This past weekend we took a road trip to Utuado, a town at the foothills of the cordillera central (central mountain range). We thought it would be fun to show my mom a few off-the-beaten-path destinations. We took an old road up to the mountains, narrow and full of twists and turns. It runs parallel to the highway that was recently built. Along the way we saw beautiful scenery, found a hanging pedestrian bridge that connects one side of a community to the other, stopped to eat at a quiet and tranquil (until we arrived with 2 noisy children in tow) lakeside restaurant, and stayed overnight at a mountain retreat. The next day we continued further into the mountains to visit a small, family-run coffee farm called Café Gran Batey. We learned so much about how coffee is grown and produced here in Puerto Rico. We were given a tour by the owner’s son who works on the farm every weekend. I enjoyed his comments about local micro-farming (or lack thereof) and the challenges facing the island in terms of sustainable farming and agriculture. It was very eye opening to learn more about commercial coffee production versus specialty coffee grown on a smaller scale (Café Gran Batey only produces limited quantities of specialty coffee). I will never look at coffee the same way again! I will be spending the extra money to buy high quality coffee grown by local farmers from here on out. We were then treated to traditional Puerto Rican hospitality with café colao, homemade poundcake, and good conversation.
Hanging pedestrian bridge
David tested the bridge before Miles walked across it.
One of the “cabins” at Casa Grande Mountain Retreat in Utuado. This was our second time staying here. I like waking up to the mountain view. This time the kids were old enough to try out the hiking trails on the property. One was very muddy and steep, but had an amazing view of the river valley below.
On only 10 acres of land the family grows coffee, breadfruit, oranges, mangoes, bananas, plantains, guavas, avocados, and about 10 other fruits and vegetables that I had never heard of before. Daniel, our guide, talked about how there are fewer young people being taught how to grow and harvest coffee, so the demand for coffee currently surpasses the supply grown here on the island.
Have you ever smelled a coffee bush flower? It smells like Jasmine. So lovely. Every coffee bean starts from a flower and takes many, many months to mature before it can be picked.
Coffee beans being roasted, one of the final steps.
Roadside Mangoes 