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Coffee plays an important role in Cuba and has retained its reputation as a real luxury food. Here the history of coffee comes to life.

Coffee culture Cuba – the popular luxury food of the Cubans

Enjoyment is in the Cuban blood. No wonder that, alongside tobacco, coffee is one of the most popular luxury foods. Due to limited production, coffee is not a commodity in Cuba. Nevertheless, Cubans drink quite a lot of coffee throughout the day. No matter the time of year or day, a Cuban likes to make time for a cup of coffee and a nice chat. Visitors are also given a cup of coffee as a matter of course. Cuban coffee tends to be very strong and very sweet. That is why it is usually served in small cups.

The Cubans and the coffee

The delicious brew was once brought to the island by French coffee farmers. They had to flee Haiti at the time and henceforth grew the delicious bean in the mountains of Cuba. The soil here is rich in nutrients, so the coffee beans can grow slowly. The mild, low-acid but spicy aroma is characteristic of Cuban coffee. The coffee plantations produce up to 6,000 tons of coffee annually – but this is not enough to cover Cuba’s own needs for the green bean. As a result, Cuban coffee is not a mass product and is therefore particularly popular with coffee connoisseurs from all over the world.
No matter the time of year or day, a Cuban likes to make time for a cup of coffee and a nice chat.
Tropical flair spreads immediately with a Cuban coffee. After all, the spicy aroma smells particularly intense. A Cuban coffee on the palm beach is certainly a very special treat.

Typical Cuban coffee

Overall, Cubans prefer three different coffees. They like their coffee strong and sweet. The best known is the Café Cubano or Cafecito. Incidentally, cafecito means “small coffee” and alludes to the typical small cup in which it is served. The cafecito is considered a Cuban specialty and is also very popular outside of Cuba. It consists of dark roasted beans and sugar. The barista adds sugar during the brewing process. No wonder the cafecito is very sweet.
The slightly milder alternative to the cafecito is the cortadito. This is an espresso with frothed milk in a ratio of 3:1. The cortadito is usually served in a small glass. Of course, there is also a classic milk coffee in Cuba. This is called café con leche and consists of coffee and milk.

The coffee capsules business is still on the rise, because the trend is clearly towards portion coffee. Not without reason, because coffee can simply not be prepared more comfortably and faster. In addition to general taste discussions, which are rather subjective, there is a very objective problem report. Coffee capsules made of aluminum or plastic from Nespresso, Tchibo and Co. are relatively large environmental polluters on a closer look. That is why we often and often devote ourselves to the search for ecologically correct coffee capsules. The best example so far: the Swiss company Beanarella, which has developed a 100% compostable capsule. Unfortunately, it is the case that “contaminated” aluminum or plastic cannot be recycled or only with drawbacks. It also depends on the consumer to what extent this contributes to waste separation, and that is not as rigorously regulated in all countries as in Germany. The recycling must therefore take place elsewhere: ideally when preparing for coffee. Some (alternative) manufacturers have refillable capsules in their range. But how good or bad is this solution? And which manufacturers are there anyway?

Advantages of refillable capsules

environmental Protection
As already mentioned, ready -made capsules are an unrealistic environmental impact. Every year we Germans consume the content of around two billion capsules. The bottom line is that a garbage mountain of around 4,000 tons produces. Make noticed every year. And that’s just the end of the flagpole. Manufacture also represents enormous resource consumption. Aluminum production, for example, is particularly energy -consuming. Around 14 kW of electricity is required to produce 1 kg of aluminum. With refillable solutions, these huge amounts would be significantly reduced.

Desired espresso
Anyone who classifies the matter of pollution as not so tragic, you should be listening at the latest at the latest. Because: With refillable coffee capsules, it is not only possible to fill up your favorite coffee, but also to dose the amount individually! With entire beans, you should pay attention to the optimal grinding degree, otherwise commercially available espresso powder is also suitable. “Portion coffee goes Barista” if you will. The preparation takes a little longer, of course, but you really can’t speak of a loss of comfort. The advantage predominates very clearly: determine the coffee you want to drink and, above all, how strong it should be. As is well known, you cannot vary in terms of finished capsules, except to choose from the specified grades.

Raw coffee beans are not edible for people. Therefore, the beans have to be roasted in order to be able to use them for the preparation of coffee. The roasting process heats the coffee beans dry as they are exposed to atmospheric pressure. Experts distinguish several roasts and use various devices for coffee root. Coffee lovers can also roast raw coffee beans to make their own coffee.

The history of the coffee root

The most famous types of coffee in the world are Arabica and Robusta. Wildly growing Arabica coffee occurs primarily in Ethiopia, where the coffee plant was first mentioned in writings in the 9th century. The first roasting of coffee beans has only been handed down, which, for example, state that shepherds chew the fruits of a coffee shrub and spat into the fire because of the bitter taste. This is said to have spread the aroma of the beans and the people began to roast the coffee beans in large iron pans over the fire. Then the beans were crushed in a mortar or roughly ground. The coffee powder obtained in this way was boiled together with water and sugar in a bulbous container and drunk from small shells.

A small guide to the self -blossom

If you want to roast coffee beans yourself, you first need raw coffee. The green beans offer well -stocked specialist dealers either in their shop or via the Internet. The raw coffee beans can be roasted in different ways. A standard frying pan is sufficient for the first attempts. The pan must be heated to approximately 180 ° C to 190 ° C. The temperature should be checked with a cooking thermometer. Then the bottom of the pan is covered with a layer of coffee beans that must not lie on top of each other. Regular switching of the beans is very important so that they do not burn. The color change can be observed well and after the first crackle a light roast degree is reached. With this roasting method, the first crackle takes place after about seven minutes. For a better aroma, it is recommended to wait for the second crack that can be heard after about twenty minutes. As an alternative to the frying pan, the beans can also be spread on a baking sheet and given in the preheated oven. Here, too, the beans have to be turned regularly and the temperature in the oven must be approximately 220 ° C so that the beans do not bake. The baking time is about five minutes up to the first crackle, after another five minutes the coffee beans should be turned. This is followed by a further roast time in the oven of about three to five minutes, the temperature is not changed. With both methods, the coffee beans have to cool down well before they are stored or ground. When roasting, the beans lose their outermost layer of skin, which has to be carefully removed. Alternatively, Römautomats for home use are also offered in specialist shops, with which household amounts of coffee beans can be roasted. Hobbyists have also deposited instructions on the Internet how they built a coffee roaster from a chicken grill or a popcorn machine.

The world of coffee is diverse and complicated. A lover of coffee no longer buys a previously prayed product, passes it through a coffee maker and keeps it warm on the stove for hours. Eating coffee is part of culinary art. A universal drink accompanies its fans during the day in many branded dishes. Nevertheless, stubborn prejudices are preserved. Most coffee lovers are familiar with the varieties of Arabica and Robust. And the vast majority of coffee lovers preserved information: Arabica is good, Robusta is bad. They are unfair to Robust.

Optical and taste differences

Anyone who rejects Robust is as unfair as a connoisseur of wine, who prefers the variety of Sira Murvedra. But there are bad wines of Syrah and good wine Murvedr. And there are many good mixtures. The rapid visual difference between arabic and timid. Robusta grains are small, brown, chubby. They show an open gap. Arabica grains are elongated, greenish-brown, with a more closed gap. The difference in aroma and taste is as clear as the visual difference. Robusta comes from lowlands, and you can say: its earthy, rich taste and low acidity of a spilled drink. Arabica, “mountain coffee”, has well -integrated acids; It is tasted as sweet, clear, light and rounded.

Ingredients and tolerance

Arabica and robust differ in the content of caffeine and tolerance .. chlorogenic acid, which makes up each coffee grain, is 30% higher in robust. Chlorogenic acid can cause heartburn and pain in the stomach. To this should be added a higher caffeine content in all varieties of robust coffee. The consequences of increased consumption of Robusta manifest only after coffee is drunk: a feeling of intolerance, increased pulse, sweating, imperative calls for urination. The fact that Robusta has a higher content of alkaloids is already visible during tasting: it tastes more strong, bitter and has acute aftertaste. Bobs from the lowlands are a typical addition to espresso and Schümli. This makes the taste more characteristic and gives more foam. Anyone who has tried coffee 100% Robust recognizes it in all mixtures.