Last week I had the honour to be invited to a vip coffee tour in Antigua Guatemala by Julio from @paralelo14coffee. It was a first test for a new coffee tour concept with a slightly different objective than  the already very popular coffee producer tour that Julio offers where you meet a coffee farmer and experience the process of producing coffee from start to finish.

This tours objective is to experience the love and the passion for coffee as a product and how it is processed in various coffee shops all over Antigua creating some pretty amazing signature drinks. Once the tour can be booked officially, there will be 3 different "routes" each one including 4 different coffee shops and taking around 2.5-3 hours. You will be able to get in touch with the local professionals who select, taste, roast and further process local coffee to present it in unusual ways which you will be able to taste and enjoy.

On this first tour, I had the honour to be invited along with Dulce Barrera - a very sweet Guatemalan lady who made it to 4th place as one of the best coffee tasters worldwide and the first woman winning in this competition. Other guests were local coffee producers, photographers, baristas and coffee lovers. We were given this opportunity to get some feedback about the tour and possibly improve the experience for future participants.

It was a very fun afternoon and we could taste some pretty insane creations, exchange experiences, laugh a lot and meet new people which to me is always very special.

A little selection of impressions from that afternoon can be seen in the gallery on the left. If you're interested in participating in one of these tours, make sure to follow @paralelo14coffee on Instagram and ask him for the first official dates and rates. It is a wonderful way to explore Antigua Guatemala and get in touch with locals and other tourists alike. In case you want to check out the coffee shops we went to and some of the participants, make sure to click on the links below.

COFFEE SHOPS

Café Fernandos - https://www.fernandoskaffee.com
Café La Parada - https://www.facebook.com/cafelaparada
Guatelaria - https://www.facebook.com/Guatelaria
El Viejo Café - http://elviejocafe.net

PARTICIPANTS

Julio Deras - @paralelo14coffee
Dulce Barrera - @dulcelacatadora
Joseph Nance - @josephnancephoto
Guillermo Durán - @soyguillermoduran 

@artistadecafe @cafesolgt @guatelaria @cafelaparadaantigua