Drinking Cuban coffee in the land of dinosaurs

-
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in NYC is a local treasure. The kids never get tired of marveling at the huge dinosaur replicas (the original bones are stored in the museum’s archives---they are too heavy for display) or watching 3-D movies to pomder the mysteries of the universe while listening to Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s soothing baritone.



Earlier this month, another mom and I took our kids to AMNH to spend the day seeing all the IMAX movies and special exhibits.  I was surprised to see a new offering---CUBA! This ambitious exhibit not only explores the astounding biodiversity of Cuba, which in reality is an archipelago comprised of more than 4,000 islands, but it also looks at Cuban society and history in a way that illuminates the beauty and brilliance of the island’s culture and people.

There are huge installations of streetscapes in Havana replete with graceful arches, Spanish charm, and splashes of color everywhere. The presentation is so big and so rich that I wanted to walk in, jump on a bike and start riding.

Beyond biodiversity
AMNH’s extensive exploration of wetlands and intact coral reefs reminds us how big the world is---so vast and dynamic, in fact, that the term “biodiversity” doesn’t really capture the majesty of Cuba.  In Cuba, you can find the smallest bird in the world (the Bee Hummingbird); one of the largest rodents in the world, the Jutia Conga, which weighs on average 15 pounds; and reptiles that are so rare it seems that they exist in a parallel universe where the dinosaurs still roam free.

At one point during the exhibit, visitors stream into a room that makes it seem as if they are on the street in Havana. There is art everywhere, including poster art advertising music festivals and baseball wins, and photographs documenting every aspect of island life, from the opera house to the domino table. But most important for me, there was a complete replica of a café with little delicate ceramic coffee cups (alas, no coffee) and a vent with the smell of coffee wafting out. (Olfactory bliss for sure.)


Coffee is a “thing” in Cuba

Coffee, it turns out, is a Cuban “thing.” Practically everyone drinks it all the time. Everyone there drinks café Cubano, which is espresso sweetened with demerara---sugar that is in the process of being brewed. Some people also like to have a cortadito, a 50-50 mix of coffee and steamed milk, or perhaps they find themselves at work in the middle of the day sharing a colada with their workmates. (A colada is a large cup of espresso---3 to 6 shots---which is intended to be shared.)
At the heart of the Cuban coffee tradition is socializing, taking in culture and lingering for long periods after meals to have lively conversations and share ideas.  It’s a beautiful tradition.  I’d love to try Cuban coffee, but I don’t see a trip to Cuba in my future any time soon. However, lots of Americans who like Cuban coffee order from Artizan. You can also buy Café Bustelo at any supermarket or bodega. And if you want to learn how to make it right, check out this tutorial

Enjoy!
  


Comments

custom writing service reviews said…
this place looks like it is made of my dreams. kid or not, i definitely want to visit the place. i know i am going to fall in love with it. thank you for updating us with it
October 20, 2017 at 11:09 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coffee Prices Explode & Global Coffee Gratitude

-
Image
At the end of the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of how grateful I am for coffee. Not only for its rich, soothing, energizing effects---but also because of its health benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. I am also grateful that increasingly the medical evidence is documenting these benefits with amazing contributions from European and American universities! I am also grateful that most of the coffee-drinkers I know can still afford to drink coffee and enjoy its benefits. That is not insignificant, especially when you consider that coffee prices are at an all-time high for the past 13 years. In fact, coffee futures have increased 44%. According to pundits, a constellation of factors are contributing to coffee's sky-high prices, including bad weather in South America and low stockpiles in the United States. But, there's something else: Increasing demand from coffee drinkers in emerging economies. The largest increase i
Read more

Happiness Is…Buying a New Coffee Maker & Getting a Refund for the Old One

-
Image
About a week ago, the unthinkable happened. One mid-August morning, my Barista Aroma TM 8-cup coffeemaker broke. It became essentially unusable. My first reaction was denial. The large rubber lip of the thermal carafe had become completely unhinged. I tried to meld it back together, but this coffee maker was almost 4 years old. Indeed, if ever there was ‘planned obsolescence’ this was it---because it was definitely NOT abuse. Over the years, I have loved that coffeemaker. On some cold winter mornings, I would practically coo at it as it competently brewed my coffee. I loved many of its features. It’s black and silver sleekness, the gold mesh flat filter, the fact that I could yank the carafe away from the case before it finished brewing in order to pour myself half a cup. I loved the shushing sound it made as it brewed, the strategically placed water canister, and the digital read-out. Ours was a warm respectable relationship informed by my primal addiction to coffee.
Read more

Who is Juan Valdez and why I drink instant coffee

-
Image
Instant coffee gets a bad rap. But like it or not, instant coffee---a freeze-dried, powdered concentrated form of coffee--- is coffee. And like other types of coffee, it is full of antioxidants. The obvious downside for many people, however, is that instant coffee has a different flavor profile than traditionally brewed coffee. But that does not mean that it can’t be good. In fact, there are now second- and third-generation instant coffees that have gained a following.  However, this post is NOT about the most au courant instant coffees. This post is about an old-school, first-generation instant coffee. Specifically, Juan Valdez Café instant coffee (which I recently received as a gift from good friends). The Juan Valdez Café brand represents coffee produced by Colombian Coffee Farmers---500,000 strong, who are devoted to continuing a coffee-growing tradition that many say produces the best coffee in the world. Amazon reviewers tend to rate Juan Valdez Café coffee with 4.5 to 5 stars (
Read more