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11/02/2024 11:28:40 am

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Nespresso to Bring Cuban Coffee Back in the U.S. After Over 50 Years

Nespresso will begin selling Cuban coffee in the U.S. this autumn.

(Photo : Reuters) Nespresso will begin selling Cuban coffee in the U.S. this autumn.

Nestle's Nespresso has announced its plan of selling Cuban coffee in the United States after more than 50 years.

In April, the U.S. State Department added coffee to its list of eligible imports produced by independent Cuban entrepreneurs amid the improving trade relations between the U.S. and the communist island country.

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Nespresso will be joining TechnoServe, a global nonprofit that works with small farmers and independent businesses, to support small coffee growing operations on the Caribbean island. Nespresso USA secured necessary licensing from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to ship single-use brewer pods containing the Cuban coffee from Europe to the U.S.

The company will begin U.S. sales this autumn of Cafecito de Cuba, an espresso roast for its home brewers. Initially, it will be available in limited quantities because it aims to deliver on Nespresso's mission to deliver exclusive and unique coffee experiences.

Nespresso says it will make coffee made from the Granma and Santiago de Cuba available at Nespresso retailers starting in the fall of 2016. Importantly, the Nespresso Cuban coffee will only be available to make in the company’s specialized Nespresso OriginalLine machines.

“Nespresso is thrilled to be the first to bring this rare coffee to the U.S., allowing consumers to rediscover this distinct coffee profile,” said Guillaume Le Cunff, president of Nespresso USA, in a statement.

According to the International Coffee Organization, Cuba harvests about 100,000 60-kg bags of arabica coffee annually. They export about five times more coffee than Jamaica but are nowhere close to Colombia’s 13.5 million bag harvest, which is considered as the world’s largest.

The United States imposed trade restrictions on Cuba in 1960, after the government of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro seized private land, nationalized scores of private companies and imposed heavy taxes on U.S. imports. President John F. Kennedy issued a permanent embargo in 1962.

In December 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have announced that both countries would move to restore diplomatic relations.

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