Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado, Translator: Espirituana
Since Raul Castro announced that they would go back to blending chicory
into the coffee they sell us through our ration cards and in local
currency, I took up this topic; but the repulsiveness of the product
they shipped from warehouses which results in a brew that is neither
coffee nor porridge, motivated me to consider it one more time.
It is true that many have referred to this product, with its comic
luggage from the fiasco – as happens in almost all categories – that was
the significance of the announcement. Along came the "black nectar" with
its powdered ammunition to reinforce what we already knew from
experience: that they improved the brewing experience, but also reduced
it, and hence now we have to serve it in a "tiny container". But nobody
swallows the pill that comes as with a perfume; on the contrary. We no
longer offer visitors the luxury of a cup of that aromatic grain we used
to have, but instead we save it for people who are not always welcome.
With the new despicable potable, they changed even the act of drinking
this elixir and introduced an inelegant rite in the form of using both
hands to drink it: one to hold the cup and the other to pinch our nose
so the sip is less disagreeable. If you are feeling in need of a pickup
and consider you need a stimulant such as caffeine, I advise you to try
an alternative or some other kind of coffee, because that which we
obtain with our ration coupons can cause stomach influences that will
confine you to the restroom, and maybe chicoryflour is not the
invigorator you need. Recently I advised a friend who wanted to annoy an
adversary that constantly threw barbs against him in front of the group,
that he make him a present of a package of ration coffee in front of
all. It was in this way – and this is not a tall tale – that the problem
was ended.
Something quite different happens when you have the money to pay for a
package of the good stuff – if its available – in those establishments
that sell in exchange for convertible currency. It's been more than a
week since the ground fruit-seed is absent from what should be honestly
called the "hard currency collection centers" and other such
establishments. There is a rumor in Havana that, as a result of the
audits being conducted by the government to the younger of the Castros,
6 tons of the product was found missing at Cuban roasters, and that
because of the investigative process, coffee has become absent from the
store windows of those places that deal in hard currency.
If you visit these days the home of somebody with economic solvency it
is possible that, against their wishes, they cannot share with you a sip
of the infusion because of the current deficit. In my case, if I visit
the home of humble persons and they offer me a cup, I will hurriedly
drink it, even if the developing nausea brings tears to my eyes, I will
pretend I liked it and thank them with alacrity. But since the old and
hospitable "grass" has been converted indirectly into a measure of a
host's esteem, once the coffee supply is stabilized and I visit the home
of others who have "good money" and they invite me to a cup of this
potage or almost coffee, I will know what awaits me.
Translated by: lapizcero
September 20 2011
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