Most coffee shops in Colombian tourist towns offer tinto from a commercial blend. Most bakeries offer pan de bono from a bag. Casa de Ciclistas does neither.
The coffee here is single-origin — sourced directly from Colombian growing regions, not blended and re-roasted for mass export. It’s the kind of coffee that changes the impression people have of what Colombian coffee actually tastes like when prepared with care rather than convenience.
The bread is sourdough, made from a starter that’s 200 years old. Fed daily, baked fresh every morning, with a crust and crumb that most artisan bakeries would be proud to produce. In Guatapé — a town most visitors pass through on the way to La Piedra del Peñol — it is genuinely unusual to find bread this good.
If you’re searching for good coffee and a real bakery in Guatapé, this is the answer. It opens at 7:30am — the right place to start a morning before the town fills up, before the steps, and before the afternoon tourist crowds arrive on the malecón.
The Coffee
Served as espresso, café con leche, tinto, cappuccino, or pour-over. The sourcing matters: the beans come from specific growing regions, not a commercial blend, and the quality is noticeable from the first cup. For travelers who’ve heard Colombia has great coffee but have rarely tasted it served well, this is where that reputation makes sense.
The Bread
Fresh sourdough baked every morning. The 200-year-old starter is maintained daily — never frozen, never rushed. The result is bread with genuine depth: a proper crust, an open crumb, and a mild tang from slow fermentation rather than additives. Available by the slice, as toast, in sandwiches, or as a whole loaf.
The Pastries
Baked in-house, rotating daily. Ask what came out of the oven that morning — the selection changes depending on what’s fresh.
Cold Drinks
Fresh juices, smoothies, lemonades, and cold brew. Several include Amazonian fruits sourced through Dulce Amazónica — ingredients difficult to find outside the Amazon basin.
Amazonian Ice Cream
Not coffee or bread — but worth mentioning. Flavors like copoazú, arazá, and borojo sourced from Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon through Dulce Amazónica. Nothing else in Guatapé offers this.
Where We Are
Casa de Ciclistas is in central Guatapé, close to the malecón and the Avenue of the Umbrellas. Approximately 10 minutes from La Piedra del Peñol — close enough that a morning coffee and sourdough toast before the drive makes sense as a day-trip sequence.
The café has indoor and outdoor seating. In the morning before 9am, it’s quiet enough to sit with a coffee and notice the town before the day-trip crowds from Medellín arrive.
Address: Calle 32 #28-91, Guatapé, Antioquia. Free parking nearby.
The Bigger Picture
Casa de Ciclistas co-founded Dulce Amazónica — Colombia’s Amazonian cultural embassy — which maintains fair-trade relationships with 21 Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon. Some ingredients in the café’s drinks and ice cream come directly from those communities. The model is straightforward: communities grow or harvest products, Dulce Amazónica purchases them at fair prices, and visitors encounter those ingredients in what they order. No charity. Trade built on dignity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of coffee does Casa de Ciclistas serve?
Single-origin Colombian coffee sourced directly from growing regions. Served as espresso, tinto, café con leche, cappuccino, and pour-over. Not a commercial blend.
Is the sourdough really made fresh every day?
Yes. Baked every morning from a starter that is 200 years old. Made on-site, not delivered.
What time does the bakery open?
7:30am every day except Tuesday.
Can I buy a whole loaf to take with me?
Yes. Whole loaves are available while stock lasts. Arrive before 10am — they go early.
Is the coffee comparable to Medellín specialty cafés?
It holds up. For a town this size, the coffee at Casa de Ciclistas is genuinely above the standard you’d expect. Specialty coffee drinkers from Medellín have said the same.
Do they have non-dairy milk options?
Ask when you arrive — plant-based alternatives are generally available.
Is it a good place to work for a few hours?
Yes. The café has wifi, reasonable seating for laptops, and doesn’t rush customers. Mornings are the quietest time.
Come for the Coffee. Stay for the Bread.
Casa de Ciclistas opens at 7:30am — the right time to start a day in Guatapé before La Piedra or the malecón. The sourdough comes out of the oven early. The coffee is ready at the door. No reservation needed. Open every day except Tuesday.