My name is Camilo Arbeláez. I was born and raised in Pereira, the capital of the Coffee Axis in Colombia, where most Colombian coffee comes from. "Mi tierrita," (my little land) as I affectionately call it, is a paradise at the foot of the central Andes mountain range, from where one of the best coffees in the world emerges.
Pictured above: Pereira, Colombia
I had the fortune of being born in this place blessed by nature, which gifted me the best memories of my childhood and adolescence. Memories of the landscape of the fincas where the mountains undulate towards the horizon in a green blanket woven by coffee crops; the adventures in the "yipaos" and "chivas" climbing the trails full of coffee sacks; the aroma of the coffee roasters that traveled kilometers announcing the abundance of the harvest; the peaceful Sunday mornings when my father read his newspaper in his hammock with his indispensable cafecito; the music of bambucos* and pasillos* that marked the rhythm of the coffee milling, and so many more memories that always come to me every time I taste a great cup of Colombian coffee.
*Bambucos and Pasillos are rhythms of folklore from the Colombian Andean area where string instruments predominate and there are usually several voices in a choir with very deep melodies, expressing the customs of life in the mountains and the pride of belonging to them.
As the saying goes, “you don't know what you have until you lose it.” For me, it was so normal to have easy access to delicious coffee that it wasn’t until I arrived in the USA that I realized that it was truly a luxury. Despite attempt after attempt, I couldn't find the flavor that so evoked my memories until I decided that the best thing was to bring it directly from fincas in Colombia. When I finally received coffee directly from Colombia and brewed the first cup, it was like being reborn. I was in a dream that eased the pain of homesickness. For a moment, I was back on the finca with my family. That's why the mission was born in me to share the experience of great Colombian coffee with coffee lovers in the USA who appreciate coffee in its purest and most natural state. There is no doubt that if your only approach to coffee has been in the supermarket or chain stores, Encantado's coffee will take you on a journey to a new horizon of flavors from which you will never be able to turn back. Check out our offerings here.
