Colombian Coffee: A Day In The Life On A Real Coffee Farm

A winding road leads you up to the small town of Anserma as the clouds part and make way for the summer Colombian sun. The journey takes about an hour and a half from the nearest big town of Pereira. And, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart (travellers prone to motion sickness might want to avoid the trip).

It’s here, in Anserma, that we meet Gustavo, Armando and Teresa, three owners of small coffee farms in the department of Caldas. We park our car and see Gustavo across the street in his Jeep. He smiles and waves us across as we hop in and prepare for the ride up to the farms. We try to peer out onto the mountains and coffee plants below amidst jolt after jolt of uneven ground.

Finally, we arrive and we’re greeted by the entire family. A son, a baby, the spouses, their brothers and sisters, the neighbours. Everybody comes out to greet us with besos and abrazos. Soon, we’re ushered into the home and immediately offered a cup of warm coffee. We sit down with a fresh cup of Colombian coffee and begin to talk. Just what is life really like on a Colombian coffee farm?…