Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

You can't visit Colombia and NOT visit a coffee farm right? Yes, I am right. Coffee is my other go to (hello, wine is my 1st) and one I love greatly yet it became obvious that I really knew nothing about it. Did you know that the coffee plant is a tree and what keeps them from growing into huge trees is that they are cut down keeping them manageable for harvesting the berries...yes berries, the bean is inside the berry. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. In order to appropriately explain a trip to a coffee farm, I must set the scene.

The hills surrounding Jardin (a town 4 hour drive from Medellin) are steep, majestic, sweeping shades of green filled with bamboo, pines, palms, ferns, tropical flowers and coffee plants. The jungle paths that wined up the mountains play peek-a-boo with waterfalls while strange vibrantly colored birds sweep past you. Having hired a "tour" to take us privately to the coffee farm, we found ourselves in the company of a similar man to the Captain of our sailboat from Panama to Colombia, a man of less than a few words. Jesse, my Spanish speaking husband, inquired as we walked, what the trees or birds we saw were called or about the area in general, to which the man grunted one word answers. Luckily the shockingly beautiful views kept us happy. Being that zero information was being exchanged, we had no way of knowing that this hike would be several miles with a steep ascent to the top where the coffee farm was. It was so steep in fact, that my converse tennis shoes started slipping on the moist path making my tired legs strain to keep me upright. However, greeting us at the top was the most amazing view of the valley below and we gratefully sat on the big flower laden porch of the house, sipping freshly made lemonade, smelling freshly brewed coffee and catching our breath.

*As a side note, about half way through this hike, we had the pleasure of touring a handmade tunnel that pierced the rock mountain. After dodging 3 different kinds of attacking bat, this marvel emptied you out under a waterfall. A super cool thing to see if you are OK with vile flying rats. It was a dose of adrenaline for me and comic relief for my boys as I screamed, ducked and dodged the disgusting vermin. Now back to the coffee.

Another group was finishing up their tour of the farm when we arrived so we had the chance to admire their horses. "You didn't want to ride up here?" the other guide asked. We told him we had no idea how far it was or that horseback was an option. He looked puzzled, we felt annoyed, all of us looked at our guide in disbelief. This was definitely a stunt the Sailboat Captain would have pulled. The rest of our time with the guide would be with me referring to him as 'Captain'.

Once our tour started, we were taken into the coffee fields which were behind the house and straight up the hillside. I asked if they needed to wear harnesses and clip in to the mountain to stay on it while harvesting, the farmer thought this funny and continued to march us up the almost vertical face with a warm chuckle. A bucket strapped to his waist, Jesse reached into the lush foliage in search of the red berries as the farmer told us about the process and about the plant. This detailed information is delicious to people that own a winery and vineyards which the farmer seemed particularly happy about. About five million photos of my hubby and son picking coffee and Jesse falling down the mountain (OK he just slid a few feet under a coffee bush, but it was definitely photo worthy and made my earlier question about needing a harness valid), and we were back on safe ground. The shelling, shucking, and drying process is as work intensive and detailed as the wine making process is. Then we have the roasting, which we did by hand in the farm house kitchen, brings out different aromas which I would compare to a wine having barrel aging. All the work that goes into a finished cup of coffee is astonishing and the fact that it is $0.33 in Colombia is really mind blowing. Finally we sat at the table, a view so breath taking you wanted to gauge your eyes out afterward since there would be no point in seeing anything after seeing that intensely beautiful a sight, and drank our fresh espresso. We introduced our 11 yr old son to a mostly milk and sugar version of coffee and discussed the aromas and flavors that made this farm's coffee different than any other. It was magical.

'Captain' lead us back down the mountain and into town 5 hours after our start that morning. We were drained and starving, but the adventure was enough to encourage us to do more exploration of the hidden roads that dove into the jungle. It was agreed, the next day we would take the 'Tic Tak' of a car over the hill and through the woods to the next village. Or so we thought.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com