Colombians(kəˈləmbēə) Have For years Grown Amazing(əˈmāziNG) Coffee. Finally, They're Drinking It

Colombians(kəˈləmbēə) Have For years Grown Amazing(əˈmāziNG) Coffee. Finally, They’re Drinking It

By Anthony Faiola

Bogota, Colombia — Not so long ago, Cesar Parra’s world changed with a cup of coffee — a freshly(ˈfreSHlē) brewed(bro͞o), richly aromatic(ˌarəˈmatik) ambrosia(amˈbrōZH(ē)ə) served at one of this nation’s fast-multiplying(ˈməltəplē,ˈməltəˌplī) quality(ˈkwälətē) cafes(kaˈfā,kə-).

“It came as a shock(SHäk), having a good cup,” said Parra, 47, a late-to-the-game coffee lover who spoke on the sidelines of a master class for baristas(bəˈrēstə). “I was born and raised(rāzd) in Colombia. And all my life, I’d been drinking bad coffee.”

For decades(ˈdekād), this South American nation harbored(ˈhärbər) a dirty(ˈdərtē) little secret(ˈsēkrit). In the land of Juan Valdez and his mule(myo͞ol), Conchita — the fictional(ˈfikSHənl) characters(ˈkariktər) from advertisements(ədˈvərtiz-,ˈadvərˌtīzmənt) who have hooked the world on rich mugs(məg) of Colombian coffee since the 1950s — it was nearly impossible to get a good cup of Joe.

The reasons are well established(iˈstabliSHt). The finest arabica(əˈrabikə) beans from Colombia’s emerald(ˈem(ə)rəld) hills were mostly exported, leaving domestic(dəˈmestik) coffee consumers to drink the proverbial(prəˈvərbēəl) dregs(dregz). Some of the coffee consumed locally actually came from cheap imports from as far away as Vietnam(-ˈnam,vēˌetˈnäm,ˌvyet-,ˌvēət-). Then there’s the way filtered coffee is prepared here. The most popular style is tinto — a weak and watery(ˈwä-,ˈwôtərē) concoction(kənˈkäkSHən) with a shelf(SHelf) life rivaling(ˈrīvəl) Spam.

….
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/colombians-have-for-years-grown-amazing-coffee-finally-theyre-drinking-it/2017/10/22/7de94d2a-9255-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html