Black, strong and with sugar, a version of Italian espresso with extra sweetness. This is the traditional way of drinking coffee in Cuba. And an excellent option is to combine it with a Cuban mini cigar. ¿Which one? Trinidad Short.
Let’s start with the basics: what is Cuban coffee like, also called Cuban espresso, colada, cafecito, Cuban pull or Cuban shot? Three characteristics define it: its preparation -in a moka pot-, its strong intensity and its sweetness.
The Italian coffee pot tradition is easy to explain: Cuban coffee began to be prepared in them when they arrived on the island from the Mediterranean country. It maintains the strength of the traditional Italian preparation, since it is also an espresso, but with the peculiarity that on the Caribbean island brown sugar is added directly to the ground coffee filter.
Besides black version, the other most common way of consuming coffee in Cuba is by adding a shot of milk, known as cortadito, although there are more and more varieties in the island’s coffee shops, with coffee with milk at the forefront.
Coffee is part of the habits and customs of Cubans. In fact, there are many tiny spaces in Havana’s backstreets where you can go for a Cuban espresso at any time.
The main characteristic of Cuban ground coffee is the ‘Dark Roast’. Among the local brands stand Cubita, Serrano (the most popular ones), Arriero and Turquino, although it is also common to use Colombian or Spanish products that are highly roasted. As a curiosity, and as a sign of the intimate relationship between Cuban coffee and tobacco, two premium brands should also be mentioned: Montecristo, a 100% Arabica gourmet coffee grown in Sierra Maestra that is smooth, creamy and very aromatic, and “Cohiba”, both quite difficult to obtain and with higher prices.
And with the Cuban coffee ready on the table, it’s time to light up our Cuban mini cigar. We have chosen a Trinidad Short, mainly because the mild-medium strength of this cigarillo offers an ideal contrast to the strength of the coffee. The name of this brand comes from the Villa de la Santísima Trinidad, on the southern coast of Cuba, one of the most interesting tourist towns in the country and declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
In short, if you visit the Pearl of the Antilles we recommend that you try its typical coffee, and if you accompany it with any Cuban mini cigar you will enjoy a tandem with all the essence of the island.
