Most Café Bustelo coffee is made from a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans, which is also common in Italian-style espresso beans. While we tend to think of Robusta coffee beans as being of lower quality, they are in fact an important component of coffee blends, especially for espresso. Most of their coffee is made with a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee beans from Central America. Café Bustelo does not indicate the real origin of the beans on its packaging or website.
For some, the body can be a little heavy, but most die-hard coffee lovers will enjoy this rich coffee. You can also add some steamed milk to your Bustelo Coffee infusion and turn it into a Cuban-inspired Cortadito. Finely ground coffee helps to extract as much flavor as possible and creates a very pleasant dark roasted coffee. The brand was created in the late 1920s by Gregorio Menéndez Bustelo, an immigrant from Cuba to New York.
If you think your current coffee seems a little weak or you simply want to improve your coffee level, then Bustelo Coffee could be the ideal choice for you. The reason why it is known as espresso coffee is due to the mixture of beans and the grinding is much finer compared to other coffees, which is common in espresso, as it helps to pack the ground beans for preparation. If you want to drink Bustelo Coffee as it was originally conceived, use a Moka pot and add a teaspoon of raw sugar to the pot. However, if intense coffee isn't your thing and you prefer a more subtle flavor, you might want to try brands like Black Powder Coffee and our own brand Meadow Ridge Coffee.
While Café Bustelo is marketed as a Latin-inspired coffee, it mostly has its roots in the United States. Gregorio brought this Latin-inspired coffee idea to the United States and thus Café Bustelo was born, which today is one of the most popular Cuban and espresso-style coffees in the United States. Bustelo coffee is an affordable, dark-roasted Cuban coffee with a delicious mild flavor that competes with much more expensive brands. The audacity of its yellow and red packaging and the competitive price sometimes make people doubt whether Bustelo Coffee is made with genuine beans or not.
Today, Bustelo Coffee is roasted and packaged by Rowland Coffee Roasters, from Miami, Florida, which fits perfectly with the large Cuban population of Miami. Rumor has it that he aroused interest in Café Bustelo as he went door to door through the Harlem neighborhood. While Café Bustelo may be the most popular Cuban-style coffee on the market today, there are plenty of other brands worth trying.
