Pairing Cuban Cigars with whisky, rum, spirits, or any other type of alcoholic drink is old news. A cigar is meant to be smoked anytime throughout the day, so when matching your smoke exclusively to alcoholic beverages you deprive yourself of that freedom and limit the possibilities of your smoking experience. However, there's an easy way out of this situation. Packed with a number of exceptional earthy undertones, a cup of coffee made from freshly roasted coffee beans can be a brilliant match to many cigars, a better pair even than many alcoholic beverages. Having said that, here we explore the essence of premium coffee, diving into all the variants that contribute to making coffee an excellent pair to many Cuban cigars.
"TRADICIONAL CUBAN COFFEE IS DARK ROASTED"
CUBAN COFFEE - If you thought that cigars were the only good thing to come out of Cuba, think again because Cuban coffee is as popular and sought after. Perhaps it's the fact that the land of Cuba has been growing premium coffee for over two centuries or the land's exceptionally euphoric climate and soil that boosts the cultivation of almost any type of plant on the island that contribute to the growth of fine Arabica coffee.
Regardless, Cuban coffee is widely known for its strong taste and undeniable rare aromas. The traditional coffee of the island is dark roasted, which means that the beans are being roasted more than a typical Medium Dark Roast - until they start to smoke, indicating the carbonization of the sugars. Cuban coffee is prepared in the exact same way with espresso is and for that is used either a moka pot or an espresso machine.
The process of harvesting coffee beans in Sierra Maestra remains true to tradition for almost two centuries.
"DATES BACK TO THE MID-1700s"
CULTIVATION REGIONS - There are many popular coffee farms scattered around Cuba which are known for growing some of the best Cuban coffee beans in the world. However, the Sierra Maestra Mountains, located on the eastern side of the island, seem to attract all the attention when it comes to producing quality coffee beans as the climate and the rich reddish-brown soil manages to distinguish the coffee beans produced in the farms of Sierra Maestra from the rest. What is even more fascinating about the region is that all the farmers in Sierra Maestra grow coffee totally organic, without the exploit or use of any type of chemical fertilisers which, although they manage to maximise the production, they eventually damage the quality.
HISTORY - The origins of Cuban coffee are as enticing and longlasting as its flavours. The first appearance of Cuban coffee dates back to the mid-1700s. A few decades later, sometime in the late 1790s, the production of Cuban coffee became widely popular in Europe, with great amounts of it being exported to Spain. But that's not all of it. The industry of Cuban coffee grew even more when French coffee farmers, after having fled the Haitan Revolution, started farming coffee in Cuba. The road was dressed in rose petals for the industry as it kept growing stronger and bigger day after day. Cuban coffee witnessed its most glorious days in the mid-1800s when its sales exceeded Cuba's sugar sales which constitute the principal agriculture economy in the island to this day.
View of the Sierra Maestra Mountains, known for growing some of the best coffee beans in the world.
"PACKED WITH PLENTY OF EARTHY NOTES"
CIGAR PAIRINGS - Products of organic cultivation and exquisite craftsmanship always go hand in hand. That is why Cuban coffee is the ideal pair to many premium Cuban cigars. Which are the smokes that guarantee to seamlessly blend their aromas and flavours with the ones of Cuban coffee you may wonder! Fear not as we know exactly which cigars to pair with an Arabica. Of course, we couldn't think of a better first smoke to suggest, than the irresistible Cohiba Behike 52. Coming in a Laguito No. 4 vitola that measures at 119 mm in length by a ring gauge of 52, Behike 52 delivers plenty of earthy notes, making it the ideal smoke to pair with your Cuban coffee. In case Behike is too complex for your personal taste, the Romeo y Julieta Petit Churchills Cigar is the one for you. Handmade using only the finest tobacco sourced from Cuba's most prominent plantations, Petit Churchills provides the smoker with plenty of medium strength aromas, typical of Romeo y Julieta smokes, that blend beautifully with the flavours of premium Cuban coffee. If you are an occasional smoker or prefer light flavoured smokes, don't worry, we saved the best cigar for last. The Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial Cigar is packed with a number of mild yet earthy flavours making it just the right light-bodied cigar to smoke with your Cuban coffee.
Left: Cohiba Behike 52 Cigar, Right: Romeo y Julieta Petit Churchills Cigar
As we have discussed above, the industry of Cuban coffee seems to be as fascinating as the world of Cuban cigars. From its history to its growth and cultivation, Cuban coffee has a very interesting story to tell worthy of exploring. Purchase the right cigar match to your coffee from our Cuban Cigar Shop now and witness firsthand the experience of such a refined pairing. Read more about the enticing world of cigars from our daily updated Cuban Cigar Blog: