Five Unique Cafés in Bogotá

Colombian coffee is considered by coffee connoisseurs to be one of the best in the world and you don't have to be a professional to taste the difference. The location and geography of the South American country provides a climate and soil that is unique in the world and makes it possible to bring fresh coffee to the customers all year round.

Colombian coffees belong to the best in the world.

In a big city like Bogota there are of course many good cafes. The aim of this blog post is not only to give a recommendation for the exquisite coffee but also to give the connoisseurs an experience in the extended spectrum. The following cafes all have at least one characteristic that makes them something very special in this eight million metropolis.

Wuasikamas - replacing poppy with coffee

The name Wuasikamas comes from Ingas, the indigenous-rooted people that live in the area of Nariño and means “guardians of the earth”. Since the possibilities in the remote zone did not bring many possibilities to earn money, the Ingas cultivated a huge area with opium poppies. During the harvest, a paste was pressed from the blossom, which was then collected and sold to criminal organizations for the production of heroin.  Due to its remote location, this place was strategically interesting for a variety of criminal organizations, such as the FARC, as there was no state-police control. This led to the Ingas within their own territory being caught in the crossfire (in the truest sense of the word) of the various groups fighting for the supply rights of the poppy. Many local people were killed, kidnapped and tortured (60 persons out of just 951 families died of these conflicts).

The elders came together for a reunion because things could not go on like this. They decided to withdraw from the drug business and decided to grow coffee. Despite numerous threats, they cleaned the fields of poppies and went into the coffee business.

They produced high-quality coffee, but were underpaid by intermediaries. They then decided to open a cafe in La Candelaria with a bank loan and sell their own goods like cookies, panela, typical handicrafts and of course their own coffee.

If the business goes according to plan, they could guarantee the 500 families in their community fair prices for work, secure the financing of their indigenous reserve and donate 40 percent of the proceeds to an emergency fund set up to rebuild their village who suffers from a huge crack in the earth.

With this effort, the community won in 2015 the United Nations’ Equator Prize for local sustainable development efforts and the theme is an essential part in our Weaving Peace Tour.

The Cafe sells also other articles made by the Wuasikamas

So enjoy a top cup of coffee while supporting a local community and learn more about the history and the indigenous community situated on Calle 12a #4-27 in downtown of Bogota.

San Alberto in Usaquen - the awarded one

One of the country's most award-winning coffee families created this temple for lovers of the Colombian beverage par excellence. All preparations are based on freshly ground beans from the Hacienda Quindiana (check out tour possibilities for this coffee finca here), which has been in operation for four decades.

The smell of coffee flirting from the moment you walk through the door invites you to forget your responsibilities. This place seems to be a time machine, to bring you back in the years in which the preparation of coffee was a science, not just a mechanical and boring process of pouring water through coffee grounds.

San Alberto knows how to make coffee the old fashioned way

Of course nowadays practicality is needed, but in this way the possibility of making a more flavorful coffee is sacrificed.

They provide fascinating facts, even if you don't ask. Stay at the bar for a while. See how they deal with all the curious sample vessels that make it look like the world's fittest scientific laboratory. Let yourself be hypnotized by the way they slowly water the freshly ground coffee. Bubble honey is highly recommended: an aromatic, thick, coffee-based honey placed in a glass of tonic water, ice cream and a hint of citrus.

They are also very curious and work constantly in inventing new coffee beverages and methods such as their cold brew foam (made out entirely from cold brew without any milk )

To experience this, check out the place on Calle 117 #6a-47.

Libertario - drinking one of the best Colombian coffees in Colombia

These coffees are produced with higher standards than the traditional ones, such as the best practices to protect the environment, the grain, the process and of course the coffee farmers. The end results are cups which always claim to be "the perfect one", a tireless search in the chain through which roasters, baristas and, of course, consumers run.

The beans are provided by la Palma y el Tucán, an experimental coffee farm close to Bogota (tour information here). They are also the owners of Libertario.

Coffee and cake, what else could be served in a spot like this

The format of selling high quality coffee in Colombia is getting stronger and stronger then a lot of foreigners have associated the country with coffee, but it turns out that the best coffee is not always drunk here. As in other coffee countries such as Nicaragua and Guatemala, Colombia also has the problem that high quality coffee is primarily destined for export and has little to no effect on the population - or in other words, they drink 2nd class coffee. The idea of Libertario’s owner(s) is to release part of the produced coffee to the Colombians, so that they can taste what it is sold to the best coffee shops in the world.

The cafe is located in the barrio Chapinero - Calle 70 #5-37.

Catuai - the cozy one

The Cafe Catuai is small, quiet and an oasis of relaxation and silence within the eight million metropolis of Bogota. Due to its size, or rather the small size of the cafe, it is less busy and has fewer customers. This in turn is reflected in the high quality of service: the barista has and takes time to explain everything you want to know about the coffee (-process), he advises you on what might be the best coffee for you or you can talk with him about whatever you like.

Catuai serves dreams and love in little coffee cups.

Also the ambience in general in this small space feels quiet homey and pleasant to stay for a while.

You will find this little oasis on Calle 79 #12a-25.

Wilborada - books and coffee

Wilborada 1047 is not just a company that sells books or coffee: this bookshop wanted to consolidate itself as a cultural space with an agenda. For example on Saturdays, the youngest children in the neighborhood take over the house and have fun reading a story recommended by Wilborada 1047 booksellers. And for the older ones, the bookstore organizes meetings where it is not only about scholarship or expertise, but also about the fun and pleasure of reading and conversing about a common passion: reading.

At Wilborada you can combine good books with excellent coffee

So what the Wilborada 1047 strives for is recognition as a place of rest, pleasure, happiness, heightening the senses and a house that visitors can take and feel as their own. In less than a year, this bookshop has become a regular meeting place for the people who take the opportunity to study, read, have a coffee, comment on the last book read, share a lecture, recover from the daily hustle and bustle or ask for a good reading recommendation to an excellent cup of coffee..

By the way, the name Wilborada 1047 comes from a cleric woman with Swiss roots. She was the first woman to be officially sainted by the Vatican in the year 1047 and is the patron saint of booksellers in German-speaking Europe.

You can enjoy coffee and books on Calle 71 #10-47 or you can experience it on a tour which also includes the delicious local gastronomy.

Bogota is a paradise for coffee lovers, connoisseurs and enthusiasts. There are many possibilities to taste good coffee. For those who aren’t satisfied with “just good coffee” and are looking for something special: with the selection above you will be served well.

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