Neighbourhood x Routes Coffee: A Colombian Pop-Up in Lisbon
There are specialty coffee roaster pop-ups that feel like guest appearances, and then there are the ones that shift the mood of the entire café. Our Colombian takeover with Routes Coffee sat firmly in the second camp.
If you were in Santos on the morning of November 22nd, you probably smelled it before you saw it. Ripe fruit aromatics drifting across the bar. Gesha florals cutting through the room. A kind of brightness you feel before you taste.
This was our latest specialty coffee pop-up in Lisbon, created in collaboration with Routes Coffee, a boutique UK roaster known for championing experimental Colombian producers. Together, we curated six lots that show where Colombian coffee is heading next: cleaner fermentation, bolder fruit character, and a precision that’s pushing the global specialty scene forward.
For anyone discovering us by searching specialty coffee Lisbon or simply wandering by for brunch, the goal was the same: make cutting-edge coffee feel accessible, welcoming and exciting.
Why We Focused on Colombian Coffee
Colombia has become one of the most dynamic origins in specialty coffee. Smallholders are rethinking processing and the result is coffees that are vibrant without being wild, expressive without being difficult.
We chose six contrasting lots to show the range now coming out of Risaralda, Cauca and Quindío. Some leaned tropical and juicy. Others were delicate and floral. All were unmistakably Colombian, just reimagined for a new era.
If you’re new to the rabbit hole of specialty coffee, think of processing as the “how it’s handled” part of the journey from fruit to cup. Change the process and you change the flavour.
- Co-fermentation is where coffee cherries are fermented with added fruit. That extra sugar and enzyme activity tends to push the cup toward softer, more tropical sweetness, think ripe stone fruit and florals rather than “flavoured coffee.”
- Bioreactor fermentation happens in a sealed, controlled tank. Temperature, oxygen and time are carefully managed, so you get a very clean, repeatable expression of the coffee – lots of clarity, a defined structure, and fewer surprises from batch to batch.
- Thermal shock uses hot water followed by very cold water on the cherries. It’s a way of opening up the cell structure so more of the fruit character makes it into the cup. In practice, it often means more intense fruit notes while the finish stays surprisingly clean.
- A soft washed process is a gentler take on a classic washed coffee. The mucilage is allowed a lighter fermentation before washing, which keeps the cup tidy and transparent, but preserves a bit more sweetness and delicate aromatics.
If you’re already deep in the weeds of processing styles, these are all familiar tools. If you’re just getting started, the easiest way to think about them is this: they’re different ways of shaping sweetness, clarity and fruit character, you don’t need to memorise the methods, you just need to taste what they do.
The Six Coffees We Served
Julio Quiceno – Mangosteen Ferment
Milan, Risaralda • Caturra
Tasting notes: mangosteen, lychee, passion fruit
A vibrant opener. As soon as it hit the grinder, the room shifted. Clear, tropical aromatics, not overwhelming—just beautifully defined.
Julio Quiceno – Melon & Peach Ferment
Milan, Risaralda • Caturra
Tasting notes: melon, peach, floral
Soft and nectar-like. A cup that made people say “I didn’t know coffee could taste like this” without tipping into novelty.
Julio Quiceno – Passion Fruit Ferment
Milan, Risaralda • Caturra
Tasting notes: chocolate, strawberry, passion fruit
Richer and more dessert-like. Passion fruit brightness balanced by a smooth chocolate undertone. Friendly, familiar, expressive.
Jairo Lopez – Gesha Soft Washed
El Porvenir, Quindío • Gesha
Tasting notes: peach, honey, floral
A reminder that a washed Gesha, done well, still holds its own against any experimental lot. Light, clean, elegant.
Diego Bermudez – Gesha Washed Thermal Shock
El Paraíso, Cauca • Gesha
Tasting notes: pineapple, peach, floral
Distinct and modern. Thermal shock processing intensifies fruit and gives this Gesha a silky, almost luminous quality.
Julio Quiceno – Gesha Bioreactor
La Riviera, Risaralda • Gesha
Tasting notes: watermelon, grape, floral
The most fragrant coffee of the day. High clarity, wine-like structure, and a sparkling, fruit-driven finish.
The Specialty Coffee Scene in Lisbon
When we opened Neighbourhood back in 2019, Lisbon’s specialty coffee scene was a very different place. A handful of specialty coffee cafés, a couple of roasters, and not much in the way of experimental processing on the bar. Fewer roasters on the shelves, fewer weird and wonderful fermentation stories, and definitely fewer people asking detailed questions about water chemistry before 10 a.m.
From day one, serving some of the best specialty coffee we could get our hands on has been the whole point. Takeovers like this are our way of staying true to our roots. If you’re already deep in the specialty coffee rabbit hole, there’s plenty here to overthink. If you’re new to it all, the only requirement is that you like things that taste good.
If you were with us on Saturday, thanks for letting us pour you something a bit different. If you missed it, there are more pop-ups, guest roasters and experimenting coming to Graça and Santos.
Easiest way to keep up? Follow us on Instagram @neighbourhood.lisbon.
If you want to keep exploring, we’ve got a few bags from the takeover left in Santos. They won’t last long, because our regulars can smell a good Colombian from a block away. Oh, and you can explore more about our friends at Routes Coffee here.
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