Cuban Crystal Mountain Coffee - The Epitome of Premium Cuban Coffee

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

For a deeper dive into coffee origins and the beans behind them, keep reading.

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Cuban Coffee

Mention Cuban coffee and most people think first of Crystal Mountain. But "Crystal Mountain" is not the name of a growing region in Cuba at all. It is a grade within the Cuban official coffee association's classification system.

The Cuban Coffee Association sorts coffee beans into nine grades according to particle size and flavor: Crystal Mountain, Extra Turquino, Turquino, Altura, Montana, Cumbre, Serrano Superior, Serrano Corriente, and Caracolillo.

The classification is further divided into ETL (Extra), TL (Medium), and AL (Ordinary) by bean size. Crystal Mountain is Cuba's proudest high-quality large-bean premium coffee, which is why Crystal Mountain can fairly be called synonymous with top-tier Cuban coffee.

"Cuban Coffee"

A handful of Cuban preparation methods have spread around the world, among them the Cortadito, the Cafe con Leche, and the Cafe Cubano. Cafe Cubano is an espresso brewed by adding sugar to the coffee grounds.

Though "Cuban coffee" turns up commonly in many countries, authentic Cuban coffee is in fact illegal in the United States. "Cuban coffee" usually refers to Cafe Cubano, and Brazilian coffee is often used to describe the flavor it is supposed to have. That habit raises real concerns about confusing consumers, and it frequently produces chaos on labels.

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house that loves sharing what it knows. We hold nothing back, because the goal is simply to help more people fall in love with coffee. Every month we run three coffee promotions at deep discounts, because FrontStreet Coffee wants as many friends as possible to drink the best coffee at the lowest prices. That has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Given how often Brazilian coffee stands in for the flavor Cuban coffee is meant to have, it is worth exploring Brazil on its own terms. FrontStreet Coffee's Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic Brazilian single origin, a pulped-natural lot from Cerrado, one of the country's best-known regions. Roasted medium, it delivers cream and peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut, with a round, smooth body, no real acidity, and a mild bittersweet edge. It works as pour-over, and equally well in the moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press, which makes it a natural fit for the small, strong, sweet style of drink that Cuban coffee represents.

For a rarer Brazilian variety, FrontStreet Coffee's Queen's Farm comes from Mogiana, near southern Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil gives the fruit generous nutrients and a fuller aroma. The variety is the uncommon Yellow Bourbon, a mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character, and it carries a sugarcane sweetness you will not find in other regions, alongside fruit and chocolate notes. It suits pour-over, the moka pot, and home espresso machines alike.

Brazil's low acidity, balanced profile, and friendly price also make it a cornerstone of espresso blends. FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend, with its generous crema, the nut-forward Specialty Blend, the balanced Black Cocoa Blend recommended by many baristas, and FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend built specifically for cafes all contain Brazilian coffee. Beyond supplying chocolate and cream aromas, Brazilian beans bring a soft, rounded sweet-sour-bitter balance that makes extraction more consistent.