Freshest Cup Ever... in the small Coffee Plantations of Bolivia!

Being her family has a plantation, my darling friend, Celestina promised the freshest coffee ever. A large sack sat on the floor full of dried, raw beans. "Come, come," she waved me into the kitchen determined to show me how easy it is. "Much fuss made over coffee." she adds. "When it´s all so simple." In a little pot on a gas flame she stirred and stirred with a flat wooden implement while occasionally sprinkling sugar over the roasting beans.

She tells me sugar in the roasting process is called Torrefacto and is common in Spain, France, Portugal and throughout Latin America. The addition of sugar is a trick to allow a deeper, darker roast without burning.

Once the roast was achieved, there was hurried need to spread out the beans to cool, then grinding and finally the brewing process. The drip method is what Celestina uses and the steaming hot coffee sent a perfume into the air that was overwhelming. She added a tot of brandy to each cup and called it Carajillo!

Never one to crave coffee in the morning and more inclined to sip a strong, black brew at 2 pm; I can see the benefits of processing beans as ceremony, expressly, when with a friend who shares in the labor and the resulting cups. And if you want to go all the way to a carajillo? That´s between you and the afternoon to be shared.

 

Now available recipes for heavenly Latin Sauces - "Salsa!The Sauces of South America." Just$3.99 at Amazon.com! Also available - "HotList South America" an essential addendum to your travel guide of choice.


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