Alma de Cuba Fuerte Café Cuban Coffee Reviewed

When I lied (a whole other blog post) and had to ask for help from PRs I got a response that was not aligned with my request but I agreed to review it. It was coffee from Cuba and after reviewing that GORGEOUS Cuban chocolate I decided to ask for a sample and review it.

Cuba isolated itself from the world somewhat due to politics. As a result things like coffee, sugar and chocolate were not as widely available. While some countries did trade with Cuba, others did not. That plus the very public political situation meant Cuban products beyond the cigars were downplayed in importance and where exports happened, the unique flavours of Cuba were downplayed.

Fast-forward to today and the world is starting to rediscover the flavours of Cuba – the tobacco and earthiness and leather in the chocolate and the deep dark coffee tones with slight fruit flavours and earthiness in the coffee.

The coffee came in a branded box with a branded tin. The tin is gorgeous and I think would not only make a gorgeous gift for anyone but also a gorgeous gift for you 😉

I have to admit to a slight amount of discomfort in the language used in some of the marketing material as it evokes strong Communist overtones however the coffee itself was gorgeously fresh.

The coffee was very strong. It wasn’t burnt as some strong coffee can be but had earthy tones to my chocolate-trained nose. There seems to be, to me, a bit of the roasting notes coming through in the finished coffee. There are also some tones of the fruit coming through but that roasted coffee and earthiness are quite strong.

(the scoop you see in the picture is from my mom) The coffee is delightful. I think from a flavour point of view that while interesting it isn’t necessarily as complex as I’ve tasted. It is still a delightful dark roast that has a lot of flavour and body in the darker notes without being bitter. It is undoubtedly high quality and well treated from fermenting to roasting.

If you want a quality coffee for a connoisseur as a gift, given the more exclusive nature of this coffee I’d grab it now.