leohblooms

June 11, 2008

Colombia, Day Three in Manizales and Chinchina, Caldas

In the morning we went to visit the Coffee Growers Committee of Caldas or Comite de Cafeteros de Caldas in Manizales. The Coffee Growers Committee of Caldas is the representation for Caldas of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. This is also where they manage the tree renewal program in Caldas. They also manage the extension service or technical support services (yellow t-shirts people). One of the most important projects of the Caldas committee is education, especially in elementary and secondary schools. They have beautiful land there with animals, orchids and butterflies. I was a little scared of the ostriches when one tried to bite my bag. I was standing a little too close.

This bamboo structure is called Zeri Pavilion or Guadua Pavilion. Guadua is the type of bamboo it is made from. This is actually the prototype for the pavilion built in Hanover for the Expo 2000. The one in Hanover was destroyed before Expo 2001. They were both built by architect Simón Velez. They sometimes hold coffee congress meetings in this one.

It was really quite remarkable and mesmerizing. Here is a view of the ceiling from the inside.

We took a tram ride over to the other side where they housed the butterflies and had the orchid garden.

This particular orchid is called Dracula.

This pink orchid named Cattleya is the national flower of Colombia.

And this is a monkey orchid. See how there is a monkey face inside?

As we left, Pilar from the Committee of Caldas gave us wonderful hats that are like the one Juan Valdez wears. They are hand-made in a small town called Aguadas by women head of household.

Then we went to Chinchina where we visited Cenicafe, The National Coffee Research Institute.

This is where they have labs and go into the soil to find out what is there and what needs to be there to make the best coffee.

They also test how the insects work with the plants and how to create disease resistant varieties.

Ah, here are Nora and Mike enjoying a delicious cup of 100% Colombian Coffee.

After a short break, we went to visit Buencafé, the Freeze Dried Coffee Factory.

Here we had the expertise of Camilo Gómez (on far left), the marketing and sales coordinator at Buencafé.

Here is Donna putting on her sturdy socks and shoes for the tour.

We all had to wear special outfits.

The face masks came in handy when we went through the freezer at -50 degrees Celsius. The factory uses a very specific formula for coming up with delicious freeze dried coffee and they support many brands around the world. For more on their process, click here.

June 11, 2008

Colombia, Day Two in Pereira, Juan Valdez, National Coffee Park

After the coffee farm we went to the Extension Service farm where they do technical support for the cafeteros. These people in the yellow shirts are like the peace corps and work for the Federation. They were all very nice and slightly excited. We thought it was just because we were there but we were wrong.

There’s this man – perhaps you’ve heard of him – Juan Valdez? I don’t know anyone that hasn’t heard of him, but in Colombia, Juan Valdez is THE most famous person. And we got to meet him. He was very nice. Carlos Sanchez, who has been Juan Valdez since 1969, recently retired and a search for the new face of Juan Valdez commenced. The winner was Carlos Castañeda, a 39-year-old rural coffee grower from Andes in the Antioquia region of Colombia.

And here is Nora, the ‘Win a Trip with Juan’ contest winner and her husband Mike with Juan and Conchita, Juan’s mule.

And here I am with Carolina and Juan and Conchita.

After everyone in the entire place had a chance to get a photo (or three) with Juan, we packed up and went to the National Coffee Park or Parque Nacional del Cafe in Montenegro, Quindio. Think ‘small Disneyland’ but all about coffee. They even have an animatronic orchid show similar in style to the Tiki Room. There were plantains surrounding the park. Here you can see how they cover the fruit with bags to protect them from mosquitoes and other bugs.

Here is the group of us, from left to right:

Alex, our guide in Pereira, Reinel, Park Guide, Carolina, our translator and guide from the Coffee Federation, Donna Walter from Weber Shandwick, me, Nora, contest winner and husband Mike.

After our fun-filled afternoon of bumper cars and souvenir buying, we retired to the Hacienda San Jose where all our needs were taken care of and then some. It was a really wonderful place. In this picture is owner Isabel and Nelson, the person that catered to our every need.

June 11, 2008

Colombia, Day Two in Pereira, Coffee Farm

Day two found us taking a short flight to Pereira, located at the western part of the Andes.

From there we wound around and around up the Andes mountains until we reached a small coffee farm run by two women.

One of the women, Anita, showed us around and told us how they run the place. Carolina Castaneda of The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia translated for us.

This is the place where they wash the beans to remove the pulp. They do a triple-wash method that takes longer but helps the beans have a very good flavor.

This is a sun dryer where they scatter the cleaned beans on the floor to dry. The beans stay in there for a few days and lose a large percentage of their humidity. This drying method works so well that on hot days it is unbearable to go in there.

This is Cesar, the director of the Specialty Coffees in Pereira, showing us how one branch holds many different aged beans. There can be tiny new blossoms to mature and ready-to-pick beans along the same stem.

This coffee plant is about 6 weeks old. They must be about that old before they are planted in the fields.

And this baby might be the cutest in the entire world. She is the daughter of one of the cafeteros.

This is Nora and Mike standing in front of the coffee field. Nora is the winner of the ‘Win a Trip with Juan’ contest that was on Blogher and why we are all lucky enough to be there.

After the tour of the farm and getting a few ant bites around the ankles, we sat down to a delicious breakfast they prepared for us of plantains, rice, eggs and hot chocolate.

The Federation encourages the cafeteros to grow other food in their fields along with the coffee to sustain themselves like corn, tomatoes etc. On this particular farm they grow a variety of arabica coffee bean that is resistant to rust (roya in Spanish) which destroys the leaves and beans.

June 9, 2008

I'm Home

I had a great time in Colombia. And I’m happy to be home. I have lots of stories to tell and photos to share and I’ll get to that really soon. I’m nursing an upset stomach and general fatigue for today so I’ve been resting and napping. I had planned to update every day while over there but the spotty internet made that impossible. It was so nice to step off the plane last night and see my name L.PETERSON on the sign with the driver ready to whisk me home. I could get used to this personal driver thing.

June 4, 2008

Colombia, Day One in Bogota

Day one in Colombia has been long but great. My red eye flight over was only 7 hours and I had a window seat. Unfortunately I was seated next to an elderly gentleman who couldn’t get out of the seat by himself to let me over to my seat. He at first expected me to just climb over his legs. I mean, have you seen how much leg room there is? None. After I said no about 6 times he finally called a flight attendant to help him get up so I could sit down. After a few hours we tried to make polite conversation with one another but his no English and my no Spanish got old after a few minutes. We went back to smiling and nodding.

After being picked up from the airport in Bogota, the first thing I noticed were the cars and how they really follow no rules while on the road. It’s kind of like – if it will fit in there, go ahead and go for it. They ride three or four wide in two lanes, maybe 2 inches away from each other, and honk at each other impatiently. After the first few near misses I kind of got used to it and relaxed. People cross right in front of cars going fast, get honked at and keep moving. There are motor bikes everywhere weaving in and out of all the cars. Cars turning left from the far right lane. It’s pretty exciting.

After lunch we went to the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia headquarters where we had the opportunity to watch some of their processes and how they quality control the coffee that gets exported. The Federation’s mission is to ensure the well-being of Colombian coffee growing families through an effective, not-for-profit, democratic, grassroots organization. The Federation has three main goals: to achieve a sustainable coffee culture, to strengthen community networks in coffee growing regions, and to promote Colombian coffee’s superior quality worldwide. The Federation guarantees growers the purchase of their coffee crop at a fair price and the growers vote directly for their representatives in the Federation.

Ivan Lamilla Munoz, a Quality Assurance Officer, was our tour guide.

He explained how the beans can taste different depending on which region they are grown in. The altitude, soil and humidity all make the bean have a particular taste.

He showed us the green Arabica coffee beans and demonstrated how the husks get removed.

Here he is showing us the filters that the coffee beans go through to separate them into like sizes.

We saw how they hand pick through the beans to remove the ones that are inferior.

And then we had a taste test. First we smelled the coffee grounds.

Then we stirred and smelled the grounds with the hot water releasing the aroma.

And then we tasted the four kinds and compared them to one another. (The way the professional tasters suck in the spoons of coffee with so much force sounds like a machine. My lame sucking in was nothing compared with theirs. And they spit better, too. I always had a little drool.)

No shocker that my favorite was the one that is exported to the United States. It has less acidity and a bolder flavor. I didn’t care for the ones with high acidity but apparently they are hot in China.

Did you know the roasting actually happens after export? I assumed they were roasted prior. And a darker roast is not used on great, flavorful beans because it would cover up the flavor. Usually the dark roasts are covering up some imperfection in the quality. This I did not know.

After the taste test, we watched a video with Santiago Echavarria R. of Public Affairs.

The video was all about Juan Valdez and how that marketing campaign has helped the Federation. Do you remember this commercial? (During the video, a woman in a smart blue skirt with pompadour hair came by the table and poured us a cup of coffee. As she did each pour she pulled the cup away, away, away from the carafe and then brought it back up again. It was quite remarkable.)

But the really great thing that the Federation does is put the money back into the lives of the 512,000 Cafeteros and their families. For more than eight decades the FNC has invested heavily in coffee growers’ life quality, and with the ongoing support of the Colombian government, has brought schools, roads, healthcare centers, aqueducts and electricity to Colombia’s coffee growing regions.

June 4, 2008

Hotel Rosales, Bogota, Colombia

View from my balcony.

June 2, 2008

Traveling Abroad

This week is unusual in that I’m going to Colombia. Never been before. But when Blogher asked if I wanted to go and be the journalist and learn more about coffee, I said why not.

More details when I get back and I’ll blog from there if I can.
xo

May 29, 2008

Take Me Back

Back when I was married to my first husband and my first son, Devon, was about a year old, we bought our first Nintendo. (How many times can you say first in one sentence?) We said it was for Devon but really it was for us. The first game we owned was Super Mario Bros and I played that game until I figured out all the tricks and how to beat it. Then we put it away for a few years until Devon was actually old enough to hold a controller and brought it out again for him. And then I played it and played it until I could beat it again.

Joe bought it using Wiiware the other night and I’ve been playing it but I haven’t been able to beat the game again yet. The highest I’ve got to is 7.3. Those dang ninjas with their flying numchucks kill me at least once every time they are around.

I can’t get into the games they put out now with all the graphics and the moving in 3-d. It just makes me car sick and there is too much blood usually for my delicate palate. But Mario Bros? Dude. Yes.

May 23, 2008

Family

My brother and his wife have come to stay with us for a while. With them they’ve brought their son, six-year-old Gideon. Our lives are suddenly full of magic tricks, rolling around the floors on a chair with rollers, Nintendo and a surge of energy like you wouldn’t believe.

And it’s pretty great.

May 19, 2008

The Sunburn Song

From Rhett and Link.

May 14, 2008

The Land of Opportunity

~My daughter calls me to go to lunch and all I can think is how great it is that I have time to do that with her. How sad it’s going to be when I am too busy. But how great it’s going to be to be earning money. And how lucky I am that my daughter wants to go to lunch with me in the first place. Because the truth is that I’d rather be hanging out with my kids than doing just about anything else.

~There are the absolute cutest lizards outside in the bush that climb up the brick wall and hide under the hanging ivy. They dart out and then freeze, basking in the sun and doing tiny pushups at each other. I’m not sure if that is some kind of communication or what but it’s adorable.

~Every day that goes by and I still don’t have new employment is a temptation to fall into depression. Which is in itself not really appealing to new employers. I’m trying hard to stay centered and keep reminding myself that the right opportunity is out there and it will find me as long as I’m open to it. I really do believe this but it’s hard to always keep it in mind.

May 12, 2008

Bruxism

Getting off Invega has been mostly fine. No brain charges like with Effexor. No crying spells. No hallucinating. So for that I’m grateful.

Instead I’ve got bruxism. I’m not grinding my teeth but I am clenching my jaw almost constantly. I have a continued jaw/neck/head ache. I actively try and relax my jaw muscles which takes a lot of thought and concentration. I’m still sleeping fine but waking up with a very sore jaw.

According to some sources, it can take as long to work through buxism as you took the drug. And sometimes it doesn’t go away. Some people get the condition when they start taking the anti-psychotic, which i did not.

At one point in my life I was a meth head and while high, you clench your jaw a lot. This reminds me of that feeling. Aaaaaaand I don’t like it.