At Varietale Café contained in the El Dorado worldwide airport in Bogotá. Courtesy picture.

All through the world, airport espresso tends to be like touring again in time 20 years. The espresso itself is commonly nameless, over-roasted and begging for milk and sugar — possibly even some vanilla syrup — with a purpose to be softened for nice consumption. 

As we speak’s bigger airports additionally are typically heavy on worldwide chains. For drained worldwide vacationers, this may present some warming familiarity, but what’s within the cup can depart one thing to be desired. 

One of the vital closely trafficked airports amongst espresso professionals is the principle worldwide airport in El Dorado Worldwide Airport (BOG) Bogotá, Colombia. Whereas numerous espresso outlets and cafes dot El Dorado’s sprawling nationwide and worldwide terminals — together with chains reminiscent of Dunkin and Juan Valdez — at the least two domestically owned and operated espresso outlets are specializing in premium Colombian-grown specialty espresso: Xue Café and Varietale Café. 

Xue Café. Day by day Espresso Information picture by Jordan Buchanan.

DCN just lately spoke to the operators of every of those cafes to debate airport operations and their method to selling high quality Colombian coffees to nationwide and worldwide visitors. 

Xue Café

In 2014, the espresso manufacturing and roasting firm Xue Café opened its first espresso store within the worldwide departures terminal at El Dorado. 

A multi-generational espresso firm led by CEO Olga Londono and her daughter Martina Hakim, Xue Cafe will get its coffees from its personal farm, Manantiales Del Frontino, the place 10 totally different varieties develop. The farm’s first harvest in 2011 received a top quality award from what was then the Specialty Espresso Affiliation of America (SCAA), now the SCA.

Xue Café. Day by day Espresso Information picture by Jordan Buchanan.

Whereas Olga has been concerned in espresso manufacturing since 1995, and specialty espresso manufacturing since 2008, the espresso store enterprise has been pushed by Martina, who stated, “We wish Colombians and the world to know that Colombia has luxurious high quality merchandise.”

This previous August, Xue Cafe opened its second airport outlet in a home departures terminal, increasing the corporate’s attain. In each terminals, visitors can discover freshly ready espresso drinks and limited-edition baggage of roasted espresso. 

Varietale Café

Abel Calderón has been working Varietale Café, a espresso store vacation spot within the coronary heart of Bogotá, since 2014. In 2021, he expanded the enterprise to incorporate a location in an El Dorado worldwide terminal. 

Whereas the unique store continues to serve a lot of college students from close by campuses, plus native staff, the airport location opened up a wider viewers. 

“It was an opportunity to serve many individuals specialty espresso,” Calderón stated, “native or international vacationers.”

Varietale Café. Courtesy picture.

Final month Varietale opened its second airport location in one other worldwide terminal of El Dorado, providing a real specialty espresso store expertise regardless of the bustling airport site visitors. 

These outlets give worldwide visitors one thing of a diplomatic illustration of Colombian espresso. Colombia’s repute as a high-quality coffee-producing nation is deeply established, but outlets Like Xue and Varietale current clear alerts to vacationers that Colombia is a main vacation spot for espresso consumption, too.

Feedback? Questions? Information to share? Contact DCN’s editors right here. 

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