AGRADO Coffee Plantation in Colombia

Arranged by the Colombian Coffee Association, we drove to a coffee plantation called AGRADO, which is also the site of the Colombian Coffee Association's association. There are five farms, three of which grow coffee and two of which grow trees.

Our guide, Herman, a member of the local coffee association and a professional coffee guide, said that he usually receives a lot of American guests, while Chinese tourists like us are almost zero. During the exchange, he told me that because there were few Chinese coming, he was not sure whether the Chinese knew Colombian coffee beans. When I said that Colombian coffee beans were as famous in China as the Great Wall was in the world, the lovely tour guide was extremely excited and proud.

Under Herman's guidance, we entered the world of complete coffee.

First of all, from the beginning of seed selection, the association uniformly provides high-quality seeds to ensure that there are no problems of natural diseases in the planting process. The seeds used on Agrado Farm are called "Castle", which suits the characteristics of the local soil. In the process of planting, they have a strong ability to absorb nutrients and can grow better without using too much chemical fertilizer or other things. After 60 days, it began to sprout, and the length of time was related to climate and temperature. Then 60 days later, the coffee beans grow leaves like butterflies. At this time, the coffee seedlings must be covered with a black cloth with holes to avoid direct sunlight and hurt the seedlings. Then, two months later, after growing into a seedling, we begin to transplant and separate the seedlings, which are seedlings with a relatively high survival rate and wait for another two months to grow. In this way, the seedlings after six months can be moved to the fields and begin to grow into coffee trees. The healthy age of a coffee tree is 6-10 years old.

Because Colombia's coffee-producing areas are located in the foothills of the Andes, where the climate is mild and the air is humid. There are three Cordilleras mountains (sub-mountain system) running north and south, right into the Andes. Coffee is grown along the highlands of these mountains. The mountain steps provide a diverse climate, which means that the whole year is the harvest season, with different kinds of coffee ripening at different times.

In the process of harvesting coffee beans, there are great restrictions in Colombia. First, because Colombian coffee is grown on steep slopes, it cannot be harvested by machine, which is inefficient and costly. When it comes to purchase, it has to be checked every 15 days. When you see what is ripe, pick it by hand, unlike Brazil, which can pick it in the field with a harvester. The second is that Colombia washes coffee beans. After picking the beans, peel off the exocarp first, then wash the endocarp, wash it off and dry it in the sun, then save it and peel it off before export. In this way, a lot of impurities will be washed away in the process of washing, and there will be no flavor of fermentation, but the cost will be much higher, 60% of which is labor cost.

In the coffee tasting center, we saw the whole process of hand-selected coffee-- this will select the sick and bad coffee, and the roasting process is particularly exquisite, to control the temperature and air intake. Tasting experts often have a data analysis to scientifically calculate which kind of coffee is fried for how long, and the effect is the best. The analysis table shows the life resume of each kind of coffee. Find the best taste of each kind of coffee and bake it at the best taste to ensure the best taste of all kinds of coffee.

Paul is a coffee connoisseur who works at the Agrado Manor Taste Center. He has been here for 11 years and is a member of the American Association of Coffee connoisseurs. As a coffee tasting expert, Paul cannot drink, smoke or eat spicy food, especially cannot use perfume and maintain good habits. He starts to taste and work when he wakes up in the morning, because the taste buds are the cleanest. Only after making sure that all the work is done, do you brush your teeth.

The inventor of the French wine tasting standard also invented the coffee tasting standard. There are 36 basic flavors of coffee, which are collected by the Frenchman from all the coffee producing areas. 36 flavors are divided into four groups, each with 9 basic flavors. Colombian coffee and Central American coffee are famous for their jasmine scent, which can be smelled if you enter a coffee garden with coffee flowers after 5: 00 in the morning. The aroma of Colombian coffee is mainly composed of five flavors, which are 1. 5%. The taste of nectar; 2. Lemon flavor; 3. Green apple fruit flavor; 4. The taste of peanut oil; 5. Vanilla.

Generally speaking, when people drink coffee, the first feeling is sweet, the second is sour, and then there is the feeling of the upper teeth-the main taste, and the fourth feeling is the sense of mouth and mouth, which is determined by caffeine. the fifth feeling is balance, and the five senses are taken together, that is, the overall taste of coffee.

What is the taste of really good coffee? Paul said with a mysterious smile, it is very simple, when the coffee is hot, warm and cold, good coffee should taste good at any temperature.