The New Marquee Coffee Experience: What to Know in 2023

TLDR? At the Marquee, you will have a luxury coffee experience with an expert!

When it comes to coffee, Colombia knows its stuff. Colombia is actually the third biggest coffee producer in the world, which should tell you a thing or two about their coffee!

So, if you’re visiting Medellin and are interested in diving right into Colombian coffee culture, a tasting should be at the top of the list. One such tasting which goes above and beyond is the tasting offered by The Marquee Hotel, in which a professional guides you through an immersive coffee experience.

What’s more, this coffee experience has just been revamped, putting it at the top of the list when it comes to coffee tours in and around the city. Here’s what you need to know about a coffee tasting at the Marquee!

An Introduction to the Marquee Coffee Experience

Before we dive right into what goes on in the Marquee coffee experience, let me take a second to go over what the Marquee coffee experience is. 

The Marquee Coffee experience is an immersive, sensory coffee tasting that takes place at the Marquee Hotel in El Poblado.

You don’t have to be a guest of the hotel, although it doesn’t hurt to stay there anyway, as it’s a super luxurious place to stay! Besides offering great coffee, it’s located in the heart of Parque Lleras, which is one of Poblado’s best party districts.

The hotel itself is super luxurious and is one of the top hotels in the city. In fact, it was even where J Balvin filmed his music video, “El Poblado”! 

How the Tour Works

Now that you know a bit about the Marquee Hotel itself, let’s get into the coffee tasting. This tour is offered in both Spanish and English and lasts about an hour and a half. It’s designed for a maximum of six people.

The coffee tour consists of five different phases:

1. Coffee Standards: phase one talks about what makes coffee good vs. bad, the most important characteristics, international and professional coffee standards, quality, classification, and more. 
2. Coffee Tasting: phase two puts into practice what you previously learned, giving you a chance to taste coffee and analyze its aroma.
3. Extraction Methods: phase three focuses on extraction methods and on trying Colombian coffee specifically, giving you a chance to learn how different brewing methods affect the taste.
4. Basic Concepts: phase four teaches you about common vocab words used in the coffee industry, such as fragrance, aroma, body, and taste.
5. Comparison: phase five is a comparison of the different coffees you’ve tried and an analysis of which ones you liked best.

What to Expect on This Tour

Now that you know a bit more about the different phases of the tour, let’s go over in a bit more detail what to expect on the tour.

You’ll start your experience with a professional barista who will teach you a bit about the history and origin of Colombian coffee. You’ll learn about things like coffee cultivation, drying, and harvesting, going over all the basic details and behind-the-scenes processes that go into making a cup of coffee.

Next, you’ll get a chance to smell different coffees. This is where you’ll learn about distinguishing some characteristic aromas: sweet, floral, and bitter notes, to name a few.

Once you’ve finished smelling the different kinds of coffee, it’s time to get to the good part—the coffee tasting. Your barista will brew a few different varieties of Colombian coffee, giving you a chance to take in the body, acidity, sweetness, and flavor notes in the coffee. 

Make sure to take the time to smell the coffee, too! Your sense of smell plays a major role in how you taste the coffee. 

The Expert Barista

A big part of the coffee tour is the person who guides you through it. At the Marquee, only experienced baristas run the show. 

That ensures that you’re getting a detailed tasting from someone who really knows their stuff!

Colombian and Antioquian Coffee, Why Is It Special?

When talking about the coffee experience at the Marquee, you’ll learn a lot about Colombian and Antioquian coffee. 

However, here’s a little bit of info about Antioquian coffee specifically and Colombian coffee in general, and why it’s so special. 

Colombia Coffee

Colombia produces one of the smoothest coffees in the world thanks to the natural conditions of the lands that allow an optimal cultivation and production process.

In Colombia, coffee harvesting is done by hand, making sure that only the best quality beans are sent to market. 

Despite that, you’ll hear many people allude to the fact that good coffee is not consumed in Colombia since everything is exported. This is only half true. If you buy a coffee in the street, you’re likely to be drinking low-grade coffee like Aguila Roja. 

But, with the rise of craft coffee culture in Medellin especially, you can now find some great brews around the city from pretty high-quality beans.

Antioquian Coffee

In Antioquia, there are around 80,000 coffee-growing families that contribute 16% of the country’s total production. That makes it one of the main departments in the country for coffee growing.

Municipalities such as Jardin, Andes, Jerico, Abejorral, Fredonia, Salgar, and many others, including municipalities on the outskirts of Medellin such as Copacabana and Santa Elena, are producers of export quality coffee in the City of Eternal Spring.

That is why a coffee tour, as well as an experience and coffee tasting in this city, is ideal for testing the most unique local flavors.

Besides all that, Medellin’s yearly Cafestival is an event celebrated to learn about coffee. It’s a great way to get a window into what Antioquian coffee is all about. 

Live a Coffee Experience in the Marquee

As a coffee country and city, Medellin has different options to learn about and taste coffee. And, if you’re after the best coffee experience, the Marquee is the place to go.

Schedule your visit for your next vacation in Medellin, and learn to be a coffee expert in the hands of a professional barista at The Marquee.

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