Real Cuban coffee now available in U.S.

If you live in the Keys, you’ve probably had Cuban coffee — but have you had coffee from Cuba? Now you can.

Nespresso has begun selling a limited supply of coffee sourced from Cuba for its OriginalLine of Nespresso home coffee makers. The Nespresso capsules, dubbed Cafecito de Cuba, are filled with Cuban Arabica beans harvested by small farms in the Granma and Santiago de Cuba regions of Cuba, the company said. Nespresso purchased the beans, then roasted and packaged them in Europe, according to a Nespresso spokesperson.

That Cuba can now essentially sell coffee to the United States is thanks to the evolving relations between the two countries. The U.S. State Department added coffee to the list of goods America can now import from Cuba. Nespresso importers based in Europe wasted no time in purchasing and packaging the coffee, though it will be offered only in small batches as farms in Cuba ramp up production, the company said.

The first batch of Cafecito de Cuba is expected to sell out quickly. Another batch is expected to be released in late September, the company said. Cafecito de Cuba is available at the Nespresso website.

Nespresso said it hopes to work with the small farms to ensure that they are producing the coffee in “environmentally sustainable” ways that “benefit the farmers themselves and their communities.”

“Nespresso is thrilled to be the first to bring this rare coffee to the U.S.,” Nespresso told the Miami Herald. “Ultimately, we want consumers in the U.S. to experience this incredible coffee and to enjoy it now and for years to come.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 8:34 AM with the headline "Real Cuban coffee now available in U.S.."