Coffee Travels

When my parents traveled they usually based the success of the trip on the following: was the coffee good, was the food good, did they like what they saw? Yes, it was in that order. My folks didn’t travel on the cheap like I do. Typically they would be on a tour sponsored by Northwestern University or the University of Notre Dame. So you know these were not youth hostel, backpacking travels. 

I could usually tell if they would like a trip or place based on where they were going, what the coffee reputation was. Here is where they loved: Africa, South America, Italy, France, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand. I can’t attest to the coffees of the Australia and NZ, but I’ll assume most of the coffee came from Indonesia. 

Places they hated were easy to figure before they headed out: China and Russia. The China one in particular I could have told you the second they mentioned they were heading off. China is known for TEA! Besides that, they don’t even like Chinese food. When they returned, I asked my mom how the trip was. She said, “Well the coffee was pretty bad. The food wasn’t too good. And, we didn’t think it was all that pretty.” 

When it was my turn to start seeing the world, I took a page from their book, but coffee was actually further down on my list of what makes a trip a success. Still, one of my favorite memories is the summer I spent in Rome. 

I attended Loyola University Chicago, and they have a campus in Rome. I had one more elective before graduation, and I spent it there studying Italian(all I remember is Dove il bano - where is the bathroom). In our student center was Ronaldo’s cafe. Ronaldo and his family had a tiny set-up where they made some of the best coffee drinks I have ever had. Sipping a cappuccino of his was like drinking Ambrosia, pure delight. 

As we traveled around the country, I marveled at the constant delight espresso gave me. In Venice, I remember sipping in a cafe in St. Mark’s Square and loving the drink, the sites, the people. Nothing though, compared to what Ronaldo was able to do back on campus.

England and Ireland are not known for their coffees, but I will tell you I have experienced ok coffee there. Typically though, the coffee I have liked in those countries is instant coffee. Yes, gasp, oh horrors, I have had the instant in hotels there, and it was better than most of what I was finding. The English and Irish may now object.

My most meaningful coffee was in Costa Rica. There was I was working with farmers in the fields, and I appreciated the coffee I was drinking, even more. While the good stuff gets shipped out of the country, I enjoyed my coffee very much.

Worst coffee? Hong Kong. You can look over what I read about China and understand what I mean. 

My favorite place to drink coffee - South Africa. I actually didn’t care what the coffee was like. I sipped a cup of coffee while watching giraffes, elephants and rhinos go by.

One day I will do an exhaustive worldwide search of coffee. I have no doubt it will be a tough job, but someone will have to do it. 

Charlie