Salento: In the Heart of Colombia’s Coffee Region
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If you love coffee as much as Ben and I do, you know that Colombia is one of the premiere sources of our favorite caffeinated beverage.
In the center of Colombia, there is a region known as Efe Cafetera, or to foreigners “the Coffee Zone”. This area’s climate of mild temperatures throughout the year paired with lots of rain creates perfect growing conditions for – you guessed it – coffee.
After exploring the large and bustling cities of Cartagena and Medellin, we were ready to find some peace in a small town. In lieu of staying in one of the three major cities known for exporting coffee, we spent four glorious nights in a quaint little village named Salento.
Located in lush green mountains, Salento is a true Paisa village. Lining the streets are businesses and homes with brightly colored doors, and men wear traditional wool ponchos and cowboy hats.
Ponchos, ponchos everywhere!Salento, above all else, is known for its coffee farms.
During our first day, we decided to take a tour of one of the small coffee farms near town. The hour long walk with views of the valley below was absolutely stunning.
Ben needs some coffee!
When we arrived at the farm, we took a tour of the property – learning how the red and yellow berries are grown, harvested and processed. The tour was given in Spanish, and with my limited knowledge of the language, I wasn’t able to pick up every minute detail. I did, however, learn there is a massive amount of effort that goes into creating the perfect cup of coffee.
Picking my own coffee beans
At the end of the tour we enjoyed a mug of our very own brew.
Muy delicioso!
Salut!Read more about our incredible time in Salento:
More pictures from Salento
Our beautiful hostel in Salento
Hostal Tralala was one of our favorite places in all of South America. Read about it here!
The most scenic bus stop I have ever seen.
We did Ocaso too! It was a much shorter walk from our hostel, La Serrana. We loved it! We just wish we had been there during the high season – between us we were only able to pick 2 ripe red berries 😛 But we had a fantastic time!
Ocaso was such a sweet coffee farm to visit. They told us that they produce organic beans, but since there is a lot of paperwork (aka fees) involved in getting certification they didn’t have it. I’m sure this is true for many farms around the world, and I’d never thought of it before visiting Ocaso. So happy you went there and had a good time (even though there weren’t many ripe beans!).