This month we revisit an old friend – Cuba. (Or at least Mez and
Wells are, again not jealous at all.)
Home to famous cigars, and some of the world’s finest Arabica
beans.
Cuba is an island that assaults the senses. The visitor is
greeted with strains of exotic rhythms such as salsa and rumba emanating from every corner, and an
aquamarine sea laps the white, palm-fringed beaches all around the island. Cuba’s sensual
and contagious rhythms have
influenced musicians the world over, its cigars are legendary and the exotic cocktails are to die for.
Cuba
seems to be lost in time,
somewhere in the 1950’s. It’s not just the old American cars in the streets or
the exquisite colonial architecture with peeling paint in Old Havana.
Instead,
it’s a sense that the world of modern tourism has somehow largely bypassed the
Caribbean’s largest island. This mixture makes Cuba an undeniably enticing
destination.
Cuba,
with its mix of Spanish and African roots, is the largest, least
commercialized, and most exciting island in the Caribbean. It is also one of
the world's last bastions of communism with a fascinating modern history.
Cuba's relative political isolation has prevented it from being overrun by
tourists, and locals are sincerely friendly to those who do venture in.
The coffee plantations are located mainly in three regions.
The most important are in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and
Granma (on the slopes and valleys, in the mountains of eastern Cuba); the
Escambray Mountains near the centre of the island; and, to a lesser extent, the
Sierra del Rosario, close to the western tip of Cuba in the province of Pinar
Del Rio.
These locations provide a comfort for the Arabica coffee bean,
with 55 to 70 inches of rain and moisture evenly distributed during the year,
deep and rich soils, and temperatures ranging from 21 degrees Celsius in the
winter and up to 25 degrees Celsius in the summer.
It is from the central mountain region where we have managed to
obtain some of the most important beans which are from Crystal Mountain.
COW……………..Cuba Altura Lavado a.k.a
Cuban
Star
Cuban Star…..one of our all-time favourites, coming from a place
with perfect growing conditions,
we get this well balanced cocoa toned coffee with the aroma of
dry tobacco leaves.
Enjoy it kids! Christmas came early this year.
