The first thing anyone would think of Colombia is the coffee. One of the largest exporters of coffee in the world, Colombia’s Eje Cafetero (Coffee Zone) is a highlight on any traveler’s list. And although there are many operators and companies that offer tours to some of the towns or places in the coffee zone, we met Juan Agudelo in our hostel in Armenia, with whom we went to Salento and Valle de Cocora the previous day.
In a brief conversation with Juan the previous day, we found out that his company ‘Experiencia Cafetera‘ also offered tours around the towns of Pijao and Buenavista, which are in the coffee zone. We immediately signed-up for a half-day tour to these towns, that costs COP 45,000 per person, which includes lunch and tour starting from Pijao. “Wakecup” is a brand under the company that they use to provide tours to Pijao and Buenavista.
We took a taxi from our hostel in Armenia to the bus terminal. Then we took a bus to Pijao (costs COP 5,700 per person, 45-60 minutes). The bus will dropped us to the Plaza (central square), where we met Juan, who introduced us to his brother, Carlos, our official tour guide for the coffee zone. Both the brothers speak fluent English, which helped us have a conversation with the local farmers.
Pijao
Starting off at Pijao, which is a small quaint town in central Quindio department (state). Surrounded by hills on all sides, we started our tour at the offices of Experiencia Cafetero in Pijao, and rode our bicycles to the Lejos river. Back in town after a quick ride, we met the agents who collect coffee from the farmers and send it to the Coffee Federation of Colombia.
[Piajo center plaza]
[Pijao lanes]
[Lejos river]
Buenavista
From Pijao, Juan drove up the hills that had coffee and plantain plantations on both sides of the road, and after about over an hour, we were in Buenavista. This small town in the mountains is known as the coffee town of Colombia. We met his brother, Carlos, who was going to be our guide to the coffee farm and meeting the local farmers. Of course, we had time for some coffee in the central plaza in front of the church!
[Buenavista valley]
[Coffee plantations on way to Buenavista]
[Street leading to Buenavista. Coffee & Plantain plantations all over.]
[Church in Buenavista centro]
Along with Carlos, we walked down to the farm where we met Señor Leonel, the farmer who owned the coffee and plantain plantations around the area. He spoke softly and his Spanish was precise for an amateur to understand clearly (unlike the fast and slang the locals spoke).
He showed us the original and organic coffee plants, along with what beans look the best and worst quality – the shape, size and whether the beans are bug free determine the quality. While there are markets for low and medium quality bean- coffee in Colombia, most of the high quality ones are exported to other countries.
[Walking down to the farm]
[Carlos (left) and Famer Leonel (right)]
[Path leading to farm, along with plantain trees]
[With Señor Leonel, the farmer]
After a quick tour in the trees and farms, we were invited to Mr. Leonel’s home just a few meters walk along the path. He stayed there with his wife and two dogs. There was a small factory behind the main house where he processes the coffee beans before selling it to the merchant or the Federation.
[Dried coffee beans – front batch are low quality, second batch are medium and on left is high quality]
[Machine that processes the coffee beans]
After the tour of the factory, we were invited to lunch prepared by his wife – bean and beef stew soup, salad, patacones, pork meat, arepa and rice. Unlimited Mango juice was included too!
Lastly, we walked behind the house to the plantain tress, where Mr. Leonel plucked a fresh Guyabana fruit off the tree, sliced it and offered to us to eat, which was sweetly delicious!
[Plantain trees where the Plantains are covered with plastic bags as greenhouses]
We drove in the back of Mr. Leonel’s pick up truck back to Buenavista’s central plaza, from where we took the bus back to Armenia’s bus terminal and then a taxi to the hostel.
This was one of the best experiences we had in Colombia, which gave us the opportunity to meet the ‘source’ of the Colombian coffee, along with visiting a local Colombian family and sharing their home and food. The humbleness of Mr. Leonel and his family will be in our hearts forever.
We had some aromatica in the hostel and took a nap. After which we headed to the main road for dinner at Quimbaya restaurant.
Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = COP 2200 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| Coffee at hostel | $0.90 | COP 2,000 per person for Coffee with milk. |
| Taxi to Bus terminal | $1.60 | COP 7,000 for 2 persons. From hostel Casa Quimbaya to bus terminal. One way. |
| Bus to Pijao | $0.90 | COP 5,700 per person from Armenia bus terminal to Pijao Plaza. |
| Wakecup Tour | $20.45 | COP 45,000 per person. |
| Purchase coffee | $6.36 | COP 14,000 per person. |
| Bus to Armenia | $2.22 | COP 4,900 per person. From Buenavista to Armenia bus terminal. |
| Taxi to hostel | $1.82 | COP 8,000 for 2 persons. From Armenia bus terminal to Casa Quimbaya hostel. One-way. |
| Tea in hostel | $1.59 | COP 3,500 per person for aromatica |
| Dinner at hostel cafe | $5.00 | COP 11,000 per person |
| Total Costs | $40.84 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $1,685.27 | Per person |
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Armenia, Salento, Valle de Cocora
Colonial architecture town and valley of Wax Palms.