Salento Coffee Triangle

Our next trip brought us straight into the heart of Colombia, to the coffee zone ‚eje Cafetero’. In one of the most ancient villages of the coffee triangle, Salento, we found a nice eco lodge (with a great view on the coffee fields) where we stayed a few days. We participated in a very interesting coffee tour on a sustainable farm. After Brazil and Vietnam, Colombia is the third largest export country of coffee.

The next day we took a Jimmy (an old American Jeep from WWII) and rode on the back of the vehicle to the Cocora valley. In this valley grows the national symbol of Colombia: the Quindío wax palm, an up to 60m high palm (average around 45m) that only grows in regions higher than 2000m above sea level and can be found on the 100.000 pesos note (which isn’t accepted in most of the local shops). The hike brought us along a clear river, over several old rustic bridges up to a nice refuge on 2900m and back through the valley of the biggest monocot in the world.

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Our view from the Eco-lodge in Salento where we met by chance the nice Dutch couple again (after sharing the couchsurfing host in Panama and meeting accidentally in Cartagena.).

Relaxing after an 8 hours bus drive from El Penol via Medellin to Salento.

When planting the coffee plants, 1 meter is measured between the plants, one after the other, and 2 meters are given between the rows to form the furrows. Coffee plants produce for 5 years, twice a year. The third year is the best crop. After 5 years it needs to be trimmed to produce again. A coffee plant can last up to 20 years.

To get an insight view into the work on the farm, we had to help collecting the red cherries.

In the olden days, people didn't cut the coffee plant and had to use this kind of ladder to reach the top. This procedure was quite dangerous. Nowadays, people try they keep the plants small so that they can reach easily every single bean.

The fruit (called cherry) starts green for nine months, then begins to change to a vibrant red colour, which means it is ripe and ready to harvest. Every cherry contains only two coffee beans.

The coffee pickers pick the ripe cherries and place them in their basket. Then they weigh them on a balance. During the main harvest period, one person can pick up to 200kg per day. (per kilogram they get paid an average of 300 pesos, which is no more than 0,09€)

After the beans are peeled (by hand or by machine) they need to dry (in a silo or in a greenhouse by the sun).

Left the second class beans (which are kept in Colombia) right the first class beans (which are sent to the 'Western World')

Good coffee needs patience. The water shouldn't boil. But the degree of aroma and the amount of caffeine depends not only on the beans and the good barista but also on the method and intensity of roasting. If the bean is roasted a long time, the coffee tastes stronger but has less caffeine than the lightly roasted beans.

The process from the bean to the powder (from left to right): the red cherries, the pealed beans, the shell of the beans, the dry beans, the roasted beans and finally the coffee powder.

On our way to the Cocora valley on the back of a Willy.

Some bridges don't deserve the name bridge anymore.

A hummingbird in the first refuge 'Acaime'.

An unidentified insect taking hostage of a small Tarantula. It kept going backwards over rough and smooth like having eyes on the back of its head.

On top of the second refuge.

The fruits of the wax palms serve as food for the porks and the cows. From the wax of the trunk one did candles at the time.

The surrounding seems from another world.

We changed the continent not only to discover other cultures but apparently also to discover new planets :)