16 



T HE C U B A R E V I E \Y 







•«***:. 



Coffee in Blossom. 



ox and mule teams hitched to the slender, delicate coffee trees and hauling them out of 

 the ground by the roots. Sugar cane was planted, in the fields thus made vacant. The 

 Provinces of Habana, Pinar del Rio, as far as Artemisa, Matanzas, and part of Santa 

 Clara were the coffee-growing regions. It is said that wherever there is an interesting 

 looking old stone gateway with an avenue of royal palms leading from it, there is the 

 site of some ancient coffee finca. 



Cuba is reputed to consume more coffee per capita than any other nation, and this 

 is easily believable when one has visited there. The early morning breakfast 

 ("desayuno") invariably consists of coffee with boiled milk, some fruit, a toasted roll 

 and butter. The regular breakfast at 11 or 12 ("almuerzo") is always accompanied 

 by coffee. In the cities and towns, about 3 :30 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the business 

 men begin dropping into the cafes for a cup of the "cafe solo" (straight coffee) or the 

 "cafe con leche" (with milk), as fancy may dictate. The dinner ("la comida") is 

 finished with coffee. It is the "national drink" if there ever was one, yet Cuba does 

 not produce one-fifth of the coffee it consumes. 



The coffee-growing industry in Cuba offers many attractions to the investor or the 



