A cafe between central gardens | Week 119

Hello coffee lovers!

Today @cinnccf invites us to reflect on the importance of design in a coffee shop through the engaging prompt proposed for this week's 119 #CinnamonCupCoffee community.

While it's true that exquisite coffee doesn't necessarily require a specific location or conditions to enjoy it, it's always appreciated to be able to enjoy it in a pleasant setting that allows us to relax beyond the moment when its flavor is caressed.

That's why I'm bringing you to a central yet unique location in my city. Unique, because in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba, there's no other place like this where you can imagine our coffee under the caress of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

And now you might ask, what does Babylon have to do with this story? Well, very little, but the diversity that Babylon's history once united leads me to associate it with the eclecticism of this place, the Hotel Central.

This is a four-star hotel, whose construction dates back to 1929 and which, despite its age, comprises a harmonious relationship between its eclectic structure and the modern in its design, respecting, in a recent reconstruction, elements that award it the owner of exquisite singularities such as stucco and grey Sevillano in its corridors and interiors of an imposing staircase decorated with Carrara marble, its Italian lamps that remind us of the aesthetic codes of the 1920s, gates of precious woods with finely worked glass, and a series of paintings, lamps and bronze sculptures from the 18th and 19th centuries that are complemented by a magnificently preserved imperial style furniture design.

I'm showing you its interior courtyard with color and black and white photographs to see if I can convey the magic of sipping coffee under the spell of a sublime relationship between the contrast of angles and straight lines, along with the soft, curved lines of the architecture and the laid-out design.

I don't know about you, but I love it.

Outside, in its spacious porch, you can also enjoy exquisite coffee with friends, or alone, while contemplating the rest of the urban landscape and the movement of passersby, each with their hidden stories.

If you'd like to sip your coffee in the tranquility of its interior, just step inside and you'll be greeted by its initials engraved on its polished granite floor.

Inside, the varied array of genuine works of art is undoubtedly appreciated.

We can also find a store selling high-end, purely Cuban products.

The quality of the coffee is exquisite. There's something for everyone.
In my case, I drink a very aromatic Cuban coffee, very strong black and frothy.

But I'm not alone on this journey, and you're also joining me. I'm with a friend who also loves coffee.

We spent a good while talking about the world of #Hive, and look at his face...
Of course, it's a lot of information for him at first, but I'm sure that one day he'll surprise us with his incorporation and participation, why not, in this wonderful community.

That's it for today's coffee tour. I hope you enjoyed the design and the atmosphere here.
Tell me what you think.

Until next time we have coffee, I hug you!