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Salento is one of the best destinations in Colombia for coffee tours. Many fincas (coffee plantations) near the town offer visitors the chance to get a hands-on demonstration of the entire coffee cultivating process from seed to cup.
There are tour options for all levels of coffee lovers. You can find short open-group tours for a quick look at the process as well as more intimate private tours for in-depth experiences. I’ve been fortunate to experience three different coffee tours in Salento. I’ve written about them for you here.
Finca El Ocaso
Finca El Ocaso is among the best and most popular coffee tours in Salento. It’s a pleasant one-hour walk or a 15-minute jeep ride from town. My first time taking the tour was in February 2016 when my friend Tim was visiting me in Colombia. We decided on Finca El Ocaso because the tour was highly recommended by our hotel. I’ve since taken several tourists there through my company, Paisadventure.
A basic tour lasting about 90 minutes costs COP$40,000 per person (as of April 2023) and is available in both English and Spanish. Check the official website for the most current tour times in each language. Walk-ins are welcome but reservations are recommended.
Finca El Ocaso also offers a premium coffee tour for COP$100,000 (as of April 2023). This tour last three hours and must be scheduled in advance. It’s much more thorough than the basic coffee tour and great for coffee enthusiasts.
The Tour at Finca El Ocaso
The highly interactive tour is very technical and covers the entire coffee growing process, from planting the first seeds to harvesting to brewing. Before the tour began, we all strapped on a basket and walked to a small seating area. The very first part of the tour is an explanation on how coffee trees are born, their life cycle, the best years for production during that life cycle, and diseases that can affect them.
Next, we walked into the plantation where all of the coffee trees are located. It was a beautiful dense forest with the cover of many other tall trees. These trees provided shade and created a microclimate for the coffee trees. Direct sunlight and extreme heat during the growing process can change the taste of your coffee!
In this area, we were shown a few of the different coffee trees that were grown in Colombia in the past and the time periods they were popular. The guide explained why farmers changed to different types of coffee trees and the improvement one had over the other. After that, we were sent off to select and pick our very own coffee cherries. We had about five minutes to complete the task.
Once we finished our hard work, we were taken to the processing area to see how the beans are separated from the coffee cherries, processed, and dried.
Coffee Tasting at Finca El Ocaso
Then came the best part of the tour – drinking a quality cup of coffee. The highest quality coffee beans from Finca El Ocaso were used for the coffee tasting and it was definitely one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had. It had an amazing natural flavor. No sugar or any other additives were needed.
My Thoughts on Finca El Ocaso
Overall the tour was very good. It’s interesting and very informative to know the effort that goes into creating your morning cup of coffee and I learned a lot of new things during the tour. If you’re in the coffee region and only have a couple hours you can dedicate to learning about coffee, this is a great place for it.
Note: We noticed on a visit in March 2018 that Finca El Ocaso has become very commercialized. It’s still a great tour but it might be worth seeking out something more authentic if that’s what you’re looking for.
Luger Coffee Tour
Finca Hamburgo hosts the Luger Coffee Tour, which is another of the many tours around Salento. It’s located just across the street from Finca El Ocaso.
The Luger Coffee Tour offers tours in English or Spanish for COP$35,000 per person (as of May 2023). They run every hour on the hour starting at 9am and take about two hours to complete.
Tours run through nine different stations: explanation, planting, harvesting, depulping, drying, threshing, roasting, grinding, and brewing. Visitors are welcomed with a traditional cup of coffee with panela, then taken to the first station to begin the tour. About halfway through, the owner’s wife brought us freshly made patacón with hogao.
My Thoughts on the Luger Coffee Tour
Overall, it’s a very good and entertaining tour with knowledgable guides. The setting is incredible and we found it to have a much more traditional feel than most of the coffee tours we’ve taken. I highly recommend the Luger Coffee Tour for anyone who wants a quick and enjoyable introduction to the coffee cultivation process, and doesn’t have the time to spend a full day on a tour.
Negatives
The only negative to the Luger Coffee Tour was during our experience with the owner, who gave conflicting and controversial information about coffee on our second visit. Other than this run-in, it was a wonderful experience.
First, when we received the welcome coffee, Marisol immediately said it was delicious and tastes exactly how her mother makes it with panela, but she’d like to try the unsweetened version of the coffee. The owner was taken aback and claimed it was completely unsweetened because that’s how his coffee naturally tastes. It obviously had panela in it, and the guide just two days before told us every welcome coffee was made with panela. We took home a bag of Café Luger and brewed it using three different methods. It was good but it was definitely not sweet at all.
Second, he told us how researchers in Switzerland proved that high quality coffee has numerous health properties and children should be drinking multiple cups a day starting from an early age. He even told us his daughter has been drinking at least 10 cups a day since the age of two. The guide didn’t mention this report or the health properties on the tour two days earlier, and not one other coffee tour we’ve taken claims this. Furthermore, when we showed interest asked for a link to the report, he changed the subject.
Map of the Finca El Ocaso and Luger Coffee Tours in Salento
Café Jesús Martín Coffee Tour
If you’re a true lover of coffee and looking for a coffee tour in Salento that’s more personal than any other tour, look no further than the tour offered by Café Jesús Martín.
Café Jesús Martín is consistently rated one of the top coffees in all of Colombia and their tour is unlike any other I’ve experienced. It starts from the very beginning of the owner’s journey and proves that Colombian coffee is more than just a hot drink. When you drink a good Colombian coffee, each cup contains not only the brew of fine beans, but also a touch of the rich fertile land and the vibrant culture of the Coffee Region. Tours must be scheduled in advance and prices are only available by contacting Jesús Martín directly (as of June 2023).
Starting the Jesús Martín Coffee Tour
Our tour began around 8am at the café just off the plaza in Salento, where our guide and interpreter, Blaney, introduced our group to the owners of Café Jesús Martín, Jesús and Ángela. They’re a very gracious couple eager to talk about their coffee journey and were very welcoming to our group.
Visiting Montenegro
From the café, we followed them to the town of Montenegro, about an hour away, and met them in a parking lot just outside the town’s former railway station. Jesús and Ángela pointed out a beautiful relief mural that tells the story of Colombia’s coffee culture, and why the Coffee Region is a UNESCO World Heritage site listed as the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia. They then showed us a colorful traditional building that dates back to the origins of Montenegro.
Riding a Willys
Next, our guests hopped onto a 1975 Willys and rode it to Finca Buenos Aires, where Jesús and Ángela have their coffee farm. The Willys are a symbol of Colombian coffee farmers and have become an integral part of the regional culture.
Finca Buenos Aires
At Finca Buenos Aires, Jesús walked us through a small plot of land filled with beautiful coffee plants. He became emotional as he told the story of how he began his journey after inheriting the land before explaining in detail how coffee is cultivated. He also talked about the dangers to the coffee plants as well as the future of coffee cultivation in Colombia.
Jesús is working hard to educate small local farmers on producing a more sustainable cup of coffee. He believes strongly in both tradition and preserving the natural landscape. He’s always trying to improve his production methods to honor these beliefs while providing a healthy and positive work environment for his employees.
Fermentation Room
Jesús then walked us to the fermentation room where we were able to see some barrels of fermenting coffee. There was also a traditional machine that’s used to separate the beans from the fruit. Jesús said that traditionally, Colombian farmers would separate the beans from the fruit and wash them, leaving them to dry, but he believes that leaving the fruit with the bean can produce a superior flavor.
Greenhouse
Behind the fermentation room is a greenhouse where coffee is left to dry. Jesús and Ángela led us inside and showed us the racks where coffee from different harvest days was left to dry.
Next, Jesús dumped the barrel of coffee he brought from the fermentation room onto a drying rack and showed us how the juices dripped down onto the ground, just like wine. He explained how long the beans would be left to dry and how he has experimented with different fermentation and drying times to produce a superior flavor.
Jesús then took us over to another drying rack to show us how the beans would look after they’re fully dried. He had us smell the aroma produced by the dried beans. He then showed us lower quality beans and explained how those are used in instant coffees and mixed in with higher quality coffees by large multinational coffee companies.
Farmhouse
Next, we walked to his farmhouse where a local family now lives. He explained how when he inherited the house it was in terrible condition and he had it restored based on traditional construction methods. We sat for a good 15 minutes to chat with Jesús and Ángela while they served us grilled plantains with cheese and a fresh cup of coffee.
Roasting Plant
After thanking Jesús and Ángela and saying goodbye, we took the long drive back to Salento. Our guide, Blaney, led us to the roasting plant where a man was carefully selecting one by one the best quality beans to be roasted.
We walked to the roasting machine where the master roaster showed us how coffee changes color as it’s roasted. He explained how he used the different temperature settings to produce different roasts, and then allowed the beans to spill out of the roaster for us to smell the finished product.
Coffee Tasting
The final part of the tour was back at Café Jesús Martín. We were greeted by a barista who showed us a precision roasting machine as well as explained some of the alternative methods for brewing coffee.
Next, we sat down and were given two samples to smell. We were asked which was the premium coffee and which was the burnt bad quality coffee. Adding hot water, we were easily able to tell the difference.
Finally, it was time to taste the coffee. First was an espresso followed by a cappuccino. We were treated to a quick demonstration on how baristas create art with coffee.
My Thoughts on the Jesús Martín Coffee Tour
Overall, it was an excellent tour. What really made the tour special was the owners showing us their land and how much love and care they put into their product. Usually, it’s a trained guide showing visitors around a farm and more often than not it’s either too technical or rudimentary. We were also excited to see the roasting plant, which is extremely uncommon on Colombian coffee tours.
