Cafe Bustelo: Cuban Coffee Emerges From the Bodega and Goes Mainstream to American Coffee-Lovers!

Good, strong coffee is one of my passions. You may remember my HuffPost article in April in which I initiated a movement for restaurants to rethink their coffee service by offering diners several different blends of coffee at the end of a meal, the choice depending partly upon the dessert ordered. And it would be prepared at the table in a French press with a little timer. Everyone praised the idea but no one except the upscale seafood restaurant, Providence, seems to have initiated even part of the concept.

When a friend sent me some brick-like, vacuum-packed, yellow and red packages of Cafe Bustelo and cans of its Bustelo Cool, I was intrigued and curious enough to immediately brew a steaming hot pot of the rich espresso blend. Whitened with a dribble of half-and-half, it was such a revelation taste-wise that I have never gone back to my old standby of French roast from Trader Joe's. Shortly thereafter, an article about this Bustelo coffee appeared in the sunday New York Times, and I was propelled to explore it further with the help of Chantal Meza of Rowland Coffee Roasters of Miami, which owns the brand. Founded in the Bronx in the 1920s by Gregario Bustelo, the company was bought in 2000 by Rowland, a family-owned firm in Miami/Doral. Jose "Pepe" Souto and his father came to Florida in 1960 from Cuba after losing the successful coffee business they had built there starting in 1865. Here he found a local roaster to replicate the family's unique blend and, with a few thousand dollars and the help of his wife of 68 years, Haydee, started selling their Cuban-style coffee door to door from an old Volkswagen. As each son reached driving age, he outfitted him with an old Beetle to help with the deliveries. By 1957, he bought the 'Pilon' brand from a company called Rowland and established a Hialeah roasting plant with three employees. In 1975 they reached out beyond Florida and opened a New Jersey distribution center.

One of his sons told me that his dad was very flexible, and that he embraced vacuum-packed, 'brick' technology as soon as it became available in 1982. But they have never changed the original blend -- the strong espresso with a unique flavor which I have come to passionately enjoy. They now have 150 employees and warehouses across the country. John Paul (J.P.), the 35-year old grandson of the founder, has taken over the marketing and is determined to raise the coffee-maker's profile from being the preeminent Hispanic java to a mainstream favorite. "I have been working in the company since I was 14 and drinking coffee since the cradle. People say it was in my bottle, just a little cafe con leche."

Friends tell me that it was a major brand on view at the recent Coachella Valley Music Festival, where iced cans of Bustelo Cool (café con leche in a can) were distributed by girls wearing bright yellow and red swimsuits. And a coffee-and-vodka drink called a Dirty Bustelo was ever-popular. It was served at the last Oscar party at Kodak's Hollywood theatre but don't recall seeing it there. They were a presence at the recent Sundance Film Festival and are even mentioned lyrically in "Rent" ("Bustelo, Marlboro, banana by the bunch.")

Wilmer Valderrama while drinking Bustelo Cool chatted up Lost’s Rebecca Mader during the Carrera Summer Escape at TAO Beach.

The Coffee of Getting Sh*t Done Is Still $3 a Can

No, the recession isn't over yet. But as we head into the final stretch of the commencement season, novelist Alexander Chee has some good news for the class of 2010.

Today I opened the cabinet in the kitchen at a writers colony down in the Florida Keys, where I found a can of Café Bustelo left behind by a previous resident, and it made me smile. Someone, I thought, had a lot to do.

Café Bustelo is the coffee of a deadline. If you need to be up all night and make sense and not stop, not for any reason, don't call for illegal substances. Go to you nearest bodega or supermarket and get yourself a 1 lb. yellow can. Over the years I've discovered that most of my friends who I know from New York B.S. (Before Starbucks) drink it, or used to, because one cup can feel like eight lines of coke. And that 1 lb. can still costs around three bucks.

Even New York is perfectly manageable if you drink Café Bustelo. One cup when you wake up and you feel like you can walk out that door and do anything—write your novel, satisfy your girlfriend/boyfriend, beat down your rivals and make your boss smile. And then go out. All night. And when you've just arrived in New York, and you have no money but a lot of ambition, this coffee is your secret weapon. The flavor on its own when brewed in a stovetop espresso pot is a little complex, with a floral and even a black pepper top note, unexpected, given the warm nutty aroma when you open the can. It is better with milk. If you normally drink coffee black, use a little sugar or honey. And then prepare to finish whatever it is you have left to do. —Alexander Chee

El Café Bustelo™

El Café Bustelo™ tiene una historia que antedata a los años treinta de producir café expreso al estilo hispano tradicional. Con un legado familiar de crear un café sabroso y aromático, la compañía cree que el mejor café se logra con granos de cafe de calidad y un tostado a la perfección.

Hoy, el Café Bustelo™ es mundialmente reconocido como una de las marcas liders de café expreso. Coloque una orden hoy en www.cafebustelo.com y reciba un 10% de descuento más gastos de envio gratis, usando el código de promoción: “sabias".

www.CafeBustelo.com

If you're one of the first 100 people to "smooch your Valentine" at Patricia Field (302 Bowery) on Sunday, February 14, you'll get a year's supply of Café Bustelo coffee.