Cafecito: Uniting Families and Keeping Traditions Alive #MomentoNESCAFE

Coffee has always been a part of my life. My earliest memories include watching my grandmother dunk a piece of cheese into her coffee. Yep, she did that and so do I! Don’t judge if you haven’t tried it, go ahead and try it, it’s delicious!

Many of my fondest childhood memories at my Tati’s house involve cafecito.  Every day around 6, my abuela’s house would be flooded with family members who knew that they could stop by and have café, plátanos asados (roasted plantains) and queso rayado (grated cheese). My grandma didn’t need a special occasion to invite people over, her house was always open and she welcomed anyone who came.

Today, my grandma is no longer around but I think she definitely instilled in her grandkids the traditions of welcoming strangers with a “tazita de café y plátano.”  Even now, her children (my dad and his brothers and sisters) and her grandkids enjoy having our family over for some café and plátanos. We definitely don’t need a special occasion to get together or special or fancy meals, just some CAFECITO!

Cafecito Helps Keep Traditions Alive

For my husband and I, as is the case with many multicultural families, one of our biggest concerns is honoring and respecting all the cultures in our home. For me, coffee has played a special role in celebrating our family unity  (it’s not only about the nuclear family, but also about tías, tíos, primos, abuelos!) and special moments. It’s part of my culture and family life and I want to continue these in my home.

When you have a family of your own it’s normal to want to create new traditions, or give your own traditions a twist. In my multicultural home we always have coffee with an international twist. Usually we always have different goodies from France or from other countries in our pantry so our coffee often has an international flair. We often pair our NESCAFÉ® Clásico  with mini croissants or pan de bono (a Colombian sweet yucca bread). When we are lucky we have some homemade queso manabita (cheese from a specific province in Ecuador, Manabí, where my father is from) and while my Tati paired her cafecito with roasted plantain, at home we prefer plátano maduro (the sweet plantains).

I love that coffee is such a welcoming beverage and can be paired with almost anything. It is so inviting. My dad often tells my uncles, “Mi hermano, venga tómese una tazita de cafe.” (Come brother, have a cup of coffee). Una tazita de café, a cup of coffee, can unite people. For me one of the best times of the week is when I can stop by my mom’s house and eat the things I used to eat when I was little. I love asking her to make some maduros and cafecito. I usually bring other treats and we enjoy some time together. It’s a great way to unwind. I love chatting with my parents and reminiscing about when we were younger. My favorite activity though is to pull out the old photo albums! Through these albums, we can remember our past, we can talk about our families, we can remember good times.

I have countless memories of sweet moments when my loved ones and I have come together to have some cafecito and to just hang out. We didn’t need a special occasion, it’s the little moments of laughter, jokes and reminiscing that are so special. I’m glad we don’t wait for the big moments like weddings or baptisms to get together, I can truly say my big happy family (comprised not only of mami and papi, but also of aunts, uncles and cousins) doesn’t need fancy or expensive dinners to make a moment special. We just need some NESCAFÉ® ClásicoTM  , cheese, a few plátanos and lots of reminicing to make it memorable. Cafecito just helps us remember that it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to be meaningful, a lot of time it’s the small moments that make us realize “This is what life is all about.”

I love that coffee is a way to celebrate family and keep traditions alive in my home.

Check out  NESCAFÉ® ClásicoTM and Ricky Martin

I loved hearing about Ricky Martin’s partnership with NESCAFÉ® ClásicoTM because it combines two things that I love: Coffee and Ricky Martin. He was one of my first crushes. His concert was the first concert I ever went to when I was 10. I still remember all the lyrics to his songs “Fuego contra Fuego” and “Dime que me quieres” among others… excuse me while I reminisce about how happy Ricky Martin made me as a child (go ahead, you can reminisce too…)

Have you seen the video of Ricky Martin’s collaboration with  NESCAFÉ®? It got me to thinking, how would I anwer the question “Would you have a “Coffee Break with a Stranger?” Truthfully, I am not sure I would have said yes before seeing this video, but now if anyone asks me would I have a Coffee Break with a Stranger I might just have to say yes, I mean — what if it is RICKY?! 

CUENTAMELO TODO** TELL ME EVERYTHING!! 

What role has coffee played in your life? Is it part of your culture? Have you ever invited a stranger to have coffee? Have you had an amazing experience due to coffee… like for example, meeting  a superstar?! Have you MET RICKY MARTIN??!

Leave all your coffee and Ricky Martin thoughts and love notes in the comments below! Tell me what’s your favorite way to have a cafecito? And– what’s your favorite Ricky Martin song?

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