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Juan Valdez is back
By Prisma News
Category:
Remember Juan Valdez? In the 1980s, as Colombia sought to overturn Brazil’s dominance in the world coffee markets, Juan (and his horse) was a regular fixture on North American television. He’d materialize magically (creepily, some might say) in bedrooms, kitchen, even in train stations, offering Colombian coffee to bleary-eyed suburbanites.
These days, Sr. Valdez is the figurehead for a burgeoning chain of Colombian coffee shops created by Colombia’s National Federation of Coffee Growers. In a country that hasn’t yet seen a Starbucks, Juan Valdez Café is practically everywhere. Bogotá alone has some 60 Juan Valdez locations. Ecuador, Spain and Chile have nearly 30 stores between them.
Will Juan and his trusty steed retake North America? With only 8 Juan Valdez stores established on the East Coast, Starbucks probably needn’t worry. But who knows? Someday we could find ourselves ordering our morning coffee in “Alto,” “Grande” and “Grandazo” sizes.
