You can't go through the coffee region without visiting a coffee finca! It would be like walking the wine route without visiting a single vineyard.
And there is the embarrassment of choice… From standardized visits, to the chain, to express visits through tourist trap visits, it is important to choose the right and authentic Finca!
The finca CASA VIEJA
Where is this finca located?
It is a medium-sized family farm (14 hectares) located a few kilometers from Quimbaya. Santiago the manager, has just opened a small shop in the small town of Quimbaya where you can taste his exceptional coffee: Café de Altura.
Visit to the Casa Vieja finca
Santiago booked a private tour for us which he himself assured in the heart of his plantation and establishment. He presented us in a general way the culture of coffee in Colombia and in relation to the whole world, the trade, the export, the different qualities ...
Then he taught us the different varieties of coffees, plants, seeds, diseases, the different ways of cultivating, harvesting, replanting ...
Finally, the visit continues throughout his domain with the discovery of other cultures that he tries to reintroduce as at the beginning.
Santiago is passionate, a man in love with coffee and his region. He respects nature and produces an almost organic coffee that stands out for its quality. It has also recently been awarded a regional prize.
Lunch at the finca
It was with great pleasure that we shared the meal with Santiago in his Finca itself. It was her aunt who prepared all the good products from their estate for us and we ate like "at home".
Of course the meal was delicious. But what I particularly appreciated were the exchanges we had with Santiago. We learned a lot about the daily life of Colombians and shared values such as ecology, family and work. In short, yet another proof of the human wealth of Colombians!
Tasting of Altura coffee
After the meal, a good coffee awaited us “at the tienda” (at the Café Altura). This is a small café-boutique opened by Santiago's sister a few months ago in Quimbaya. And there, we enjoy a great coffee in the joy, laughter and the desire not to leave ...
Price of Altura coffee: € 20 per kg (set of 3 packs of 340 gr).
Bonjour.
I find a lot of inspiration thanks to your blog. Thank you. I would like to ask you how you organized the visit to the Finca Casa Vieja? With an agency or yourself? Were you with a group? Did you communicate in which language?
Thank you in advance.
Svitlana
The visit of the Coffee Finca took place in one morning + lunch with the owner + visit and tasting of coffee in the shop in the afternoon.
It was a private tour organized by COLOMBIA INFINITA (pierreverger@colombiainfinita.com) which was included in the part of my tour where I requested the services of an agency. The visit is done in Spanish but Colombia Infinita had provided us with a French speaking guide who translated.