Not a Starbucks

If I put a blindfold on you and marched you into this coffee shop and took off the blindfold, you would swear you were in a S. American version of Starbucks, right?

You'd be wrong.

It's Juan Valdez Cafe, named after the famous symbol of 100% Colombian coffee that everyone of my generation is familiar with from TV ads decades ago ("It's the Richest Kind").

They obviously took some lessons from Starbucks. The stores are owned and operated by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia. They have 120 stores in Colombia. This is the first we have come across.

They are in the process of opening stores internationally, starting elsewhere in S. America.

The coffee was good.

They even had the same cup sizes as Starbucks. And they called the 12 oz. one a "grande."