EXPERIENCE THE REAL CUBA: WHERE TO DRINK A DELICIOUS COFFEE IN TRINIDAD CUBA

CAFE DON PEPE - TRINIDAD, CUBA

It has become our custom to escape the kitchen sink at least a couple of times during my visits, so we can wonder around the cobbled streets of Trinidad and enjoy this beautiful colonial town (now a firm member of the family I too take part in some of the cooking and cleaning activities when I am in Trinidad). We like to look our best, so we dress up a little and then we head out, stopping now and then to gossip in the street with other 'Trinitarios'. We visit one of the museums that Trinidad has to offer and then sit and have a heart to heart. We always seem to have a lot of catching up to do, no matter how long it has been since we last saw each other.

Over the years we have regularly gone to what is now known as 'our bar', but as we were re-exploring the streets of Trinidad, looking for a new restaurant in town, we came across a place that caught our eye. Instantly we were enamoured with this beautiful courtyard, curious to know what it was, never having seen it before.

Upon entering the place we were instantly hit by the luscious green garden, with lots of tall trees providing welcome shade, plants and flowers dotted around, tables and chairs inviting you in to take a break, it was like a mini heaven, 'I would love to have a place like this' I sighed. Then I noticed how tastefully decorated it was, antiques, coffee pots, brewing instruments etc hanging on the walls. We were both seduced by its gorgeousness and decided not to go to 'our place'; time for a change of scenery.

We sit down at one of the beautifully carved wooden tables and admire the menu and the gardens simultaneously. It has an extensive menu, coffee made in a variety of ways, both hot and cold, with or without alcohol. The coffee is grown locally at a farm in the Sierra de Escambray mountains, it is freshly ground in the bar and the bar even sell bags of the aromatic Cuban coffee for you to take away.

The service is friendly, the toilets are amazingly clean and the music traditional. The music, a C.D., plays at a tasteful level, not too loud, so we can hear each other speak and actually it is a relief not to have a live band playing for once, so our ever so important heart to heart is not disturbed by a man with a cap in hand, asking for a 'propina'!

We both choose a cold coffee, with a little rum, ice-cream and cinnamon, and it is divine. The prices for the coffee drinks, around 2-5 CUC.

We both enjoyed this new little hideaway by the side of the Plaza, near the Museo Contra los Bandidos. It is ideally located but it can be easily missed, if you don't know where it is.

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