Where does café bustelo get their coffee from?

The same origin, Brazil and Colombia, the same flavors of the instant coffee line (coffee with Dulce de Leche, Coffee with Milk and Coffee with Chocolate), as well as the classic Café Bustelo blend. Most of their coffee is made with a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee beans from Central America.

Where does café bustelo get their coffee from?

The same origin, Brazil and Colombia, the same flavors of the instant coffee line (coffee with Dulce de Leche, Coffee with Milk and Coffee with Chocolate), as well as the classic Café Bustelo blend. Most of their coffee is made with a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee beans from Central America. Café Bustelo does not indicate the real origin of the beans on its packaging or website. Espresso division of Rowland Coffee Roasters, a Miami-based company owned by Cuban immigrants whose family had been in the coffee business for centuries.

Gregorio brought this Latin-inspired coffee idea to the United States and thus Café Bustelo was born, which today is one of the most popular Cuban and espresso-style coffees in the United States. Bustelo took advantage of an existing community and turned it into a strong and identifiable marketing demographic. As a product, Café Bustelo satisfied both a tangible and an abstract need, providing consumers with a tool to continue the tradition. This Cuban-style coffee, which dates back to the beginning of the history of Café Bustelo, was founded by Gregorio Menéndez Bustelo.

Café Bustelo thrived, especially when immigrants from the Caribbean arrived in New York, eager to try a little bit of their home and, one can imagine, to have a little extra energy to face the big city. Today, Rowland Coffee Roasters, from Miami, Florida, roasts and packages Bustelo Coffee, which fits perfectly with Miami's large Cuban population. Finely ground coffee helps to extract as much flavor as possible and creates a very pleasant dark roasted coffee. The red and yellow can of Café Bustelo is to hipster cuisine what Heinz ketchup bottles are to American diners.

However, if intense coffee isn't your thing and you prefer a more subtle flavor, you might want to try brands like Black Powder Coffee and our own brand Meadow Ridge Coffee. You can also add some steamed milk to your Café Bustelo beer and turn it into a Cuban-inspired Cortadito. Gregorio Menéndez Bustelo also fell in love with the people of Cuba, specifically with a woman who loved Cuban coffee as much as he did. The Bustelos settled in East Harlem, also called Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, due to the predominance of Spanish-speaking immigrants, many of them from Puerto Rico.

The reason why it is known as espresso coffee is due to the mixture of beans and because the ground is much finer compared to other coffees, which is common in the case of espresso, as it helps to pack the ground beans for preparation. If you think your current coffee seems a bit weak or you simply want to improve your coffee level, then Bustelo Coffee might be the right choice for you.

Glenna Matthys
Glenna Matthys

Hardcore internet practitioner. Wannabe beer advocate. Infuriatingly humble beer expert. Devoted coffee evangelist. Hardcore social media scholar. Friendly beer fanatic.