A specialty coffee space in La Candelaria, the colonial centre of Bogotá — wooden shelving stacked with single-origin Colombian coffee packaged for retail, teal furniture arranged on a tile floor, and glass walls opening onto a colonial plaza with the Andes visible above the rooflines. The signage above the counter — 'CAFÉS ESPECIALES 100% DE COLOMBIA' — is accurate in both senses: this is specialty coffee by the Colombian standard, which is among the highest in the world, and it is entirely Colombian, which at this altitude and in this city is a reasonable source of pride. The plaza outside gives the space a quality of light that changes through the morning as the mountain shadow moves. A good place to drink coffee and understand why Colombians drink it differently from anyone else.
La Candelaria, Bogotá, Colombia