We spent the night in the hacienda’s guesthouse straight in the middle of the coffee fields. This morning we were given a proper introduction to coffee … starting with some background on the plant, looking at its origin, classification etc. – and then the full process from the seeds up to that black liquid in a cup – covering harvest, the options for fermentation (wet process as used in Colombia, the dry process – plus an honorary mention of the special processing “used” for kopi luwak), hulling, drying up to roasting.

After a first introduction we ventured out into the fields, to see the actual plants and learn about the work on the farm, i.e. how they keep the plants producing, how long the plants last etc.

The final stop – after a good 2.5 hours into the coffee tour – was at the main house of the hacienda, where we looked into roasting – and got a feeling of the influence of the roasting process towards the characteristics of the coffee.

Overall I have to say … I have been to a number of coffee plantations – but never ever got such a good introduction to the whole process … this really did cover everything – and was nicely presented – I thoroughly enjoyed this activity … though, I now really need a cup of tea 😉

We were on the road again to make our way from Medellin into the Coffee Country around Manizales – a trip of around 200km (our trip was a bit longer, as we had to take a detour due to construction works) and 5 hours.

We arrived at the guesthouse of the Hacienda Venecia coffee plantation in the afternoon, with enough time to spare for a first walk – guided by negro and macchiato, the fittingly names hacienda dogs – around the coffee fields into a side valley. We got back just around sunset in time for a simple, nice and filling dinner.