• Panama and Columbia
    1The hills are terraced left from the indigenous who grew maize. Locals grew potato but now too warm
    In the park, a section of the Inca Trail which ran from Lima to Cartagena.Marcia and a beautiful red flower1Canelazos, a cool weather drink reminiscent of mulled wine.A colorful coraquila birdThe tiny ballerina orchidThe national tree, the Wax Palm, which can grow to 250' and live 300-400 yearsWill this grow into a palm tree?2Heart-shaped arepas for St Valentine'sA coconut cream lemonada and garlic trout2Trout in Seaman's SauceRemoving the parchment from the washed beansThe husksThe de-husked beansA final sifting to remove impurities and undersized beansRoasting at 160°C. 3 stages: evaporation, caramelization & popcornFinally -- medium roast beans. Now the cool for 24 hrs before grindingThe Santana Traditional Coffee. Flavorful and not acidic. Ah.

    Cocora Valley & Coffee Roasting

    February 17 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    After bfast on the hotel's upper floor, our local guide (Omar) gave us a deeply personal and very informative hour on the turbulent history of Columbia and the Quindio coffee region.
    To condense an hour into a few lines: FARC and other groups started out as exported revolution from Cuba in the early 1960s. For a decade they helped the farmers improve quality of life. Then FARC needed $$, do they resorted to extortion & kidnapping (1976-89). Then was the period of warfare between FARC (in the mountains) & the paramilitaries (in the towns). FARC evolved from guerillas to narco-terrorists and continued that way until the "Peace" in 2016. The strife continues on other regions (Venezuela border) but is over here but not forgotten.
    Omar's father refused to pay up and they had to abandon their farm & move to the city. Omar's wife's family also refused to pay up but they stayed on. Her father & two brothers were disappeared. Very sad and moving.
    Post lecture we went to the Cocora Valley which is up in the hills. Until the Peace of 2016 it was off limits because it was close to the narco trails. Now it is a beautiful park. We had a hike at 10,000 feet and some show and tell. There were lots & lots of domestic tourists there as well.
    Down to a town for a delicious trout lunch (and the start of today's rain). Followed by a symbolic tree planting (due to rain).
    The afternoon was Part 2 of the coffee saga
    Today: Roasting & Tasting.
    Among other things we learned that medium roast has the most flavor and that espresso method has the least caffeine. Often, dark roasts are used to mask inferior bean quality. We'll do some taste tests after we get back.
    Two quotes from today: "Good coffee needs no sugar; bad coffee doesn't deserve it." And,
    "The wx in this part of the Andes is so unpredictable that we trust the politicians more than the wx."
    Ps. 3 Stages of Roasting: Evaporation (removed excess moisture), Caramelization (you know what this is) and Popcorn (the beans start popping in the roaster -- you can hear them!)    Read more