One of my favourite coffee experiences involved coffee that was quite unlike any other cup I've had. Every trip that I've made to Cuba included a visit to a 19th century coffee plantation. Isabelica was established at the end of the 18th century by a plantation owner who had fled the slave rebellion in Haiti. Although not a working coffee farm it is still in remarkable shape and is now a tourist destination. One room, a powerful reminder of the slavery that took place there, contained not only coffee growing tools, but shackles and tools of the slave labour. The most powerful reminder? A simple hole in the floor, to protect the belly of pregnant slaves that were being whipped.
On each visit there we did two things. One was take a group photo on the steps.
The other was to pause for a simple, but fabulous cup of coffee. The coffee was roasted along with raw sugar, in a very dark roast, then ground with a mortar and pestal. The grounds were placed in a long cloth filter and boiling water from a kettle poured over them. Reminiscent of a wonderful espresso it had a taste, the hint of the sugar, that was simply unrivaled.
Today I ordered some coffee beans from Cuba. I know it won't be the same, roasted in Canada without sugar. But I'm anxious to try them, and perhaps get a little hint of those great cups of coffee at Isabelica and another farm we'd stop at. I'm hoping that this morning cup of Joe will take me back to the island and friends I've not seen for so long.
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Ah, we also went to a former coffee farm in Pinar del Rio in Cuba. And Cuba was where I started drinking coffee. The industry infrastructure isn’t really there to have terrific specialty coffee out of Cuba, although the potential is there. Of course, I’m not allowed to have any Cuban coffee here, so you’ll have to sample as much as possible and let me know how it is!
I know I thought of that when I was looking for it. Expect a pound of “Haitian” coffee sometime in the not too distant future.
When I was stationed in South Carolina in the 70’s, a fellow I worked with was of Cuban decent. Both him and his wife still had deep accents but claimed Miami as their home. They made an excellent cup of Cuban coffee. At first I figured it was way to strong, but once I got use to it, it was awesome.
Great stuff isn’t it Dave?