_Un tinto_ is not necessarily a weak coffee! It's a small coffee typically with sugar, but without cream or milk. If the variety of coffee is an especially mild one, such as Geisha, Colombians often drop the sugar and drink _un tinto_ black.
In Colombia, the emphasis is on the coffee and the social moment, rather than on the specialty drinks popular in the US.
I love the social aspect of Colombian coffee culture! But I've never seen tinto made with specialty exotic blends. In fact, we spoke to a lot of coffee farmers for a recent story who specifically define tinto as the coffee made from the throwaway beans (most of the best beans were traditionally sent for export abroad). Over the five years I lived in Colombia, I have seen that begin to change, with an increasingly greater appreciation for quality coffee. But the drinks made with quality beans are still never called tinto. And, for now, quality coffee is still the exception, and off the tourist trail, it is more common to find instant coffee than an espresso.
Great reporting on the ground. But, it should be said that any move away from tintos is a step in the right direction.
_Un tinto_ is not necessarily a weak coffee! It's a small coffee typically with sugar, but without cream or milk. If the variety of coffee is an especially mild one, such as Geisha, Colombians often drop the sugar and drink _un tinto_ black.
In Colombia, the emphasis is on the coffee and the social moment, rather than on the specialty drinks popular in the US.
I love the social aspect of Colombian coffee culture! But I've never seen tinto made with specialty exotic blends. In fact, we spoke to a lot of coffee farmers for a recent story who specifically define tinto as the coffee made from the throwaway beans (most of the best beans were traditionally sent for export abroad). Over the five years I lived in Colombia, I have seen that begin to change, with an increasingly greater appreciation for quality coffee. But the drinks made with quality beans are still never called tinto. And, for now, quality coffee is still the exception, and off the tourist trail, it is more common to find instant coffee than an espresso.
Yes - typically, coffee for domestic _tinto_ has not been export quality.
What an interesting story and good written, through the eyes of locals and nature.