Cuban coffee: Trinidad, Guantanamera, Cubita and other best varieties

Unlike many other countries, in Russia coffee is not yet considered to be a national drink, however, this all goes, because there are almost no people left who don’t drink it at all.At the same time, coffee lovers traditionally love Italian, less often French drink, but Cuban coffee in our country is still little known, although it is considered absolutely indispensable in its homeland. If you like to try something new in the usual things, be sure to pay attention to this kind of coffee drink.

When coffee drinks are classified by country, they often mean not only and not so much the origin of the beans - rather, local traditions of brewing and drinking coffee are implied. In each country, such traditions are somewhat different, if the drink has been actively used there for centuries, and Cuban coffee, of course, is no exception.

Since the first coffee trees were brought to Cuba at the end of the 18th century, only one brewed on beans grown in this country can be considered a real Cuban drink. Arabica grows here exclusively, but different varieties. Traditional Cuban coffee is brewed solely from the beans of one variety, so in our country you cannot try classics - even the famous Cubita, sold in our supermarkets, is a mixture of varieties.

Natural Cuban coffee beans are cooked much more carefully than the world average. At the same time, Cubans do not feel sorry for brewing, which makes the drink very strong and invigorating, it has a bitter and spicy taste. Even the locals themselves understand that such strong coffee can be very much to an amateur, because they carefully sugar the liquid.

Not only does Cuban coffee have a rather specific taste, it is also drunk exclusively in very hot form. For this reason, large coffee portions do not exist - the drink is drunk only in small cups. Serving it is usually accompanied by large portions of plain cold water, but any additives in the coffee itself are not welcome.

It would seem that nothing interferes, observing all the traditions, to prepare supposedly Cuban coffee from beans grown in any other place. In fact, such a drink can fool anyone, just not a real gourmet, who really understands the types of drink and will immediately be able to identify a fake. Cubans themselves give preference only to the domestic product not only because of the patriotism or comparative cheapness of the raw materials, but also because of the specific features of growing and processing the grains, which differ from those in other regions.

To begin with, great attention is paid to the conditions in which trees grow. The local climate is ideal for growing coffee, and yet local planters do not allow themselves to let the process take its course - every tree is carefully monitored to get the most out of fertile tropical land.

For knowledgeable people, it is no secret that coffee is just the grains of the fruit, the rind of which is inedible - accordingly, they must first be removed. We are used to the fact that coffee beans are distinguished by quite high hardness, however, it appears as a result of roasting, and before that, the raw material is easily damaged.

Even extremely careful extraction does not guarantee the perfect quality of the raw materials, so it is also further sorted before frying. Relatively small shape defects like chips and cracks are already considered a disadvantage, but such grains are not thrown away, but simply set aside - they will be sold as a cheaper grade. Grain size also matters. A sign of careful sorting is the perfect uniformity of each grain in the package.

Nobody in the world roasts coffee beans as much as Cubans. The temperature of roasting falls to 250 degrees, so that the future drink will get a special, very tart taste.Strangely enough, more careful processing does not prolong the shelf life of the raw materials, because coffee from Cuba is usually carefully packed in vacuum packaging. However, even in this format it is undesirable to store grain for a long time.

Coffee of Cuban origin can be found as whole grains, and already in the form of a hammer. It is obvious that the grain version preserves taste and smell much better, since it begins to actively release the aroma already in the grinding process. Gourmets, well versed in this area, argue that only from grain coffee can you make a real Cuban drink.

Coffee in Cuba is produced by numerous local companies, but far from each of them exports its goods abroad. Nevertheless, a certain choice of Cuban coffee is present even in Russian supermarkets, and on specialized forums you can find reviews on various flavors of the drink from the Island of Freedom with a description of taste.

It is usually advisable to start a familiarity with a Cuban drink from the “Trinidad” variety. This variety, on the one hand, differs in most typical Cuban parameters, on the other - it has a slightly less pronounced tartness, due to which it has an increased chance of appealing to an unsuitable consumer. For the same reason, it is this brand that is most widely represented in domestic stores.

If astringency does not seem to be a big problem for a potential gourmet, you should turn your attention to the variety “Altura”.

We have not yet taken root the next sort of coffee, however, people who often come to Europe could see it in local stores. It's about "Serrano" - a pleasant variety of Cuban coffee, which has an acidic aftertaste. This kind of arabica is among the best and is enjoyed by most of those who have tried it; therefore, such a wonder is worth bringing with you from a trip.

At the same time, some Cuban coffee is so unusual that many of our coffee lovers may simply not like it. For example, “Maragodzhip” is already known to quite a large number of coffee-machines due to the huge (3–3.5 times more than any other arabica) grain size and light chocolate flavor. The Cuban “Maragodzhip”, as it should be, is fried to the maximum, therefore it is notable for amazing tartness, it will be enjoyed only by the connoisseurs of bitter chocolate. Something resembles the described variety and the Cuban Guantanamera - it is a little softer, but it has completely sudden notes of tobacco.

To achieve maximum likelihood, you have to work hard, because you need real Caribbean ingredients - for example, raw sugar or brown cane sugar. Coffee is worth buying only in the beans, while grinding is carried out immediately before brewing. You need to prepare a drink in a geyser-type coffee maker, and sugar is added at the brewing stage - it is initially mixed with ground coffee.

The finished drink is not poured into cold dishes - you must first heat the cups in the oven or pour boiling water over it. Cuban coffee is consumed very hot. It is also very strong, therefore it is necessary to drink it only with small cups, and for people from the risk zone it is not at all desirable.

See all about Cuban coffee in the video below.