From a spontaneous trip to Colombia to working at Cafeology HQ

Almost a year ago I was in London queuing to vote for our new President in Colombia when I got a phone call that was going to change a lot of my plans for the week. I was being invited to visit my home country Colombia with this UK coffee called Cafeology and the University of Sheffield (where I was finalising my master studies). What I didn’t know what the trip was in the next 48 hours, as I was covering for someone that for some personal circumstances couldn’t make it. Without giving much thought into what was about to come, I decided to take the opportunity and the next day we were on a flight to Bogota.

 

Popayán from above

 

I met Bryan, the managing director of Cafeology during this trip and we visited the farms were this company sourced some of its coffee. Cafeology works with two farms in my home country, and I had the chance to meet both of the Head farmers Pacho and Elisabeth. It was interesting for me, as both of them come from completely different backgrounds. On the one hand Pacho, is the stereotypical coffee farmer, wearing his lovelyhat all day, born and raised in the coffee region of Pereira. But then, you have Elisabeth, which is from the indigenous region of Popayan, Cauca. A region that was hardly hit by violence and is slowly trying to build up creating opportunities for their community. We had the unique opportunity to visit the farms and the families that work there.

 

For me, born and raised in Colombia, it was an eye-opening experience. Sometimes we have the misconceptions of the ‘coffee companies abroad’ buying coffee from our country but not knowing who the farmers are, where they come from or the stores behind each family. But this was different. Cafeology has made a massive effort to know and understand where their coffee comes from and it was clearly visible for me during this visit.

The trip happened quite quickly and before we knew it, I was back to the University of Sheffield to hand in my dissertation. Bryan and I kept in contact and I was always admiring the work they were doing in my home country. The opportunity came along at the beginning of 2019 for me to start working part-time with Cafeology as the International Producer Development. My role consists on strengthen the links between the farmers and the consumers here in the UK. I want to work closely with the people in Colombia to show the people in the UK and everyone where a Cafeology coffee comes from. I want to show people that behind every cup of coffee there’s a story of a farm and a family that has worked for generations cultivating and producing the best coffee of the world.

I am really excited to work for a company that is constantly trying to make great coffee while maintaining suitable and lasting relationships! Keep an eye on all our platforms as I will be showing the different journeys our Cafeology and the stories behind each cup of coffee!

 

The trip happened quite quickly and before we knew it, I was back to the University of Sheffield to hand in my dissertation. Bryan and I kept in contact and I was always admiring the work they were doing in my home country. The opportunity came along at the beginning of 2019 for me to start working part-time with Cafeology as the International Producer Development. My role consists on strengthen the links between the farmers and the consumers here in the UK. I want to work closely with the people in Colombia to show the people in the UK and everyone where a Cafeology coffee comes from. I want to show people that behind every cup of coffee there’s a story of a farm and a family that has worked for generations cultivating and producing the best coffee of the world.

I am really excited to work for a company that is constantly trying to make great coffee while maintaining suitable and lasting relationships! Keep an eye on all our platforms as I will be showing the different journeys our Cafeology and the stories behind each cup of coffee!

Daniela Orrego

International Producer Development

 


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