📍IMAGO, Medellín

v60 Brewed Coffee at IMAGO

It was my first morning in Medellín. I had two goals: explore and get coffee. Before I travel, I like to ask people and read blogs about what's interesting to eat and drink. The neighborhood of El Poblado came up many times. IMAGO came up as a coffee shop to visit in El Poblado. I added it to my list before my trip so it seemed like as good a place as any to go this morning.

I took an Uber from my hotel. Ubers in Medellín don't work like I am used to. In Colombia, you're renting the car and hiring the driver on-demand for your trip instead of using a ridesharing or taxi service. You sit up front like in the early days of Lyft. The Uber got me to the neighborhood, about a block away from IMAGO, and the driver suggested I get out there. The streets were busy, some were closed, and some were one-way.

I had left the freezing weather of New York for the warmth of Medellín. I wanted to explore. As I walked down the street I could hear bits of conversations from all the outdoor seating. I was entranced by all the colors from the storefronts and restaurants. The city felt alive. I captured my walk down the street and posted it to Threads (embedded below). I walked past IMAGO, without realizing it, and had to double back.

Post by @jitpal

View on Threads

Once I got into IMAGO, I realized that it was a coffee shop in the lobby of a hostel. It was filled with people on each of the chairs, tables, and couches. They had a bar area looking out into the street with seats set up like a playground swing over a small pit of sand. On the right was a small pastry case and a counter. Behind the counter was a kitchen so small, a NYC apartment realtor would have trouble justifying it.

The menu was on a handheld poster board. They had it in Spanish and English. My Spanish is serviceable in limited situations, at best. Though I came prepared with Google Translate, the person behind the counter laughed and asked if I spoke English. His English was significantly better than my Spanish. I ordered a coffee brewed in a v60.

I took a seat at the only empty table and put my placard down. About 15 minutes went by between when I ordered and when the coffee reached my table. As he set it down, he lifted the jug and poured coffee into my cup. I was very excited about this. My first cup of coffee in the morning, my first cup of coffee in Colombia, brewed in a way meant for enjoyment instead of volume, all culminating at the same time.

For my preferences, it came in the right drinking temperature. The coffee was floral with notes of apricot, honey, and chocolate. I drank my cup, refilled it, and drank that cup too. I was relaxed after this coffee. I later learned the beans they use for what I had is also what they use for espresso.

I also got this slice of carrot cake. It was a dense cake, laced with thinly shredded carrots. Every bite had carrots. This one didn't have a lot of the traditional spices found in carrot cake like cinnamon and ginger. Much of the sweetness came from the thick dulce de leche center in between the layers of cake. The cream cheese frosting was thinly applied, tangy, and topped with sliced almonds. Now, to get some real food.

If you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy sharing them, please consider buying me a coffee. I might just write about it. ☕ Buy me a coffee.