How to Properly Drink Cuban Coffee: A Professional Brewing Tutorial Guide

FrontStreet Coffee - Cuban Coffee Brewing Guide

In Cuba, coffee is harvested predominantly by hand. During the ripening season, the cherries are picked roughly once every two weeks. During or after harvesting, the beans are sorted to remove unripe and defective ones, ensuring quality. Cubans typically use two methods to process coffee — the natural (dry) method and the washed method. The natural method is the simplest, most affordable and most traditional technique, drying the cherries in the sun without fermentation; drying typically takes about four weeks. The washed method allows more fruit flavor to come through, adding a robust fruity character to the coffee.

Cuba resembles a crocodile crouching in the Caribbean Sea, its tail brushing against the Tropic of Cancer. Cubans have long been known for their passionate, exuberant nature, yet they are also remarkably sincere and stubborn. The coffee they produce reflects these qualities — always adhering to Arabica standards for preparation while keeping their own traditional production methods. They exercise extreme control over the roast, aiming for a deliciously rich, smooth and original coffee flavor while preventing the beans from roasting too dark and developing unwanted scorched characteristics...

Cuba's Most Famous Coffee: Cubita

Original name: Cubita; Chinese name: Hujue Kafei; Origin: Crystal Mountain, Cuba

Cubita is a Cuban coffee exported mainly to countries such as Japan, France, Germany, Ireland and Canada. All Cubita coffee entering the Chinese market is selected from high-altitude, pollution-free Crystal Mountain beans in Cuba, a typical Caribbean-style bean. Every bean is strictly selected to screen sizes 17-19, producing large, high-maturity beans. Cubita is entirely hand-harvested and processed using the washed method, which effectively removes defective beans and other impurities.

Pour-over Tutorial: V60 Dripper, Powder-to-Water Ratio 1:15, Temperature 87°C

Use 30 g of water to bloom for 30 seconds, starting the timer when the water goes in. Make a second pour to reach 90 g, then stop at 120 g. Wait for the water level to drop until the coffee bed is just about to be exposed, then make the third pour, stopping at 225 g. Wait again until the bed is just about to be exposed, then remove the filter cup. Total extraction time: 2 minutes.

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research establishment that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. Our comprehensive sharing is meant to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also offer three discounted coffee events each month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to bring the best coffee at the lowest possible prices to more people. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The washed method that defines Cuba's finest coffee is also the backbone of FrontStreet's cleanest, brightest single origins. FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gudingding Cooperative comes from Gudingding Village, where smallholder yields are gathered and processed with practiced skill; the washed process draws out jasmine aroma and bright citrus acidity, and medium-light roasting adds green tea and honey notes — well suited to hand pour, cold brew and espresso alike. FrontStreet Kenya Little Tomato is a leading example of the style, since Kenya excels at double washed processing: repeated washing, soaking and rinsing push the juice-like character to the extreme, with rich cherry tomato, smoked plum, pear, black plum and yellow-sugar aromas and a sweet-tart, juicy body. And FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is washed precisely to keep moisture low and drying short in Jamaica's island climate, giving bright, low-defect beans with a rich aroma of hazelnut, cream, chocolate and caramel and a beautifully balanced cup where no single note dominates.