Anyone who knows Matthew knows how much he loves his coffee. On every island he searches out the best places to get a good cup of coffee. Two islands in particular really outdid themselves, putting on a great welcome and feeding his coffee addiction.
Antigua
Kinship Coffee, Private Blend
In Falmouth Harbour we went ashore and walked up a hill to check out the Carib Bean Coffee Co., a coffee roastery that was written up in our Doyle’s Cruising Guide. It was well worth the trip – the owner didn’t realize he had been mentioned in the publication and was just thrilled. He served us a couple of kinds of coffee, while discussing in great length how to make it, checking for our preferences, and giving us a referral of a supplier for a knock-box and replacement milk thermometer for on board coffee making. We sat in his coffee shop on a hill, with a lovely view of the bay we were anchored in, enjoying the breeze and the good coffee and conversation. We left with 5 bags of “Private Blend Kinship Coffee”, enough to last us the rest of the trip.
It was a nice treat for all, even for Angela, the non-coffee drinker among us. When we first arrived and were greeted by a fella wearing a t-shirt that said
Things I don’t like:
- mornings
- people
- morning people
Angela was afraid she would be run off the property, but no, they were gracious hosts even to her, the morning person to beat all morning people!
With our hosts at the Carib Bean Coffee Co.
Guadeloupe
When we were driving around in the hills of Basse-Terre we stumbled upon the Musée du Café (coffee museum), on the site where the Guadeloupean coffee, Café Chaulet is produced. For a nominal fee we got to tour the roastery, read up on the history and production of coffee on the island, and view interesting displays of old-fashioned equipment and coffee serving paraphernalia.
garden and museum
history lessons (en Francais)
The tour ended with a complimentary tasting, sitting in their lovely garden.
I have always known that coffee was rocket fuel for Matthew on a bicycle, now I know it works on a sailboat too!
