Yesterday I opted for a coffee plantation tour not far from the city of Medellin, Colombia. Coffee beans actually come from a berry of the cherry family.
It was popular in the past to wash the beans from the sugary layer this would use 30 litres of water for 1kg of coffee bean. Colombia was the first country to do this process.
It began in the 1930s they would wash the bean to cope with the demand and aid the roasting process. The production of coffee had risen dramatically due to WW2 the army wanted it for the soliders to keep them awake. When it comes to the drink actually the more fully roasted a bean is the less caffeine you will find in your drink. Therefore a full roasted espresso actually won’t give you that kick, it’s all in your head. Crazy hey?!
Coffee is the 2nd most popular drink in the world 45% of the world’s population drink coffee daily. The only beverage more popular is water.
One of the hardest facts I learnt on this tour is the coffee that we purchase from stores is around 6-7 years old already.
Coffee absorbs flavour of whatever is surrounded the area this can vary from pig poo to banana & mango trees. The world’s most expensive coffee actually comes from Peru and it’s beans are harvested after being pooped out by a rodent like animal. This coffee is then flavoured to disguise the smell of poop. So don’t always think the most expensive is the best. This price can be set due to the difficulty of the harvest.
Colombia was the first country to wash the coffee beans but it wasn’t the first country to discover coffee.
In fact the credit goes to Ethiopia 300 years before Christ.
There was a goat farmer who’s goats were going crazy eating the red beans. They had high acid in their stomaches. Due to this the beans were being slowly roasted. This led to an Increase in milk production.
Arabs found out about this and went to buy the goats. They took beans to Arab palaces but the beans were still green and the goats milk production was reduced.
The arabs decided to put the beans on the fire roasted. They then grounded them and added hot water. Coffee was born. These are known as arabic beans (the red ones).
For Hundreds of years it was a secret drink.
Until in the 16-17th century it arrived in Europe.
The colour black and the fact the drink keeps you awake the drink was assigned to sinners. Until in 1620 the pope tried the drink and loved it so much he blessed the coffee.
In the modern day Brazil produces the most coffee followed by Vietnam second and Colombia third.
Who drinks the most? This goes to Finland followe by the Netherlands/ Ireland and Norway/ Switzerland. These countries purchase the most PP.
Around 10% of coffee is dried naturally this process takes around 20-60 days.
If done in an artificial way it will take around 5+6 days. However this method can lead to cancer and many other illnesses.
To be classified as Organic coffee beans need to be grown in an area cleared by 50km² around the land there can be no traffic, pesticides or cigarettes. There for it is pretty certain that no coffee is officially organic dispite what the labels may say.
Instant coffee is made from coffee beans that have been infested by the bug called a broker. Therefore I will never drink an instant coffee again in my life.
The outer case of the coffee bean can be used to make gluten free flour, whilst the outer shell is used widely to produce Parchment paper.
Colombian coffee in Colombia is poor. I was really looking forward to a great coffee in Colombia but actually they export all the good stuff to other countries.
The tour at …. Was incredible, not only did I learn so much about the coffee production I also took in these incredible views.
After learning about how coffee is produced and harvested we got to try some. Before this we enjoyed an incredible plate of plantain and cheese. A dish I will definitely be reproducing at home.
A short while after there was a lunch served typical style in Colombia.
The farm was around 45 minutes from downtown Medellin. I highly recommend it if you visit the city. Their IG handle is @
And I booked on the app getyourguide at a cost of…
To travel is to live… 