Cities can be pretty similar across the world during the rush hour. We left the frenetic capital of Bogotá in the early hours to fly west to the Zona Cafetera – the coffee region. From the comfort of our small coach we gazed into the endless stream of bendy buses packed to the gunnels with commuters staring aimlessly through the windows. It reminded me a little of L S Lowry’s paintings, except these guys were laden with backpacks and headphones. Weaving in and out of these bumper-to-bumper vehicles were suited individuals on scooters – upmarket electric versions of those we played on as a child.
The flight from Bogotá to Pereira, our next destination, was 30 minutes – some 250 miles. By car it could take 6-12 hours due to the Macizo volcanic range crossing our path, difficult roads and unpredictable wet weather.
The fertile valleys and volcanic soil of Pereira provide ideal conditions for coffee growing and our main visit of the day was to El Finca del Cafe, a coffee farm a short distance from the airport at Santa Rosa de Cabal.
We were welcomed by our friendly guide for the day, Jose, but it soon became apparent this was to prove no ordinary visit… we were to be set to work to experience just what it is like toiling at the coal face of coffee production.
Our first stop was to be kitted out out with traditional gear – bib and basket.
Next stop was to learn about the coffee plants which start their life on the farm as seedlings in trays, grown in volcanic soil. Once they reach about 12 inches high (at nine months) they are planted out on the hillside where they will produce the best fruits in around three years. The all important fruit quality will then start to decline, but this is not the end of the coffee plant. Every five years it will be severely pruned to regenerate itself. The life of a coffee plant for quality production is usually 21 years, although plants can live untended up to 80 years.
We then headed off to climb the steep slopes of the coffee plantation with strict instructions to pick red fruits only. Green are not ripe. The baskets hold around 10kg of fruits, and coffee workers (their hours are 5.30am to 4pm a day, and the season is just five months a year) must pick a minimum of 20kg a day just to have enough money for the absolute basics.
Being competitive souls we were out to find who could collect the most fruit. It did not help that John’s basket had some rather large holes and more fruit fell through than was actually retained. Well that is what he told me.
We climbed down and then up steep valleys picking and puffing as we travelled. A close eye had to be kept on the terrain as it would be easy to slip or twist an ankle – not an ideal situation if your livelihood depended on this work. In fact coffee growing is an industry facing difficult employment times. Unlike the older generations, the younger people no longer want to carry on in the same tradition.
Having picked our way through the coffee plantation, we headed back with our meagre offerings to experience how the beans had to be put through a mangle to remove the flesh. That was really hard work.
We then witnessed the drying and roasting processes, before being led through the professional tasting procedures. Forget your manners. This involved slurping the coffee through one’s mouth with great noise – something our parents had spent years telling us not to do.
We tasted four coffees roasted at this plantation, but realised the untrained palate would be hard pressed to rank them in order of quality. Every producer is passionate about his or her coffee, feeling the company’s versions are the best. And that is how it should be, but a show of hands amongst the group as to the favourite flavour was not decisive and indicated that it all comes down to personal taste.
Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019