Half Day Coffee Tour

If you're a coffe fan you'll be buzzed for this excursion as part of your Colombia holiday.

Visit a coffee plantation set amongst the steep rolling hills, synonymous of this area. A green carpet of coffee plants spread out over the horizon as far as the eye can see, only interspersed by fincas (rural farms) and heliconia flowers. Learn about the intricate process from coffee bean to coffee cup; including the harvest, the drying, the preparation and toasting of the bean and the fertile volcanic soil found here; perfect for the crop. Of course, enjoy a tasting of what is said to be the world's best coffee.

The harvest in Colombia takes around a year, although the main period is between October and May/June. Most of the plantations in Colombia produce Arabica beans which produce a delicate and light tasting coffee which is widely recognised and consumed. The process begins from when the bean is planted and takes approximately 75 days to germination. The seedling is then placed in a plastic bag and placed in partial sunlight until its base dries. Two years after plantation the tree bears its first fruit which is harvested when the bean is red in colour and therefore dry and ripe. Once the fruit has been picked, the pulp is stripped away and the bean is cleaned and dried in the sun (the big haciendas now use a special machinery to strip and dry the beans in a short period of time). The beans are exported or dried in preparation for sale, before being ground up and made ready for human consumption.