Interesting enough I had visited Hector’s and Tretto Caffé within the last week and I had uploaded yesterday’s and today’s photos to my online repository, so when I came across the top restaurants list according to TripAdvisor I knew I had to show you a sample of each place. I am sure I also have … Read more
Among the most popular foods found for dinner in Christmas Eve and during Christmas are tamales colorados (red tamales), tamales negros (black tamales), pierna, pavo (turkey) for main dishes. Also, apples and grapes are almost always found at the table. For drinks the most popular is ponche (fresh or dried fruit punch), but you can … Read more
This was the very first time I became aware of the location of the table with the antique map on top. The table’s got a map, a nice one at that, and Rudy took a very pleasant photo of it with a cup of coffee next to it. Can you guess where in La Antigua … Read more
Sabe Rico Restaurant, Chocolatería & Delicatessen is a great place to have delicious and nutritious breakfasts in La Antigua Guatemala. The range options goes from typical Guatemalan breakfast, tamales, et cetera all the way to fresh fruits and home-baked artisan bread slices with home-grown basil pesto and bacon. The Sabe Rico large cup of coffee … Read more
Coffee spawns a new industry around Antigua Guatemala: Coffee tours. It was only a matter of time before the coffee plantations open their doors to tourists interested in learning about the worlds favorite drink. Off course, coffee tours was only the beginning and soon enough the coffee plantations started offering horse and mule rides, bike … Read more
On the road to San Juan del Obispo you can find this view, where you can see a coffee plantation in the foreground with the Acatenango and Fuego Volcanoes in the background. When I was on my way to San Juan del Obispo, I just had to stop and capture this fleeting vista. I am … Read more
Oh there’s nothing better than a great cup of Guatemalan coffee and the online newspapers to begin a Sunday Morning. I normally read The New York Times, El País, La Jornada, El Periódico, Prensa Libre, Clarín and Los Angeles Times. What about you, how do begin your Sunday mornings and what newspapers you read?
Today, I continue learning about the Guatemalan coffees. In the past I have mention how I thought coffee plantations were beneficial for the environment because they provided almost undisturbed forested land for birds like Bushy-crested Jay which is native to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Also, I shared with you the biannual procedure of … Read more
These are the hands the rock the coffee berries off the branches swiftly, almost effortlessly it seemed. There’s something about these hands that moves me . What kind of stories are behind these hands? What life have they lived?
In Spanish we use the word café to mean coffee and brown. Coffee berries, however, begin their color palette lifecycle as green fruit which then turns yellow and finally red when ripe. The color shifts do not stop there, from there it turns yellowish again as it is being dried, then light green and finally … Read more
Here’s what a typical Sunday morning Guatemalan breakfast may look like. I say Sunday morning breakfast because normally one can only find tamales on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Guatemalan tamales are normally served along with pan francés (French rolls [how to say pan francés in English?]) and a cup of hot coffee or chocolate. … Read more
The Bagel Barn is a popular venue in La Antigua Guatemala for getting a bagel sandwich, great coffee and checking your email. There are electric plugs all along the walls so you can even get some juice for your laptop. These are also good reasons to have “power breakfast” or lunch meetings at the Bagel … Read more
Come on, just because you’re dead it doesn’t mean you can not have access to good coffee. This coffee field is right behind the San Lázaro Cemetery in La Antigua Guatemala. This photo was taken from this crypts in San Lázaro cemetery. You do remember the series about the San Lazaro Cemetery, right?.
So what makes La Antigua Guatemala the best coffee in the world? To get the best cup of coffee of the world, one must start with the right altitude; somewhere above 1,500 meters above the sea level; add lots of fertile volcanic soil; mix in plenty of rain (about six months); stable temperate weather (about 75˚ F / 25˚ C); once you have the above, make sure you plant the best possible Arabica coffee.
Yesterday’s photo was a close-up of the coffee bush in the lower left corner of today’s photo. If you click on the image above you can the coffee bushes (the small trees) being harvested under the shadows of the Gravilea trees in San Pedro Las Huertas, La Antigua Guatemala. Around La Antigua Guatemala you can find coffee bushes everywhere, including as part of the hedges of La Compañía de Jesús ruins.