Between December and January, we spent a whole month in the hot city of Cartagena. It's not just incredibly warm there, but it's also one of the hottest travel destinations in 2024. And we understand why. Cartagena offers everything from beaches and olive trees to tall skyscrapers, a large Centro Historico, wonderful food, shopping, and nature experiences. The city has it all, and we truly fell in love with Cartagena and the simplicity of life there. The beauty of Cartagena is a timeless masterpiece where colonial charm meets the allure of the coast.
But, before we went to Cartagena, a friend told us:
"They have very good coffee there."
We didn't believe him because Cartagena is located on the coast and doesn't have the geography for coffee cultivation. We were truly mistaken and have had incredible taste experiences there.
Before we traveled, we started our research on specialty coffee in Cartagena and identified a handful of cafes that we, of course, visited. However, after walking around for a few weeks in areas like San Diego, Getsemani, and Centro Historico, we realized that Cartagena has plenty of hidden gems serving incredible coffee and wonderful experiences. We've sat in an old library and had coffee, perched at a bar enjoying the experience of drinking a latte frio as a cocktail, and sat in hotel bars savoring a heavenly Coffee Lemonade. Here are some coffees and cafes that we fell in love with the most and visited multiple times.
Libertario Coffee Roasters
The cafe we discovered late in our journey but quickly became our favorite! Unfortunately, we only managed to visit this place twice during our extended stay, but it was undoubtedly our best coffee experience in Cartagena. It was everything – the ambiance, the flavor, and most importantly, the bar where they crafted all the coffee, allowing you to sit and soak in the atmosphere. It's a fix for someone who doesn't drink alcohol but loves coffee! Every time we visited, we indulged in at least two iced lattes each and bought several bags of coffee to take home.
Epoca
Epoca has two restaurants along the coast, in Cartagena and Barranquilla. The one in Cartagena serves breakfast, brunch, and lunch, along with desserts, drinks, and coffee beverages. On the ground floor, it feels like a bistro with a delightful bar where you can savor the aroma of various coffee blends and sit at the counter. The air conditioning is in full swing down here, so we often sneaked upstairs, where it had a more colonial style with a balcony and a more comfortable temperature. They have their own special coffee and dub themselves as an All-Day Coffee Bar. Their self-roasted coffee is, of course, Colombian (the best coffee) and comes from Jerico in Antioquia and Risaralda in Pereira. Here, we enjoyed Americano, iced latte, cappuccino, and Coffee Lemonade. The coffee tasted incredibly delicious in whatever drink they prepared, and the staff were incredibly friendly and professional. We had brunch and breakfast here a few times with the whole family, and they even had a breakfast plate with waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse for the kids, which was a hit!
San Alberto
"Colombia's Most Award-Winning Coffee" is the tagline for this café located at Plaza Domingo in Cartagena's old town! They have earned numerous awards for their coffee cultivated in Buenvista, Quindio, one of Colombia's major coffee regions. Their menu is extensive, offering everything from a simple espresso to an iced latte with a popsicle. We tried their V60, iced latte, latte with ice cream, latte with cookies, latte with marshmallows – a dream for us with a sweet tooth. This place attracts mainly tourists, including many Colombian tourists, as well as Americans and Europeans. You can also experience a coffee tasting here!
"Colombia's Most Award-Winning Coffee" is the tagline for this café located at Plaza Domingo in Cartagena's old town! They have earned numerous awards for their coffee cultivated in Buenvista, Quindio, one of Colombia's major coffee regions. Their menu is extensive, offering everything from a simple espresso to an iced latte with a popsicle. We tried their V60, iced latte, latte with ice cream, latte with cookies, latte with marshmallows – a dream for us with a sweet tooth. This place attracts mainly tourists, including many Colombian tourists, as well as Americans and Europeans. You can also experience a coffee tasting here!
Cafe del Mural
Getsemani's Hidden Gem
On a side street in Getsemani, you'll find this unusual and unique café. Opening at 3 PM and closing late, it offers outdoor seating on the other side of the street under trees with graffiti as a backdrop or indoors in a raw environment that is entirely unique for a coffee bar. They feature a type of coffee available in four different roasts, from light to very dark. It's a unique experience to sit here, people-watch, and enter a café that is an entirely different world from what unfolds outside in Getsemani.
Del Murals Menu
Ice Latte
Abaco Libros y Cafe
Books and coffee are always a winning combination, but this was something entirely unique. Books everywhere, from large to small, special editions, posters, and excellent coffee. We spent several workdays here, finding inspiration in its unique atmosphere. From the first row, you can observe a whole life unfolding outside. A must-visit when you're in Cartagena.
Books and coffee are always a winning combination, but this was something entirely unique. Books everywhere, from large to small, special editions, posters, and excellent coffee. We spent several workdays here, finding inspiration in its unique atmosphere. From the first row, you can observe a whole life unfolding outside. A must-visit when you're in Cartagena.
OSH HOTEL
The newly built and super Instagram-friendly OSH Hotel is located on a side street in Getsemani, in an area that feels a bit raw but will likely get a makeover now that this fashionable hotel has landed here. We came here for brunch and lunch on two days and were very tempted to stay here on our next visit to Cartagena. We ordered incredible almond pancakes with coffee cream and blueberries, accompanied by a Coffee Lemonade that provided a refreshing escape from Cartagena's heat.
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