If you are a wine connoisseur, you might have heard the term ‘tinto’. Vino Tinto refers to any kind of red wine in Spanish Cuisine. Nevertheless, have you ever heard ‘tinto’ being used for coffee?
In Colombia, ‘tinto’ is part of the heritage and a current tradition that defines our culture. Tinto is sort of a coffee infusion that can include dried sugarcane, cloves, cinnamon among others. It is the most famous drink offered anytime of the day with a kind question “Quiere un tintico?”
The origin of the word is not very clear and there is few data about it. Some people say that the word tinto was firstly used for coffee referring to its dark colour, similar to ink. Farmers used to call that coffee infusion as: inked water. Eventually, the term was modified and tinto became the preferred name.
There are several ways to prepare ‘tinto’ and it all depends on the region where it is prepared. Mainly, when the coffee beans are roasted, and then grounded, it is added to boiled water. After a couple of minutes, the coffee is filtered through a cloth strainer and then it is sweetened with panela. In few words, tinto is the Colombian version of an americano.
Here at XUECAM we have the in-house coffees; Farmers and Mountain coffee, that can give you an idea of how tinto tastes like in Colombia.
Written by Nathalia A.