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The company BioCubaCafé S.A. presented its new coffee "Guantánamo 155" at the 2025 Havana International Fair (Fihav), a premium product created in tribute to the city, but aimed at exclusive retail displays and markets, far removed from the reality of Guantanamo residents who cannot even afford the regulated coffee.
The new brand was conceived as a tribute to the 155th anniversary of the village of Guaso. The presentation brought together company executives and local authorities, who highlighted the supposed connection between identity, history, and the future through a high-end product, reported the official newspaper Venceremos.
According to the information released by the company itself, the grain was designed as a “twin” of the Santiago 510, consisting of 25% Arabica and 75% Robusta, aimed at providing a cup with a strong body and distinctive character.
The tasting at the booth included a pairing with chocolate truffles made in the eastern province, in an effort to showcase a gourmet concept aimed at specialized markets.
The scene, however, mirrors what happened with other coffees presented during Fihav 2025, from November 24 to 29, when luxury brands like Don Robusto and Raíces sparked outrage among Cubans due to the contrast between official ostentation and the reality of empty stores.
The mixed coffee that used to be distributed through the ration book has disappeared from the warehouses, and in the informal market, a package can reach unaffordable prices for the population.
While new "premium" products are celebrated at the fair, the population still lacks access to basic coffee and is dependent on exorbitant prices in the informal market.
The launch of Guantánamo 155 once again puts the spotlight on an industry that produces for export or foreign currency sales, rather than for domestic consumption.
In a country where coffee has become a luxury item and families turn to improvised substitutes, the emergence of another exclusive brand deepens the gap between the rhetoric of modernization and the everyday life of millions of Cubans.
Although the government talks about "comprehensive strategies" to stimulate coffee production, the reality shows abandoned fields, miserable salaries, and exhausted farmers.
The fields and coffee plantations are destroyed. There is no workforce. And a tremendous issue is that producers are not paid. “What person can stay in those fields with such low wages and such precarious conditions?” questioned independent journalist Miriam Leiva weeks ago, as cited by Diario de Cuba, during a panel of the program Los puntos a las íes.
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