Tinto

Colombia — everyday working-class tradition

Colombia's everyday coffee paradox: the world's most famous coffee-producing country drinks its daily cup weak, sweet, and from a thermos carried by a tintero (street vendor). Tinto is lightly brewed coffee sweetened with aguapanela (unrefined cane sugar water), sold for a few hundred pesos on every street corner. It's not specialty-grade. It's the coffee that fuels construction workers and office clerks alike.

How to make it

1. 1

   Brew coffee lightly — Colombian tinto is intentionally milder than specialty coffee.

2. 2

   While hot, sweeten with aguapanela (dissolved panela/piloncillo cane sugar) to taste — it should be quite sweet.

3. 3

   Pour into a thermos to keep warm throughout the morning.

4. 4

   Serve in small plastic or styrofoam cups — the vessel is disposable, the ritual is not.

5. 5

   Drink standing, quickly, from a street vendor or office kitchen. Repeat throughout the day.