August 2009

CUBA ALTURA LAVADO

This month’s specialty estate coffee comes from the island of Cuba, also home to famous  cigars and revolutionary politics.
Coffee was introduced in 1748, when French families, fleeing the Haitian slave revolt, settled in Cuba. Within 50 years, there were about 2000 plantations equalling the local sugar production investments. However, after a time, competition from Sth. American markets caused the Cuban production to decline. The War of Independence from Spain (1868-1878) left the island in ruins, plantations abandoned to be reclaimed by jungle. Today, Cuba is a relatively small producer, however, the quality of the beans is almost unmatched.
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.

We found they are best represented as a light roast. The beans come out of the roaster before the 2nd crack at a light colour which seems to continue development after roasting. Oils are also quite apparent, and will continue to mature over time.  Cupping the roast we discovered a light acidity, which seems to disappear while still holding the coffee in your mouth. Further along the palate we found a pleasant earthiness (or smokiness), which is accompanied by a buttery mouth feel.  Whether you have this one in your plunger in the morning or as an espresso shot at the end of the day, this coffee will certainly demonstrate why we wanted to revisit Mr Kastro’s island.

Click here to order your bag now – we don’t expect this coffee to hang around for long with all of the Kastro fans jumping in!!

ENJOY

The Koffee Purist