Do you know where your coffee comes from?

If you are thinking about traveling to South America, you have to consider Colombia. 

If you come to Colombia, you have to go to the coffee region. 

If you go to the coffee region, you have to go to Salento. 

And if you go to Salento, you have to visit Don Elias' coffee farm!

I spent a few great days in the coffee region, and all of it is beautiful. But my visit to Don Elias' coffee farm made the trip really worth it. 

When Ben and I got to Salento, we were following many WorldTeach volunteers before us and had a lot of advice about what to do and where to go. There are yummy American food restaurants and great hikes, but the number one activity on my list was to take a coffee tour.

There were quite a few tours to choose from. Not many were available in English, and they ranged from bigger farms to little fincas. Ben and I decided to go for a smaller place, and decided I could translate for Ben just fine in English We found a jeep-taxi in town and drove about 30 minutes into the mountains. We pulled up to a small fence with a little wooden sign that read "Don Elias- Coffee Tour." . A few friends recommended Don Elias but warned us that he was a little old man with no teeth. They said to hope for his grandson that's quick and super easy to understand.

Well, we got Don Elias.

He greeted us with a big smile and mumbled (in Spanish) "My farm is small, but it is the work of my life. Welcome." Ben and I exchanged a look of "what are we getting ourselves into?" and off we went into the field. 

Not exactly the fields of Vermont or the Midwest

The fields were set along a fairly steep hill, and we soon noticed coffee trees weren't the only thing growing here. Plantain and banana trees, blackberry bushes and pineapple shrubs sprouted all over the place. We walked through the trees touching, smelling, and of course picking the red and yellow beans. 

Don Elias reminded us throughout the tour of the importance of his natural, tradition approach to farming. he pointed to a spider wed and said. "these are my only pesticides. These friends eat all the unwanted bugs." And for the coffee shells and rotten fruit, "This is natural compost, the best possible food for the soil." He was so into it, and of course the Vermonters in Ben and me were thrilled to see such an organic process.

Here's some things you may not have known about coffee:

It's colorful!

The tree flowers first in April and May and produces coffee through the fall-- October into November. (Perfect time for us to be there!)

It's the second most traded commodity in the world after oil.

De-shelling the beans. Don Elias uses all hand operated machines.He said if he
used an automatic one he'd be out of work.

There are two types grown in Colombia, and the Arabica type is most popularly exported.

Beans are exported before they are roasted. They look like this when they arrive at the door of Starbucks or Dunkins.

The tour with Don Elias was by far one of my favorite things I have done in Colombia. It was great to see where something that is so integral to our lives comes from. It's important to remember that these things we love come from the earth and there are real people harvesting these for us. So maybe this morning you'll think of this sipping on your cup of joe.