If you come to Bogotá and you are wondering where to drink a cup of coffee and the first thing that comes to your mind is Starbucks, then you definitely have to read this article and try at least one of these other amazing coffee shops.
1. Amor Perfecto
After winning the National Barista Championship 7 times, Amor Perfecto (Perfect Love) has been working on creating a culture of coffee in Colombia, facilitating academic spaces, workshops, and events with the aim of transmitting more knowledge about coffee in Colombia. Additionally, its main objective has been to change the paradigm that coffee quality should not be called “coffee export.” For that reason, they offer 100% specialty coffee, Colombian, and origin in order to create a culture in which Colombians demand and prefer the best coffee in the world. Amor Perfecto grows coffee all over Colombia, this means that the varied ecological conditions of the different zones in the country determine the different qualities, aromas, and flavors that Amor perfecto offers in their coffees.
What’s on the menu?
Hot drinks such as:
- Espresso
- Colombiano (espresso + water)
- Filtrados
Cool drinks:
Coffee cocktails like:
- Espresso martino (gin + espresso)
- Negroni (gin + vermouth + campari + aeropress coffee + bitters + orange slice
- Irish Coffee (double espresso + mill + Jameson whiskey + milk cream
Approximate prices: from $1.50 USD to $4 USD.
Locations:
2. Colo Coffee
Colo is a coffee shop made for coffee lovers. Here you can experience the coffee process, from roasting to the preparation of your cup of coffee. All roasts are domestic and if you want, you can acquire the unroasted coffee and roast it yourself with the “Maestro Tostador” (master roaster). What I like the most about C
Colo has their own selections of coffee:
- “Ancestros”: this coffee comes from
the ancient Ethiopia. It was sown and harvested by our grandparents for a long time. Colo wants to maintain and preserve this type of coffee because it’s so difficult to find nowadays in Colombia, that’s why they have somenanolotes andmicrolotes (coffee that comes from a specific plot of a farm) around the country. - “El
diverso microlotes - “El contemporáneo”: this group of coffee is eccentric and innovative. It shows the versatility of specialty coffees and proving that there are always new things to discover. The selection process is very delicate and is carefully curated to generate an explosion of flavors in a cup of coffee.
Approximate prices: from $1.50 USD to $5 USD.
Locations:
3. Juan Valdez Café
Juan Valdez is the world’s ambassador for all the Colombian coffee growers and their traditions. Since 2002, the Juan Valdez coffee shops have been delighting us with an indescribable experience of Colombian premium coffee. Today, with more than 230 locations across Colombia, you can easily find one and try a myriad of flavors and aromas in any kind of cup of coffee. You can also find Juan Valdez coffee in 21 countries, such as Germany, the United States, Mexico, France, UK, Chile, and South Korea.
Whats on the menu?
Hot drinks like:
- Tinto: in honor of Colombian culture, this drink is prepared by using a filter method, which extracts all the flavor and aroma of coffee.
- Tinto campesino: it has panela (sugar cane), cloves, cinnamon, and lemon. This drink is a blend that brings our tradition and natural flavors in a cup.
- Café con leche (coffee with milk): this is a traditional Colombian drink that is prepared with tinto and a touch of milk. This hot drink has different names according to the region. For example, in the city of Cali, this is called “perico”.
Snacks and pastries:
- Arepa
- Pan de
bono : a type of Colombian bread made of corn flour, cassava starchand cheese, in some regions it has guava inside. - Almojábana: another type of bread with cheese (read our article about Colombian baked snacks to know more)
Cool drinks:
- Cold brew: a unique coffee made by experts and takes more than 12 hours to obtain a beverage full of nuances, soft flavor, and is, at the same time, refreshing. There are different types of this beverage; some of them are made with nitrogen that makes you
to see waterfalls in the drink.
Approximate prices: from $1.50 USD to $4 USD.
Locations:
- Plaza Claro (Carrera 68A # 24B-10)
- Centro
comercial Andino (Carrera 11# 82-71) (see Neighborhoods in Bogotá Your Guide to Chicó) - Juan Valdez Orígenes- Zona G (Calle 70# 6-09) (see Best neighborhoods in Bogotá: Los Rosales )
- City U (Calle 19# 2A-10)
- Parque 93 (see Here are the Benefits of Living in the North of Bogotá!)
For more locations click here.
4. Café Quindío
Its slogan is “Coffee from the heart of Colombia” (El café del corazón de Colombia) due to the fact that it’s based in the capital of the department of Quindío (part of the Coffee Triangle-Eje Cafetero), Armenia which is the aromatic heart of Colombia. This region is known for producing the smoothest coffee in the world, planted with care and dedication by farmers living in the mountains. In my opinion, this coffee shop has something particular and special in their aromas and flavors; you can just smell it from the moment you enter. Their stores have a beautiful environment representative of the origin of coffee, as well as the coffee culture that makes you feel amazing, and at the same time comfortable and relaxed.
Whats on the menu?
Hot drinks:
- Filtrados: Café
filtrado (filtered coffee) and Café definca (sweetened with sugar cane) - Cappuccino with marshmallows
Approximate prices: from $1.50 USD to $4 USD.
Cool drinks & products:
- Lemonade coffee
- Coffee and blackberry jelly 300g ($2.10 USD)
- Arequipe (sweetened condensed milk dessert) with coffee 150g ($1.20 USD)
- Merenguitos (meringue) with coffee and macadamia nuts ($3.60 USD)
- Oatmeal cookie and macadamia nuts X 24 count ($22 USD)
Locations:
- Carrera 7A # 116-50 (See Restaurants in Usaquén, Bogotá: The best ten in my list!)
- Calle 125 # 19A-11
- Calle 76 # 11-35
- Calle 26 # 103-09
5. Azahar Coffee
Azahar coffee searches for Colombia’s best coffees and those who grow them because they think that the best coffee doesn’t have to be just exported. They believe that Colombians deserve to drink its best coffee as well. For that reason, they traveled around for a year until they found some of the smallest farms in the department of Quindío, where the best quality coffee is grown, and started to deal directly with producers, co-ops, and growers associations in order to make a transparent relationship with their stakeholders. In my opinion, this coffee shop is just amazing, they have fair prices, it’s pet friendly, a great space to chill, and its coffee is delicious. If you want to try different types of coffees, they have a coffee tasting on their menu that, for less than $4 USD, you can try 3 of their seasonal coffees in order to identify the variety and attributes of the different kinds.
Whats on the menu?
Hot drinks such as:
- Filtrado
- Azahar coffee
- Dripper
- Chemex
- French press
Cold drinks
- Affogato
Approximate prices: from $1.50 USD to $4 USD.
Locations:
- Calle 93B # 13-91, Parque 93
- Calle 74 # 22-91, San Felipe
Coffee is one of the most representative symbols of Colombia. I’m proud that I was born and raised in a beautiful country where you can find many different types of coffee with the best quality. Almost all Colombians drink at least a cup of coffee per day and we have a lot of typical cafés (see What is on the Menu at a Typical Café). Personally, I love coffee and I’ve tried different places to drink a cup of coffee, but for me, the ones I just
Thank you for reading and remember to comment below if you go to any of these amazing coffee shops and what you liked the most. Tell us if you recommend any other incredible coffee shops! Continue exploring our amazing city and follow us on Facebook & Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter.
