Hace unos días tuve la oportunidad de llevar a mi amiga Yessica al Hotel Caballeriza, uno de esos lugares de Holguín que siempre me ha gustado visitar. Hacía muchísimo tiempo que no disfrutaba de un café allí y, como estábamos bastante cerca, no pude resistirme a entrar.
El Hotel Caballeriza tiene ese encanto colonial que me fascina. Su arquitectura, los detalles y, sobre todo, su patio interior crean un ambiente muy agradable. Es de esos lugares donde uno puede sentarse tranquilamente a conversar, tomarse algo y olvidarse por un rato del calor y del ajetreo de la ciudad.
Y como hacía tanto tiempo que no iba, tenía bastante ilusión por volver a probar uno de sus cafés. De hecho, todavía recordaba el capuchino que había tomado allí hacía unos tres años. Aquella vez me había gustado muchísimo, así que llegué con unas expectativas bastante altas.
Pedí precisamente un capuchino.
Cuando llegó, bastó con mirarlo para sospechar que esta vez la historia sería diferente.
La leche que utilizaron era deslactosada y, al menos para mi gusto, cambiaba bastante el sabor y la textura del café. Estaba demasiado aguado y el café tampoco parecía ser un espresso como esperaba de un capuchino. Más bien tenía la intensidad de un americano bastante ligero.
Y si hablamos de la canela... mejor no hablamos. Era prácticamente imperceptible.
Quizás después de tantos años esperaba encontrarme con aquel mismo café que recordaba, pero definitivamente no fue así. Y creo que ahí estuvo parte de la decepción: no solo estaba comparándolo con un buen capuchino, sino con uno que ya tenía guardado en mi memoria como un buen recuerdo.
Así que Yessica y yo decidimos hacer lo mejor que podíamos hacer en ese momento: tomárnoslo, aprovechar para hacernos unas fotos en aquel bonito patio y disfrutar un poquito del lugar.
Porque, aunque el café no cumplió nuestras expectativas, el espacio seguía siendo precioso.
Después de eso, nos retiramos y creo que, por ahora, mi relación con el café del Hotel Caballeriza ha llegado a su final. Al menos hasta que alguien me convenza de volver a darle una segunda oportunidad.
A veces pasa. Hay lugares que nos dejan recuerdos maravillosos y, cuando regresamos años después, esperamos encontrar exactamente aquello que recordábamos. Pero las cosas cambian, y no siempre para mejor.
Esta vez, el lugar siguió pareciéndome encantador, pero el capuchino... definitivamente no estuvo a la altura del recuerdo.
A few days ago, I had the chance to take my friend Yessica to Hotel Caballeriza, one of those places in Holguín that I have always enjoyed visiting. It had been a very long time since I had had coffee there, and since we were nearby, I couldn't resist going in.
Hotel Caballeriza has that colonial charm that I love. Its architecture, the little details, and especially its inner courtyard create such a pleasant atmosphere. It is one of those places where you can sit quietly, have something to drink, chat, and forget about the heat and the hustle and bustle of the city for a while.
And since it had been so long since my last visit, I was really looking forward to trying one of their coffees again. In fact, I still remembered the cappuccino I had there about three years ago. I had really enjoyed it that time, so I came in with fairly high expectations.
I ordered a cappuccino, of course.
When it arrived, I only had to look at it to suspect that this time the story was going to be different.
The milk they used was lactose-free, and at least for my taste, it changed the flavor and texture of the coffee quite a bit. It was way too watery, and the coffee didn't seem to be espresso either, as I would expect in a cappuccino. It tasted more like a very light Americano.
And as for the cinnamon... let's not even talk about it. It was practically impossible to taste.
Maybe after all these years, I was expecting to find the same coffee I remembered, but it definitely wasn't the case. And I think that was part of the disappointment. I wasn't just comparing it to a good cappuccino, but to one that I had kept in my memory as a really nice experience.
So Yessica and I decided to do the best thing we could at that moment: finish our coffees, take some pictures in that beautiful courtyard, and enjoy the place for a little while.
Because even though the coffee didn't meet our expectations, the setting was still beautiful.
After that, we left, and I think that, for now, my relationship with the coffee at Hotel Caballeriza has come to an end. At least until someone convinces me to give it another chance.
Sometimes that happens. There are places that leave us with wonderful memories, and when we go back years later, we expect to find exactly what we remember. But things change, and not always for the better.
This time, I still found the place charming, but the cappuccino... it definitely didn't live up to the memory.
Source
All the photos are taken and edited by me.
The cover was made on Canva.
The post was translated with DeepL.com (free version)
