Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Juan Valdez coffee

Hello  Junge !

That’s my most commonly saying HELLO to guys from my University in Ams. Its been a lot of fun today but also very busy. We work as crazy for 12-13 hours daily but I never forget about my dearest followers. As I posted on my facebook fanpage https://www.facebook.com/Nataliaskotnickablogspotcom ( if you did not like it yet, please do it ! ) I really miss my best Colombian coffee which always makes me awake. If I would have to choose where would I want to have a cup of coffee it wouldn’t be Starbucks, nor Costa but … JUAN VALDEZ. For those who does not know JUAN VALDEZ let me introduce some facts.

·      Juan Valdez is a fictional character who has appeared in advertisements for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia since 1958, representing a Colombian coffee farmer
·      Juan Valdez was initially portrayed by José F. Duval in both print advertisements and on television until 1969. José Duval died in 1993 at the age of 72.

·      Juan Valdez had been embodied by Carlos Sánchez since 1969 and voiced by Norman Rose. In 2006, Sánchez announced his retirement, and Carlos Castañeda, a grower from the town of Andes, Antioquia, was selected by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia as the new face of Juan Valdez.

·      There were 238 Juan Valdez coffee shops in 2013, 135 in Colombia and 35 shops in other countries. Juan Valdez brand coffee is available in Chile, Costa Rica, Aruba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Spain, Kuwait, and the United States at supermarkets and Juan Valdez coffee shops. Just 3 weeks ago new Juan Valdez coffee shop opened in Miami downtown.

What makes this coffee unique? Its very personal. In my opinion, when you taste it, you really feel coffee, not the artificial coffee syrup which is served by Starbucks or other commercialized coffee shops.  Honestly saying, I saw how people collect coffee, I saw how they select each grain separately, I saw theirs passion for that. It is also shocking info that coffee collectors earn 1 dollar per day + “stuff lunch”. Everybody knows that it is nothing however it has nothing in common with commercializing or cheap labour. People do that in Colombia. Normally, the coffee collectors live on a farm or very close to it. I can say that they live + smell + fulfill theirs life with coffee. It has to be a passion, nah? I was super delighted when I could spend a day with coffee collectors. I helped them with collecting coffee and do all the procedures, step by step to obtain a cup of coffee and drink it J . Afterwards I also had opportunity to put all grains into the wool bags which were taken by a truck in a very next day. What next ? coffee shops around Colombia. It is pretty funny for me that those coffee grains I have collected were used, reproduced and put into the wool for sale.

Juan Valdez reminds me of the most moments spent with my friends in malls or in Cartagena. Drinking coffee in JV coffee shop was such a pleasure. I could choose my coffee, not only “tinto” which means just a black coffee and its drunk in Colombia everyday for breakfast  but also cappuccino, Frappuccino and much more.  Probably you can find JV coffee at the airports. For those interested to this coffee please contact me and I can help you with finding it.






Have a lovely day
Besitos
Natalia Skotnicka

nskotnicka@wp.pl