The south of the city of Barquisimeto in the state of Lara, is characterized by its beautiful mountains, eternal green landscapes, that not even the summer can with them, perhaps the tone changes a little but the greenness is maintained by the height that can reach this area, up to about 1800 meters above sea level.
It culminates in this mountain area, the Venezuelan Andean mountain range, and as my grandfather, the poetdiv clRamón Querales, always said, where the lofty mountain range surrenders to the feet of the sultana Larense.
But what I want to tell you is about the divine coffee that is harvested during the months of October, November, December and early January, there is nothing more motivating than seeing how everyone is immersed in the coffee world, those who harvest, go down to the town of Rio Claro to thresh after having gone through the process of washing, pulping and drying of coffee in the old style, that is, cement patios are used where the beautiful grains are spread so that these with the heat of the sun's rays to dry.
Once it is threshed, it goes to the process of roasting and grinding, and look at that if it takes work, I have done it at home in a very artisanal way and the whole process has its good work, but once the product is ground, there is nothing like a good cup of cerrero coffee, and for this the water is put to boil, once it reaches its boiling point the coffee is added, which should boil without boiling, and then it is strained.
Some people add cloves or cinnamon, it gives another level to the coffee, it makes it more aromatic and it is perceived in the palate the tasty taste of the spices.
The varieties that can be found in the mountains are diverse, from the well known Arabica to the Colombia coffee; The coffee growers always zealously take care of the crops against rust, a disease that can kill two to three hectares of crops, and all year long they are in the task of cleaning, fertilizing, weeding so as not to lose the harvest and make it more productive than the previous one, and even the renovation of coffee is very important, since this guarantees a permanent harvest, with the sowing of new plants that at an age of three years are already bearing; The harvest is done in cans, so if a day laborer is hired, he is paid according to the amount of cans collected during the day.
I invite you to have a Larense coffee, with the rich mountain flavor.
