Let's Go Places Travel News

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Hope everyone is enjoying their morning coffee!!!

COFFEE is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Millions of coffee lovers worldwide can’t be wrong – there’s something special about it.

In North America, we drink a lot of coffee from Central and South America, mainly because the region’s geographic proximity to us makes it easy to import. To make a "bold" generalization, the coffees from Central America are the classic, medium-bodied coffees that most drinkers are used to, with cocoa or nutty notes.

Coffee plantation and tasting tours have popped up all over the world, and for enthusiasts and casual drinkers alike, a tour in Central America is a worthwhile cultural experience that you’ll never forget. No need to pack your portable French Press if you're traveling here!

Have you ever wanted to stay on a working coffee farm? What better way to learn about coffee, right? Then make sure to check out our Hotel Spotlight.

I've been lucky enough to have been to coffee farms in Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica. Each coffee tour was very different, the coffees all had their unique flavors. And you always learn something new.

Remember our family vacation in Costa Rica? We actually went to tour the Starbucks coffee farm close to San Jose. Yes, Starbucks owns a coffee farm! Purchased in 2013, Hacienda Alsacia is a 240-hectare coffee farm in Costa Rica that serves as a global Research and Development facility and working farm for Starbucks.

I've included an article about the Starbucks Coffee Farm below and a picture (above) of my family during our visit there!

Come and explore the coffee regions of Central America with us in today's edition of Let's Go Places! And as always, contact us for a free quote and you could be on your way to an amazing coffee farm very soon.

Anja

TropiQ Trips Blog

The Best Tropical Destinations On A Budget

Are you looking for a refreshing tropical escape from the hustle and bustle of your everyday life? Whether craving a relaxing beach vacation to lounge, party or explore, it can be difficult to find the best tropical destinations on a budget.

Thankfully, there are plenty of exciting and affordable beach vacation spots that won’t break the bank. These top 5 tropical destinations on a budget offer pristine sandy beaches, affordable accommodations, budget-friendly restaurants, and an array of free attractions. Plus, they are only a few flight hours away from the US.

Tour Of The Week

Costa Rica - Panama - Nicaragua tour "Mundo Verde"

Costa Rica – Nicaragua – Panama tour MUNDO VERDE DISCOVER THREE COUNTRIES IN ONE AMAZING TRIP – PRIVATE TOUR – GUIDED IN ENGLISH Experience the miracles of three incredible countries of Central America on our Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua tour Mundo Verde (translates to green world). The three countries share a rich natural beauty and enormous biodiversity. Discover the various climate and vegetation zones this region has to offer, such as the elevated cloud forests, the Caribbean lowlands, and the moderate to dry Pacific coastline.

Among the highlights of this tour is the stopover at Ometepe in the vast Lake Nicaragua, the Arenal Volcano and the Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica, and an excursion to the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro in Panama.

The diverse natural wonders throughout this amazing Costa Rica – Panama – Nicaragua tour are complemented with a visit to the beautiful colonial city of Granada in Nicaragua and the impressive Panama Canal.

Costa Rica

5 Things to Know about Starbucks Coffee Farm in Costa Rica

For the last five years, Hacienda Alsacia has been an innovation hub for Starbucks, helping to better understand the challenges coffee farmers face and determining best practices and solutions.

Read on...

Panama

Panama Geisha: Full Guide to One of the World Best Coffee – Panama Life Insider

While Panama is not among the world’s top coffee producers in the world, it has the most expensive coffee in the world, the Panama Geisha coffee.

The Panama Geisha coffee has been the highest per-pound price coffee ever paid since 2004 and the buying craze in the high-end specialty coffee market continues in record-breaking fashion.

In 2019, the Elida Geisha coffee from the Lamastus family’s Elida Estate in Panama sold for $1,029 per pound.

Hotel Spotlight

FINCA LERIDA – Boutique Hotel & Working Coffee Farm in Panama's Highlands

Tales of Birds and High Altitude Coffee…

Finca Lerida’s reputation is as old as the first coffee that Panama exported to Germany back in 1929. The high-quality coffee produced inside this exceptional plantation made its international buyers realize that there was more to Panama than just its Canal.

In 1924, engineer Mönniche finally retired from the Panama Canal and along with his wife, Julia, moved to Finca Lerida. Here he built his house – completely by hand – in a Norwegian countryside style and built the first Coffee Plantation by gravity in Panama.

This was, and still is, Finca Lerida.

Make sure to check out this unique property located in Boquete, a cute town in Panama's Highlands. Wouldn't you just love to stay on a working coffee farm? I don't think you can get fresher coffee anywhere else! :)

Latin America

Central America Coffee Info: Home of Some of Our Favorite Coffees

Central America is incredibly diverse and is home to some of the world’s most beloved coffees. In fact, many of our best-selling beans, and some of my personal favorites, come from Central American.

The region of Central America extends from Mexico to Panama and is the heart of the equatorial zone. It is often referred to as the “Bean Belt” because of its nearly perfect growing environment. Due to its close proximity to the United States, the coffee beans you commonly find in the grocery stores or coffee shops are produced in Central America. Unlike many other types of coffee, “Centrals” (as they are sometimes called) have the unique ability to be fantastic single-origins beans while also being complementary additions in most blends.

So, how did coffee find its way to Central America, and what makes their beans so special?

History & Growing Environment

The countries that make up the Central American “Bean Belt” are Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

The origin story of Central American coffee began in the early eighteenth century when a coffee plant was gifted to the King of France in 1714. This “grandparent” coffee plant grew successfully, and in 1723, a fellow plant sailed from France to the island of Martinique. The art of coffee planting and drinking exploded in the Caribbean, and crops spread across various islands around the West Indies.

50 years later, coffee finally found a new home in Central America for commercial growth, and soon become a significant export.

About

This travel update is brought to you twice a month by Anja Phillips, owner of TropiQ Trips. If you enjoy these free, curated updates and want to help out a small business, please forward our sign-up page and share it on Social Media. Thanks so much.

TropiQ Trips provides customized tours to Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, and other countries in Central America & the world. We create unique travel experiences - at no extra cost to you!

Planning a Panama vacation or just curious about this tiny but oh-so-diverse country? Make sure to join our private Panama Travel Community.

Tourism is a critical revenue source for nearly every country in the world. We work with local agencies in each of our destinations. When you travel with us, you support small hotels, businesses, and local families, not big cooperations - here and there.

If you’d like to get started with planning your once-in-a-lifetime vacation, please reach out by replying to this email, emailing us, or scheduling a call.

I can't wait to work with you!

Anja