You drink coffee. Now meet the farmers
Monique Bayer of Walk Melbourne Tours and author of ‘Devouring Melbourne: uncovering a delicious city’ has expanded her speciality coffee tours to become adventures to origin.
By Adventures to Origin
Through Adventures to Origin, Monique hosts 10-day adventures for coffee enthusiasts and industry professionals to visit coffee farms and meet the farmers. Think about people traveling to France to see where champagne is made and meet the winemakers. Our trips are like that — but for coffee. Each year we offer trips to Costa Rica (Latin America) and Rwanda (East Africa).
When asked why she wanted to take her experiences out of the cafes of Melbourne and onto the farm, she says ‘I’ve explored coffee drinking and café culture across the world. Every time, I feel curious about who the farmers are and what their lives are like. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one!’
There’s a growing trend of discerning coffee drinkers being very interested in where their coffee comes from. They are curious about the difference between coffee from various origins and can taste the difference in the how the coffee was processed. However, when sitting in a café in the city, tasting notes are as close as they’ll ever get to learning more.
These are adventures to meet real people that live lives pretty different to ours and to learn a whole lot in the process.
There are lots of opportunities to visit coffee farms in the developing world. But how do you know you’re not heading to a mickey-mouse farm catering to tour coaches? Or standing next to people that don’t know the difference between espresso and filter, asking for a cappuccino with two?
Monique has developed relationships with farmers, mills, coops and cupping labs that work at the pointy end of quality. They supply some of the highest quality roasters in the world including Market Lane Coffee in Melbourne and Nordic Approach in Oslo.
We satisfy your curiosity for how coffee is grown and processed. You’ll have the opportunity to walk through the microlots with the farmer, taste the cherries of the tree and visit the mills. Most importantly you’ll be able to drink coffee with the farmer and have a conversation.
Every farmer you meet will be growing premium coffee and will be part of a community where coffee contributes a significant amount to their livelihoods.
And it will be lush and green and beautiful.
But one cannot live on coffee alone. What about those other important parts of a holiday — like food, hotels… and the beach?
Every itinerary offered is focused on coffee. But Monique wants you to have time to unwind a little as well. Coffee is grown at altitude, so we’ll definitely visit some beautiful mountains. But we’ll also take a beach break at the halfway point to check out the local wildlife (sloths! gorillas!) and drink a cocktail at sunset. It’s a holiday after all.
We have a reputation for creating local, authentic experiences. These will not be resort holidays. Where possible, we’ll stay on the farm or as close to it as feasible. Most of the time we’ll eat what the farmers and pickers eat, especially when they are cooking for us. It’s all good stuff! These are adventures to meet real people that live lives pretty different to ours and to learn a whole lot in the process. But you have one thing in common — we all love coffee.
Costa Rica: Feb 19–28, 2018
Rwanda: May 1–10, 2018
Early bird pricing until September 30, 2017.
Other dates by private arrangement.
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