Thanksgiving Coffee Co. presents End the Embargo on Cuba Coffee

Cuban Coffee and the Bird Connection

Our commitment to sustainability and a fair coffee trade demands that we support Cuban farmers and their conservation of vital migratory bird habitat.

"Caffeinated Cubans"

Cuban culture is sometimes described as "caffeinated," by visitors to the island or to Miami's Little Havana. The ambience of high energy, staccato-speed Spanish, brilliant color, music and dance envelops Cuban life and is reflected by - or, as some believe, the result of "café cubano." Cuban coffee is served very strong, espresso-style fine-ground, dark roast in small cups with lots of sugar, a guaranteed caffeine high.

Coffee was first introduced to Cuba in 1748 by Spanish colonialists and harvested for over a century by slave labor. The dense jungle forests covering the island created ideal conditions and by the 1820s coffee was a more important export than sugar. Despite periods of decline in production during the fight for independence from Spain and following nationalization in 1960, for over two centuries small farmers working multi-tier shaded, multi-crop farms at high elevations, with rich humus soil have produced high quality arabica coffee.

The embargo has impacted coffee drinking as it has nearly everything else. The need for hard currency since the early 90s has forced Cuba to export most of its harvest. Japan and France buy nearly 80% of Cuba's coffee exports while on the island coffee is rationed: just two ounces every two weeks per person.

While the 45-year long embargo has resulted in suffering and deprivation for the Cuban people, it has also preserved mid-20th century Cuba unlike few other countries in the world. The lack of access to pesticides, for example, has protected the island's population and its agricultural industry from chemical pollution. And the lack of development has protected the island's ecological diversity.

Cuba is an example of a country growing high quality, high elevation, shade-grown, 100% organic, arabica, sun-dried coffee. Trans-Fair Canada is working to establish a Fair Trade Certified supply chain for Cuban coffee. When the embargo ends, Thanksgiving Coffee Co. plans to be in front, bringing Café Cubano to our customers in the United States who are now denied the pleasure of authentic Cuban beans.

The Bird Connection

Cuba's forests are considered "botanical jewels" by conservationists. The World Wildlife Fund-Canada has developed 30 projects on the island since 1987, focusing on migratory birds traveling the Canada-Cuba route. The island's isolation, lack of development and commercialization have preserved the lush, multi-tiered jungle canopy, the perfect habitat for many flora and bird species that do not exist elsewhere. US policy over the past four decades has hindered bird research, and travel restrictions implemented in June 2004 make it increasingly difficult to conduct professional fieldwork.

The island is also recognized as a critical overwintering and stopover site for many North American migratory birds because of its friendly environment, size and location. The Cape May Warbler and the Black-Throated Blue Warbler are just two of the many species that depend on Cuba during their migration journey.

The American Birding Association's Birders' Exchange Cuba Initiative accepts donations of equipment such as binoculars, cameras, ornithology texts for researchers, conservationists and educators as part of its Latin America project "to conserve neotropical migratory birds and their habitats in Latin America and the Caribbean."

Resources

Updated October 2005