Venezuelan people enjoy and preserve through time their own traditions. Venezuelans can be easily recognized by the way they talk, their favorite foods and drinks, the songs they like the most and the traditions they keep throughout the year.

A very important beverage for Venezuelans is coffee. It is more than just a drink, it is a ritual when waking up, it is the perfect companion for snacks, it is a moment to share a conversation with family and friends.

It is very common to visit the home of a Venezuelan family and be greeted with a delicious coffee, or to make an appointment and have this beverage be the protagonist.

Many even feel in a bad mood or have a headache if they do not drink it in the morning, since drinking a cup of coffee is almost a habit for Venezuelans.

Coffee, as well as cocoa, has been of valuable importance for the Venezuelan economy, increasing the national income with a high level of exports. The first known coffee tree in Venezuela was planted by Spaniards in 1730.

By the year 1784, the first coffee plantation was carried out in the gardens of the village of Chacao, today the Centro de Arte La Estancia.

Venezuelan Types of coffee

There are many types of coffee and ways of preparing it that are consumed in Venezuela, for example:

• Cerrero: It has a great concentration of coffee and without sugar.
• Negro: It is a strong coffee with sugar and served in small quantities.
• Espresso: Originally from Italy, it is a coffee with a concentrated flavor with a special texture that is obtained through an espresso machine.
• Envenenado: It is a black coffee with rum, brandy or cocuy.
• Guayoyo: A less strong "negro" coffee, lighter and with less sugar.
• Marrón: It is elaborated with milk and coffee in equal parts. It should not be confused with the Italian cappuccino, since coffee with milk does not have foam. There is the dark brown variant, which is elaborated with 70% coffee and 30% milk and light brown, which is elaborated with 60% milk and 40% coffee.
• Café con Leche: The proportion of milk is at least 70%, even reaching up to 85%.
• Tetero: It is milk with just a touch of coffee. The proportion of coffee should not exceed 10%.

Some of the most recognized coffee brands in Venezuela are Café Brasil, Café El Peñón, Café Venezuela, Café Occidente, Café San Antonio, Café Della Nonna, Café Amanecer, Vencafé, Café Santa Bárbara, Café El Campesino, Café La Chapola, Café La Peñita, Café Mocca, Café Los Andes, Café Flor de Patria, Café La Sierra, Café Fama de América and Café Madrid.

These last two companies have a great trajectory in Venezuela and their brands are one of the most emblematic in the coffee sector. Let's talk about the most popular and traditional of them:

Café Madrid

It is the product of a careful selection of the best Venezuelan coffee beans 100% Arabica, elaborated with the best techniques, innovative technologies and quality controls.

In what presentations is it available?

Café Madrid is recognized for offering the consumer a distinguished flavor with quality, in each of its presentations of 50g, 100g, 200g, 250g and 500g.

Café Fama de América

This is a company dedicated to the production and commercialization of products derived from coffee, having as its most recognized product the Fama de America Espresso coffee.

What is the history behind this company?

This company was founded in 1927 by a young man named Bernardo Gonzalez Palenzuela, who arrived in Venezuela from the Canary Islands in approximately 1883.

He ventured into the coffee trade, facilitating the work of the users by offering a roasted, ground and packaged product.

He began in his own home along with his wife, using a rudimentary roaster, an iron cauldron with a capacity of 20 kg. It was not until 1919 that he acquired his own roaster, which allowed him to triple the volume of production.

In fact, the first coffee roaster in Venezuela belongs to Fama de America, a 60 kg container that allows the introduction of the raw bean and the extraction of the already roasted bean, as well as the hermetic closing, for a better concentration of the roasted coffee.

In 1960 the company ceases to be called Bernardo González & CIA to become C.A. CAFÉ FAMA DE AMERICA, which remains in the hands of younger brothers and next generations of relatives of Bernardo González Palenzuela.

On November 10, 2009, the company FAMA DE AMERICA was formally nationalized. FAMA DE AMERICA has two plants, one located in La Yaguara (Caracas) and the other in Valencia (Carabobo), two warehouses, one in Barquisimeto and the other in Charallave, three distribution centers located in Caracas, Valencia and Anzoátegui. This nationwide location allows us to guarantee the quality of the processes in order to deliver a product in perfect conditions to the client. Currently the Fama de America coffee processing plant located in La Yaguara, Caracas, produces 200,000 kilos of coffee per month.

How does Fama de América produce its coffee?

FAMA DE AMERICA, C.A. buys green coffee from its suppliers who are mainly located in Araure, Barquisimeto, Biscucuy, Bocono, Caripe, Santa Cruz de Mora and Sanare.

This purchase arrives at the warehouses, from where samples are taken for product evaluation to guarantee the quality and condition of the raw material.

The selected beans are cleaned, stored and roasted at a temperature of approximately 250°C before being processed again through a milling process. Finally, they are packaged and distributed nationwide.

What products does Fama de América commercialize?

Café Arábica, an old silk-screened coffee can; Café Expreso, with presentations of Espresso of 100 and 50 grams and 1 kg beans; Café Molido, in a 250g package and Café Fama de América of 200 grams.

The aroma and flavor of Venezuelan coffee is very intense and characteristic. This beverage has been at the Venezuelan table for more than a century and is appreciated with great affection as it is synonymous with meetings, chats and gatherings.

There is nothing that awakens the body and spirit as well as a cup of coffee.