How is the Quality of Cubita Cuban Coffee Beans - Cuba's Cubita Coffee World-Renowned Premium Specialty

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Cuban Crystal Mountain Coffee

In Cuba, coffee beans are harvested almost entirely by hand. During the ripening period the crop is picked roughly every two weeks. During or after picking, the beans are sorted and any unripe or defective ones removed to protect quality. Cubans generally use two processing methods, the natural (sun-dried) method and the washed method. The natural method is the simplest, most affordable and most traditional: the coffee cherries are dried in the sun without fermentation, and drying usually takes about four weeks. The washed method allows more fruit flavor to enter the bean, adding a broad fruit aroma to the coffee.

Crystal Mountain coffee is extremely precious today, largely for two reasons. The first is the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Cuba, which restrict imports of Cuban goods. The second is that most Cuban beans are now bought up by the French and Japanese markets, especially Japan, making it hard to buy beans directly from Cuba. Even so, Cuban coffee still stands in the minds of coffee lovers worldwide alongside Jamaican Blue Mountain.

Crystal Mountain beans are typical island beans with a clean and delicate taste, showing a slight acidity that is not strong but persistent, accompanied by a sweet melon and fruit aroma. The brewed coffee has a rare and near-perfect flavor: aromatic bitterness with a full, smooth, mellow mouthfeel. There is a slight wine-like bitterness and a subtle sweetness, even a faint hint of smoke, at once delicate, smooth, refreshing and elegant. The many flavors blend together in close to perfect harmony.

Cubita is Cuban coffee, exported mainly to Japan, France, Germany, Ireland, Canada and other markets. All Cubita entering the Chinese market is selected from pollution-free Crystal Mountain beans grown in Cuba's high-altitude regions, making it a typical Caribbean coffee. Every lot is strictly screened to the 17 to 19 mesh standard, giving large beans of high maturity, and all of it is hand-picked and washed, which removes defective beans and other impurities to a large degree.

All Cubita is produced from coffee grown in the pollution-free Crystal Mountains of Cuba's highlands. Crystal Mountain is geographically close to Jamaica's Blue Mountains and shares similar climatic conditions, which makes it comparable to Jamaican Blue Mountain; it is also known as "Cuba's Blue Mountain."

Knowledge point: Cigars, coffee and sugarcane are the three major industries of the Republic of Cuba and enjoy a worldwide reputation.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a research-focused coffee establishment dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. Our comprehensive sharing is aimed at helping more friends fall in love with coffee. Each month we hold three coffee promotion events with significant discounts, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more people to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible prices. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Crystal Mountain is often called Cuba's Blue Mountain, so anyone drawn to that refined island style will feel right at home with the FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1. It is one of the highest Blue Mountain grades, sourced from the historic Clifton estate, where coffee has been grown since around 1750 on land averaging 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters) above sea level. Every lot ships in a traditional wooden barrel stamped with its batch details, in the 15, 45 and 70 kg sizes that genuine Blue Mountain has always used, and FrontStreet roasts it medium-dark within five days of dispatch.

Served through a Kono dripper at 87 to 88 degrees Celsius with a 15 g dose, a 1:15 ratio and a grind about as coarse as granulated white sugar, the cup is very clean, complex and remarkably mild, with chocolate sweetness and a strong body. It also works beautifully in a moka pot, where its chocolate, caramel and nut flavors grow even rounder while keeping the balance that defines this legendary coffee.