we were there. This time of year is a second summer for Colombia and they have what is called a "fly crop." Their main harvest is October-January. This harvest is much smaller. Last harvest, remember, they had so much rain that production was way down. The talk this year is that the weather has been cooler, but not the heavy rain they had last year. So it looks like they're going to have a good harvest, and it will be more of a slow-and-steady ripening of coffee. Which is better. Some years, the majority of coffee ripens at the same time, and they have to hurry to get it all picked and processed and dried. When it ripens slower and more spread out, they have time to pick and process more carefully and produce better coffee.
I brought a few samples back with me, so I'll be cupping some fresh Colombians this week. We cupped with Natalia (Cristina's cupper in Concordia) every day, and one coffee we tasted while we were there that was really good was one from Octavio Restrepo. His farm is called La Alondra. Hopefully soon we'll get a sample of that and maybe eventually have some for sale.
I know that the history of Colombian coffee has given most of us a negative slant on it. We talked about that while we were there. The mark "100% Colombian" isn't something to brag about; it's something you see on a can of Folgers. The Colombian Coffee Federation hasn't helped. With the creation of Juan Valdez and the standards they enforce, the Federation strives to maintain one standard for Colombian Coffee. They want all Colombian coffee to taste the same, which is ridiculous when you consider that no two lots from one farmer tastes the same. And there are 15 different coffee producing regions in Colombia with innumerable micro-climates. And at least seven different varietals of coffee tree. So I hope you will forget everything you know about Colombian coffee and join us in tasting the diversity of flavors, aromas, acidity, and mouthfeel in Colombian coffee. We're not buying "Colombia Supremo," we're buying coffee grown on Alfredo Correa's farm, Finca San Rafael, which is from Caturra trees grown around 6500 feet in the Andes Mountains near Concordia. They were picked, sorted, depulped in his small mill, fermented, washed, stored in clean water for 5 days, and dried in a static dryer that is heated with coal. Alfredo works the land with his hands, and incidentally he's a great guy to be around, with grand visions of buying more land, growing more coffee, and hiring more people to work so the community will be better and people can afford to feed their families. As I explained to him when we brewed his coffee, the best I can hope to do when I get his coffee is to not screw it up. I do my best to preserve the coffee flavors that he and the land created. And when we drink Alfredo's coffee, we experience all his hard work and vision in that cup.
In Colombia, there is a heavy emphasis on family and community. I miss that already. I hope to institute that more in my own life here in the states.
By the way, thank you Cristina Garces. A big thank you.
I want to write more soon about a community project that has been proposed in Concordia. Maybe it's something we can help with.
Sorry to ramble.
You can see my photos from the Colombia trip here: http://www.doubleshotcoffee.com/Origin/Colombia_09.html
posted by Brian at 10:03 AM
5 Comments:
How do they emphasize family and community there? In what ways did you notice that happening?
Most people live as a family unit. Mostly out of necessity. Whenever someone lived alone or only with their spouse, they made sure to mention it. It is really a luxury to have a house by yourself in Colombia. Regardless of whether they live with the family or alone, they seem to congregate for family meals. And hanging out together as a family. They help each other, work together, watch each other's kids, etc.
And everyone was outside all the time. I know it's a tropical country and very close to the equator. And up in the mountains. So the weather is especially nice. But people don't go watch tv or play video games. Or chat on the computer. They talk on the phone a lot. And they sit outside together a lot. Talking, laughing, drinking beer or juice or soda or aguardiente. The people seem mostly happy. They laugh a lot and tease each other a lot. So when there is one, there are two, and then there are others crowding around, joining in the conversation. Less distractions, more focus on friends. And every time we would go to someone's house, they would offer to make us juice. How nice is that? I don't know, April. I would just like to fill more of my life hanging around with people I enjoy, doing nothing. And laughing.
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great posting. great comment back Brian. sounds awesome. i feel guilty for sitting here playing around on the computer when I could be talking to my wife.
I remember a time growing up when thats how things were. Simple. Thanks for sharing your experience. I especially enjoyed the pictures they do tell a good story. Now to try and follow through on that whole 'just hanging out' thing.
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