A Cuban content creator reported on her social media that she fell victim to an alleged scam by a small and medium-sized enterprise in Matanzas after purchasing a package of La Llave coffee, which she claims was not the original product of the brand.
In a video posted on her TikTok account, entrepreneur Yuliet (@yulietbri), who runs a sales kiosk in the city of Matanzas, shared indignantly how she was deceived by a business she frequently purchases from.
“I was scammed. Normally, I used to get scammed a lot at La Cuevita in Havana; that was understood, but to be scammed at a small business in Matanzas, where I shop almost daily…” he explained at the beginning of the video.
According to his testimony, he purchased a box of the well-known coffee La Llave, at a price of over 2,000 Cuban pesos per package, and after trying it, he noticed that the flavor was completely different.
"I just took a sip of that coffee, and it was extremely bitter; the taste was nothing like coffee. A customer told me, 'Sweetheart, this isn’t La Llave coffee, this is pure pea,'" he recounted.
Yuliet showed in the video the alleged counterfeit packages, pointing out that, although they appeared sealed and had expiration dates, they had suspicious cuts and scratches, as well as melted seals, which made her doubt their authenticity.
"The package, which is supposed to be sealed, looked more like melted nylon than sealed. I hadn’t noticed that when I bought it; I realized it after trying it," he explained.
The entrepreneur decided to refund the money to her affected customer and use her experience to warn other consumers about fraudulent practices that, according to her, are recurring throughout the country.
"My point in making this video is that if you are in Matanzas or any province, don't let your guard down. In Cuba, there's always something being invented," he warned.
In the comments, numerous users claimed to have experienced similar situations with products sold by small and medium-sized enterprises, while others lamented that "even paying a high price, one cannot trust what is purchased in Cuba."
Yuliet's complaint adds to a growing number of reports on social media regarding the sale of counterfeit or adulterated products in private businesses across the country, amidst the economic crisis and shortages faced by the Cuban population.
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