Behind every cup of coffee, there are hundreds of stories woven that began in the field. This goes for more than 540,000 families in different departments of Colombia that have dedicated themselves to cultivate coffee this is much more than a trade, it is a tradition that is forged with each harvest.
Coffee growers work hard in their small farms to bring a high-quality coffee bean to the table of Colombians and others around the world. Therefore, they prepare the land themselves, plant each seed that they take care of and wait until they see the first leaves. When the plant is ready, the coffee growers plant it in the field. Then, for several months, with significant effort and dedication, they take care of the coffee plantation and check it daily. When the harvest is ready, the journey continues with the skilled pickers, men and women who make a meticulous selection to pick the ripe beans. Then, it is the coffee growers last task, after washing and peeling each bean, they move on to the natural drying, a traditional pro cess that preserves the quality of the coffee under the heat of the sun.
Now, the beans are prepared for milling, they are pre-sorted and then ready to be roasted. With great skill the master roaster identifies the ideal roasting temperature and time to release the flavors and aromas of each bean. They, more than anyone else, know the characteristics of the coffee and carry with them the responsibility and commitment of delivering to the barista a bean with the best flavor.
The Art of Baristas
After roasting, the coffee bean reaches the baristas, young people that with great skill and careful preparation, have in their hands not only the responsibility of valuing the work that for months the coffee growers and roasters do, but also of extracting the flavor of the bean, to highlight the texture of the beverage and to enhance its aroma.
Like the coffee growers and their families, the baristas are professionals that live and feel the coffee culture. In fact, they are trained until they become experts in the preparation of this beverage; thus, the baristas know the type of grinding, the adequate temperature and what the extraction time should be to enhance (the infusion) its properties and attributes.
Each time that a cup of coffee is received from the hands of a barista, this is the end of a long coffee chain. Therefore, there are numerous coffee workers that work daily to offer the world Colombia’s most emblematic beverage.
