Zona Cafetera

Two decades after seeing my first Juan Valdez commercial and twelve years after coffee became one of the lights of my life, I found myself in a jeep tearing down a valley in Colombia's coffee zone. Our guide, Viviana, chattered away and gestured at passing palms, birds, plots of plantains and the impossibly steep slopes covered in coffee trees. It was like entering a temple. Is this how believers feel when they arrive at Mecca, Varanasi, Rome or Jerusalem? All joking aside, it did feel like the successful conclusion of a long pilgrimage. . . I love coffee and was glad to finally be on a finca, one of the traditional farms where coffee has been grown for generations.

I visited Hacienda Venecia near Manizales, right in the heart of coffee country. This area in the mountains of central Colombia produces most of the high-quality export crop. Soil, weather, water and altitude combine to create ideal conditions for Coffea arabica, the premium variety prized for its mild, complex flavor and cousin to the low-grade robusta. While the cheaper robusta can be produced in huge plantations at low elevations (Brazil leads in production), arabica grows best between 1000 and 2000m elevation (about 3000 to 6500 feet.) The elevation requirements mean fincas in amazing settings and the zona cafetera is gorgeous. Mountains everywhere: steep, riddled with valleys and covered in a lush, green mix of farm and forest. Colombia has the highest number of different bird species in the world, and many call this region home: providing a colorful, melodious compliment to the coffee trees and scenery.

The story of coffee is fascinating, but far to much to relate here. I wanted to get a up a few words and representative photos. It was a great time out on the finca, seeing everything from the nurseries to the maturing trees to a few ripe cherries to the processing plant. And of course sampling the finished product. . .

Premium grade café pergamino beans, green and roasted

Coffee trees cover the hillsides at Hacienda Venecia

These green beans will ripen to red or yellow in a few months

Coffee seedlings at the nursery