For the most part, every Hispanic shares that one core memory. The memory of being a young child and being given coffee. Whether it was in a bottle or in a mug, we somehow got our dose of caffeine (even if we were children). Coffee was introduced to us Hispanics at a very young age, our Café con Leche.
Coffee is a staple to Mexican culture, but surprisingly, coffee did not arrive in Mexico until the late 1700s. But ever since coffee’s introduction, there has developed an entire culture around the coffee production industry, and it is a cultural custom to be given coffee at a young age in Hispanic culture.
According to a recent study, it was found that 2% of infants were drinking coffee and 15% of 2-year-olds drink as much as four ounces of coffee a day, and that Latina moms were more likely to report giving their babies coffee, CBS Boston reports.
So why is it that we are introduced to coffee at such a young age? Maybe because it is a drink we share with our grandparents while we sit on their lap eating pan dulce or because after a grand fiesta we drink warm coffee to soothe our souls. Coffee has significance in many cultures, whether it be for energy, socialization, or tradition, the cultivation of coffee has served as a motivating force of the world
Café con Leche is much more than just a drink, it is like a big warm hug from the memories you have surrounded by coffee, which makes it so important in our culture.