While exploring the lush Zona Cafetera in Colombia, the Hacienda Venencia is a good place to stop and take a Colombian coffee farm tour. It is an even better place to spend the night. Located near Manizales, and a short 6 hour drive from Medellin.
The Hacienda offers two lodging options. A beautiful hundred year old hacienda house, surrounded by gorgeous gardens, with a pool and free roaming turkeys! As well as a newer house transformed into a hostel, with a shared kitchen, both shared and private bathrooms as well as a camping area with beautiful view over the coffee plantations.
While we did not stay the night, we did check out the hotel. The rooms were functional, as one may expect on a working farm. We chatted with hotel guests we met and they were all very happy. A few were part of a state-wide bird watching tour.
The Zona Cafetera in Colombia has the ideal altitude (3600 to 6000 feet) to grow the highly valued arabica strain. At the hacienda, we took a day long coffee class, that starts with a walk through the plantations, viewing the different states of the grains. Then you are guided through the entire process of fermenting, drying etc. And the end of the afternoon, we gathered in the Hostel house to compare the smells of the different coffee grains to a standardized library of aromas; all the while drinking a lot of coffee !!
Funny enough, we found that many of the brands we knew from around the world sourced their beans direct from the Hacienda Valencia !! There are many different farms to visit in this rolling green paradise; pick one and go !
Hacienda Venecia – Colombian Coffee Farm Tour & Hotel
(57) 320 636 5719
Vereda el Rosario (vía Chinchiná in the coffee motorway) Manizales, Caldas, Colombia
www.haciendavenecia.com
