Puerto Rican coffee smells in the Caribbean

The barista is brewing coffee.

Wen, Tu/Reporter Zeng Fanying

What does the Caribbean taste like? Sweet? Salty? Acid? Or bitter?

Sometimes, the tongue is a key that can open up different spaces between memory and imagination. For example, about the taste of the Caribbean Sea, start with that cup of Puerto Rico coffee in the afternoon. In the afternoon, Qiao Man Cafe was quiet and elegant. Sunlight shone through the dense branches and leaves on the gray and green wall tiles. This villa-style restaurant hidden in Dongping Avenue, Zhongshan 3rd Road, has a lazy atmosphere unique to European houses. The proprietress said that this villa has a history of more than 80 years and has preserved the historical charm of that year to the greatest extent. It was originally the family residence of a secretary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

He leaned over lazily and enjoyed the scene of the coffee maker brewing coffee skillfully. Special coffee machine from Japan, coffee beans are ready to grind on the day of roasting in advance, ground into powder, put 10~15 grams at a time. After boiling, the water in the siphon pot is squeezed from the bottom of the bottle because of the principle of pressure, and fused with the coffee bean powder. After 1~2 minutes, the house will be full of fragrance.

Taking a deep breath, the aroma of coffee slowly reached his chest through his throat. In recent years, the number of coffee aficionados has soared. Since coffee landed in Taiwan in 1884, coffee has developed in China for more than 100 years. But Puerto Rico coffee is little known, only because most of its foreign market used to be in Japan. After the March 11 earthquake, the Japanese market was depressed, and Puerto Rico coffee suppliers found another way to enter the Chinese vision.

It is reported that since the second half of the 19th century, Puerto Rico coffee has been the first choice of the Vatican and European royal families, and has also been selected by US President Roosevelt as the designated coffee for the White House state banquet. According to the restaurant barista, Puerto Rico coffee matures from September to December every year, 100% manually picked, produced and processed in full accordance with the most advanced and stringent quality control in the United States, wrapped in parchment and stored. Every piece of land where coffee is grown has an identity card, annual state-funded research into integrated pest management programs, the introduction of non-chemical control programs, and legislation that strictly prohibits the cultivation of coffee in ways that destroy tropical forests.

After a closer sniff, the coffee in front of him emitted the spicy aroma of caramel, which was combined with the aroma of lemon and vanilla. With a light sip, it first had a chocolate-like fragrance, followed by a burst of fragrance. His throat was still slightly warm, and the fragrance of the empty cup had not dissipated after a long time. Such coffee, without milk and sugar, the original taste is enough.

The ears echo with the Caribbean Sea's cheerful music, sit in the open-air teahouse and taste the style from Puerto Rico, quiet old streets, naughty sunshine from time to time to print the shadow of trees on your face, close your eyes and feel as if you have reached the Caribbean beach in an instant, how romantic and comfortable.