SPRINNGGGGGG BREAKKKKKKKK is here! Well, almost.
Good to see you, everyone. Or, rather, good to speak to you. I hope you’re having a good week, and if not, at least an okay week. You deserve, at least, an okay week. Why? Because it’s the week before spring break! Get excited!
I don’t know what your spring break plans are, but I hope they involve something fun. As for me, I am heading back to Southern California, which is a spring break classic for my friends and me. We get to mooch off of my friend’s car — it is her hometown, after all — enjoy the beach — we get very tan — and savor the perks of Disneyland — corn dogs!
Some of you may be going home for the break, and I hope that is most restful for you. If you’re not going home and are traveling to a new place, I hope you take the opportunity to do some exploring.
Exploring is fun. Take it from some of the greats: Dora and her crew, that guy the pool game is based on, etcetera. I’m sure there are others.
Over winter break, I went to Miami. I loved it. I don’t know if I could live there, though — at least not at the current moment.
I was visiting my family friends: Enrique, Costanze and their son, Baby Brandolino. I go down to Florida about once a year to visit, but my parents go a bit more. There’s a lot to explore in Miami, and a lot to get to know.
On this particular trip, I got to know Cuban coffee.
For those of you that already knew about Cuban coffee, why didn’t you tell me? You selfish piece of — agh.
You know what? I’m sorry, there’s no reason to get angry. Let’s restart.
For those of you that already knew about Cuban coffee, you have been blessed with the taste of heaven’s nectar. If you don’t already know, it’s a sweetened espresso shot, but it’s not the same as pouring your little stick of sugar into your sad little cup of espresso.
It’s cooked in that special way — or brewed. Whatever, I’m not a part of the coffee world, people. There’s no way to adequately describe the pure bliss of sipping a Cuban coffee. You’ve just got to try it.
My first sip was at this little mom and pop shop just around the corner from Enrique’s place.
The sweet, old couple that ran it stood behind the counter catching up with Enrique in Spanish. The old man handed Enrique a styrofoam cup of liquid and four tiny, empty cups for sharing. Enrique thanked him, calling him “Campeón” as he walked to meet us at the table that my parents and I had grabbed in the corner.
“Campeón” is a term of endearment that Enrique uses for everyone from Baby Brandolino to my dad, but I would later learn that from the way this mom and pop made coffee, they really were champions — the champions of coffee.
The shop was calm as Enrique poured the coffee into the sharing cups. When I say these cups are teeny tiny, I mean it. They’re the size of the cup on top of a cold medicine bottle.
Enrique kindly explained that the cups are so small because the stuff will knock you out. It’s highly concentrated, which was something I learned from the first sip. It’s also the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted, and I wanted all of the coffee that Mr. and Mrs. Campeón had left in the machine.
I glanced over as I took my last sip. I had just about finished the styrofoam cup by this point, and Mrs. Campeón was smiling over at us. I gave her a smile back and thought about how my teeth were probably stained black from the amount of coffee I consumed.
I doubt it was anything she hadn’t seen before. After all, if you make coffee like that, you probably have people shaking out of the shop every morning.
Finishing our mini cups, we grabbed our trash and headed out the door. I watched it swing to a close and heard the bell chime as Mr. and Mrs. Campeón went to help their next customer.
Listen, I took German in school, but some days I wonder why I didn’t take Spanish. Missing out on this conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Campeón was one of those days.
Drinking that coffee in their shop was one of my fondest memories in Miami. It’s up there with when I tried my first Cubano, walking Wynwood and seeing Baby Brandolino getting free coconuts from the man on the corner on his morning walks.
So, what am I trying to say here? Hole up with a local family on spring break and get loaded on local coffee? No.
If you’re going somewhere new this spring break, be sure to really check it out. See what the place is all about.
Explore.
Even if you don’t have anyone to show you around, you might meet people along the way — maybe even Mr. and Mrs. Campeón.
P.S. Mr. and Mrs. Campeón, if you two are looking for a new employee, I would love to work for you. My only request is a lifetime supply of your coffee.
