cumpa in Barcelona

At the end of the year, Daniel and Lukas traveled to Barcelona for a long weekend. We had been in contact with Ursula and Christian, who run “LOTROASTERS“, a community space for cocoa and coffee production in the Catalan metropolis, for some time. After communicating via WhatsApp for more than a year, it was now time to finally meet in person. On December 18, Barcelona also hosted the finals of the Spain Aeropress Championship at the Naked Festival. Perfect to get to know many of the players who shape the Spanish specialty coffee scene!

We used the day of arrival to enjoy some tapas in the sun. On the second day, we visited two cafés and were able to see for ourselves that there is also a vibrant coffee scene in Barcelona. In the afternoon we visited LOTROASTERS. We immediately hit it off with the lovely and open-hearted people. The community space produces real delicacies, for example the Spanish specialty “Turrones” made of fine chocolate, caramel and peanut, a water kefir made of cocoa pulp and all kinds of exquisite sweet sins. We were allowed to taste everything and were delighted.

Then on Saturday, we visited the Naked Festival. In addition to the finals of the Spain Areopress Championship, there was much to discover about coffee and natural wines at the booths in the beautiful building. We took advantage of the time and made great contacts with roasters from all over Spain. We also sampled a coffee or two during the inspiring conversations. Moreover we invited those who would be staying an extra day in Barcelona to attend our talk on Sunday at LOTROASTERS.

For the event on Sunday we had the pleasure to welcome more than a dozen guests. There we talked about coffee in Peru and Vietnam, the respective characteristics, how the coffees are produced, the challenges we face in our work, and our approach to making things better. We got to talk with the visitors and also tasted some of our coffees. In the early afternoon, the event slowly came to an end and everyone was released for a well-deserved Sunday afternoon off. We used it for a last walk on the beach and a short visit to the Sagrada Familia.

On Monday morning we went back to Germany. We are happy about many new friends in Spain who are interested in cumpa. Even if the Peruvian jungle Spanish of Lukas is a bit strange for the spanish, it helps for a smooth communication. A tour to Spain is already being planned for  spring 2022, when our friend Jimmy from Peru will be visiting us. Many dear roasters from all over Spain have already invited us for lectures and cuppings.

We look back on a successful short trip to Barcelona and at the same time look forward to meeting many of the new acquaintances again soon in their respective hometowns, with new coffees and Jimmy from Peru in our luggage 🙂

Until then, all we can say is: Muchas gracias y un próspero año nuevo. ¡Salud!