Food, drink and travel writer + sommelier | Argentina + Latin America
(The Independent) “I want Colombia to be different,” says Jhon Benavides, an aspiring barista and, from the age of 14 until last year, a guerrilla in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). He’s just prepared a brew, carefully weighing out freshly ground coffee beans before making some cups of arabica grown here in Popayán, […]
CAUCA, Colombia — Plenty of positive coffee-related stories are coming out of Colombia; this one, however, pre-dates the start of November 2016’s peace process. The meeting-place has been set but for our own safety, we won’t be gathering at Luis Fernando’s homestead in the department of Cauca. Instead, this group of journalists and a team […]
CAUCA, Colombia — The landscape that makes up Colombia’s fourth-largest coffee-producing department wildly varies from that of Paraná and São Paulo states in south-west Brazil (Buenos Aires Herald, July 7 and July 14, 2017). Scattered across a rolling altitude that soars up to 2,100 metres above sea level, Cauca has the Andes to thank for […]
JACAREZINHO and SÃO PAULO — Did you accept my suggestion and try your daily caffeine injection naked: no milk, no cream, no sugar or sweetener? Any surprises beyond the aromas of actual coffee? When it comes to cupping, or tasting, coffee, it’s a complex ritual. Preparation is elaborate and assessment involves more than a simple […]
PARANÁ, Brazil — “When people think of Brazilian coffee, they think of a dark-roasted drink but the truth is, that heavy roasting covers up a lot of defects, starting with the fact that unripe beans are being used. We’re trying to change that perception, microlot by microlot.” Former diplomat Edgard Bressani, a co-founder from boutique […]
(Wallpaper*) TARIJA, BOLIVIA – Film director Steven Soderbergh and Hollywood concept artist Joanna Bush have given Soderbergh’s Singani63 spirit brand a cinematic redesign. Singani is a little-known Bolivian spirit made from aromatic Muscat of Alexandria grapes distilled at altitude, in Soderbergh’s case at Casa Real distillery, 1,800m above sea level. He wanted the new design […]