Colombia has been hard hit by COVID-19. For some time, Colombia headed the list of Latin American countries with most coronavirus cases. The country-wide lockdown was strict and long, but as people resumed “normal” life, the number of cases shot up.
As we started to resume our coffee workshops, we know that how we slurp coffee in public has changed for all of us.
We want to keep you safe.
We also want to protect our guides and the baristas who will serve you coffee.
For that reason, we made some updates to the way we operate our coffee workshops during coronavirus. These changes will be in effect during the time that coronavirus affects Colombia.
Coffee workshops during coronavirus
Specialty coffee shops in Colombia are doing a great job of keeping customers safe. They limited the number of people that entered the shops, did their best to keep customers at a safe distance, and they regularly disinfect all surfaces.
Coffee workshop route
The specialty coffee shops that we visit are small. Often, the entrances aren’t even a meter wide, so keeping a proper distance can be difficult.
For that reason, we’ve made arrangements with the coffee shops to have outdoor tastings. That gives us more room to breathe as we take off our masks to slurp our coffee.
Knowing that the tastings will be outside, please dress for the weather. This year has been very rainy and chilly in Bogota. We recommend that you dress in layers, preferably with a jacket that won’t suffer if it gets a bit of rain on it. We recommend that you bring an umbrella for the walk between coffee shops. We also are big fans of scarves to warm us and protect us from the thin, high mountain air.
The tables where we will do the tastings are small, but our guides will keep a safe distance from the group.
Size of groups
To limit germ sharing, the size of our coffee workshops during coronavirus will be kept very small, with a preference to just one group booking per workshop.
Guests
- If you feel unwell on the day of the workshop (or the days before that) with symptoms such as sore throat, coughing, sneezing, runny or congested nose, or fever…please cancel the workshop. We want you to recover well and we ask that you don’t attend the workshop with any symptoms of a cold or COVID. We will give you a no-fuss refund – just let us know as far in advance as possible. If you will be in Colombia for more than two weeks, we can arrange to reschedule the workshop after you’re feeling better.
- The current laws in Colombia at times require that everyone wear a face mask when indoors in public spaces.
- For all of our guests we will supply hand sanitizer.
- We recommend that you keep a distance of 1 meter (3 feet) from anyone who is not a member of your group.
Please wash your hands frequently with soap and water, which is provided at each coffee shop.
When should you use a hand sanitizer? We recommend frequently, but especially at the beginning and end of the workshop, after going to the bathroom, before and after drinking coffee, after touching your face or hair, and after touching public surfaces or money.
During the workshop we use coffee flavor wheels and tasting sheets for the coffee tastings. We usually provide those sheets for each guest, but if you feel more comfortable, you can download them before the workshop and have them on your device or print them out. When you book a workshop, you will be given the link to access those workshop activity sheets.
Guides for coffee workshops during coronavirus
Any guide who is unwell with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, runny nose or nasal congestion, coughing or sneezing will not attend the workshop. We will assign an alternate guide. Additionally, if a guide develops any of these symptoms, they will not attend any workshop for 14 days.
Our guides will wear face masks and will regularly apply hand sanitizer/wash their hands.
Purchases in coffee shops
When purchasing bags of coffee, brewing methods, or coffee shop mementos, you can make payments using cash or credit card.
Tips
If you wish to tip your guide, your guide will be very happy to receive it. In these tough times we haven’t been able to operate our workshops, and our guides have had their income severely affected.
You can tip your guide in cash, but if you prefer to tip by Paypal, please ask your guide (or contact us) to receive the necessary information.
Refund policy for coffee workshops during coronavirus
If you have booked a workshop and feel unwell, we will give you a 100% refund for the booking.
Just contact us at least 3 hours before the workshop begins (or earlier, if possible) so we can let our guide know that the workshop has been canceled.
You can contact us using the email or the phone number in the booking confirmation email.
