Kitchen Secrets with Our Cuban Chef – Café Cubano

Hot, Bitter, Strong, and Scarce, this is how café Cubano is drunk, as any person from the island would say. Its flavor has characterized Cuban history and culture; no coffee is like ours. The strong black color, its deep flavor, and the naturalness of its ingredients make it one more attraction of this glorious land. It is the perfect excuse to accompany long conversations with friends, families, and even strangers because Cubans are very helpful and a cup of coffee is not to be refused!

Historians affirm that café cubano bean was introduced in Cuba by the Spaniards in the early days of their arrival to the continent, between the years 1492 and 1530, but it was not until the 8th century that it obtained the prominence known to this day. Its origin is not European but African, located precisely in the regions of Abyssinia in Ethiopia, although it is also geographically located in Haiti.

The climatic conditions of Cuba made possible the rapid proliferation of the tree and the soil gave it a different taste. The drink began to be enjoyed by both the Spaniards and the natives and became a necessary source for the diet due to its energizing and curative properties.
Since it arrived in Cuba, and for more than two centuries, this aromatic beverage has been a precious treasure for the Antilleans. It is so much our own, so commonplace that it is a symbol of pride in Cuban cuisine, tradition, and hospitality. It even forms part of the well-known triad of Cuba’s advertising as a tourist destination: rum, tobacco, and coffee.

After the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, the wave of emigrants to the United States was notorious. As always happens, they took with them the recipe to prepare café Cubano and gave the world a reason to “admire Cuba”.

Café Cubano is of excellence, with exquisite fragrance, fine aroma, a good body, and a distinguished taste that allows the bitterness of caffeine to show through. The intense flavor captivates each brew, it is the energy that marks the Cuban step and makes us special worldwide. “Hot, Bitter, Strong and Scarce” (Caliente, Amargo, Fuerte y Escaso,) as its letters describe it, is café cubano.

It is served in small cups because its flavor permeates the veins. To achieve the Cuban bean’s characteristic complexion, a dark roast coffee must be obtained to highlight the natural sweetness and intensity.

Another essential characteristic of Cuban coffee is that its mode of preparation or recipe has not varied much throughout time, because it is a family tradition that awakens the sensation of unity and prosperity. Although utensils have been modernized, it is a reality that Cubans seek the taste of the coffee of yesteryear.