Taste Coffee as You Taste Wine in Baños

Arte Cafe & Te Restaurant

12 de Noviembre 200 y Oriente- Baños.

This is a special post about a very special place for people who love coffee and tea; people who enjoy quiet, romantic places and want a real break.

Arte Cafe & Te Restaurant

What is so special about this place? Well, we were just walking around one day when we found a nice-looking coffee shop. What first attracted us were the “hammock chairs” hanging at the tables. So we thought we’d come here “someday” and enjoy a hammock while having a drink.

“Someday” finally came, so we went to the coffee shop and found out that it was not just good looking, but also full of treasures and surprises!

First, the music is really nice—you have to love it! We found out that it was also a restaurant (crêperie) and that we could have some crêpes. So we decided to come back someday to have a crêpe!

A”crêpe au chocolat”

So we went to the coffee shop for dinner. It was a very romantic outing. We enjoyed delicious crêpes and the nice atmosphere. We then met the owners of the place, a very nice French (which explains the crêpes)/Colombian couple. Juan, the owner, told us that he was a “coffee waiter” and had actually a degree for that (which you can see on the wall)!

Sampling different kind of coffee

It was the first time that we had heard about such an occupation! He then explained how his job was to show coffee to people and help them taste the different kinds, just as you do when you taste wine. As a coffee fan, I totally loved the idea! So we decided to come “someday” to experience the “coffee tasting.”

Coffee tasting

We returned to the coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon (but it is better to come on weekdays because they are less busy). Then the “coffee tasting” experience started. You first choose between several different coffees, which are described in the menu (origin, altitude, and other information). Then you can have your different coffees at the same time (what I did to better taste the difference), or one after another. Juan can stay with you and give you further information about the coffees. I chose three different kinds (I felt that more would be too much at one time) and started from the softest to the strongest. I was really amazed to see how coffees can be so different! This is something that most of us are not aware of, because we usually just order a coffee without knowing anything about it, and we never get the opportunity to compare it with other coffees. If you want to describe the taste of the coffees, they have a table on which are written the different kinds of tastes that you might experience, such as spicy, sweet, bitter, etc.

Buy the coffee you chose

I really enjoyed the experience, and think that it is a great thing to do, especially if you’re planning to bring coffee from Ecuador (for yourself, or as a gift, which is very popular).

Coffee & Tea lovers, Arte Cafe & Te is definitely a place you don’t want to miss while in Baños.