From the years of my childhood I always remember the strong smell of coffee that could be perceived in an area of the road that we had to travel from my house in the West to the center of the city of Caracas.
The route of the public transportation vans had to pass through the Flores de Catia. And one knew that one was passing through there precisely because of the smell of coffee that came through the windows of the bus and that came from the factory of Café El Peñon, founded in 1947. That aroma of coffee accompanied the traveler for several blocks to where the ascent to the blocks of 23 de Enero began.
During the times of my youth, Café El Peñon was one of the family's favorites, it was very fashionable for many years. I clearly remember the advertisements on television where the slogan of the brand was repeated at every moment: “Black, with milk or brown, tastier is El Peñón...".
I don't remember at what moment we stopped buying it, nor the reasons why the brand stopped being in our preference. But these days I told my wife that we should start trying again those brands of coffee that were present in our childhood.
Of all the supermarkets I visit only one offers that brand. So I had to wait a few days until it was her turn to visit that supermarket.
As I always do for these reviews, I bought the intermediate presentation, which has become the most commercial in our country.
The first thing that caught my attention was the amount of product in the package. Almost all other brands come in a presentation of 200 grams, but this one comes with a larger weight, 250 grams, which was the normal presentation that all brands of coffee came with.
It was only a short time ago when the drop in the purchasing power of the population made the companies reduce the traditional 250 gram packages to only 200 grams, which allowed them to lower the price of the product by a few cents.
Another of the things that caught my attention was that the coffee did not have the distinction of Gourmet, even though it is a coffee with a long tradition in our country and that even appears in some research as an antecedent of what is called specialty coffee.
With great expectation I set out to make the tests that I have already mentioned in all the previous reviews, with the same instruments that allow me to pour the same amount of coffee and water.
When I uncovered the package my wife commented that the coffee was much blacker than others we have tasted, and indeed it was. This could be a bad indication since sometimes a very black coffee is the result of over-roasting the beans, which produces a very bitter coffee.
In any case, since the package was already open, we continued with the tests. A few minutes after the coffee pot was assembled, an aroma began to emerge that to my sense of smell turned out to be quite sweet and penetrating. This removed all my doubts about the possibility of the coffee being over-roasted.
When I tasted the hot coffee without sugar the flavor was intense, it spread all over my tongue. I found the sensation pleasant and long lasting.
I have already mentioned that one of the differences between good and bad coffees is that good coffees maintain the same level of acidity when hot or cold. This El Peñón coffee maintained the same level of acidity in the cold state.
We did other tests adding sugar, cinnamon and milk and the result was also quite satisfactory. The coffee accepts perfectly these companies without losing its essence.
After so many years this reencounter with “El Peñón” coffee was highly satisfactory. My wife and I agreed that we would buy it more regularly.
If you see it on the shelves, try to give it a try. The older ones may be reminded of flavors from their childhood, and the younger ones will have the opportunity to try one of our country's iconic brands.
Thank you for your time.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version).
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Thank you so much my dear friend. Happy week.
Greetings, in my childhood I drank a lot of this coffee, it was the ones that were in the markets, it is good that the quality of the product has been maintained.
My wife told me it was a bit thick, and that it went better in the bag than in the coffee maker. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, dear @cetb2008.
Yes I remember it, in my childhood bought this and Madrid, both at that time were some of the best, I have seen it on shelves, but I have not encouraged me to take it, maybe next time I will, more with your recommendation 🥰☕.
For a long time, we also used Madrid, then we changed at dawn, and now we're trying different brands. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, dear @neilamarcano . A big hug from Maracay.
We're trying out different brands of coffee, we'll see how it goes. Big hug ☺️
That coffee was very good. I remember its particular smell and taste. These days, I saw it in a supermarket and said I would buy it later. After reading you, I think I will do it sooner than planned.
Very good review.
Best regards to you and your wife.
We thought it was pretty good; my wife told me it was more productive in the stock market than in the coffee maker. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. I'll pass your regards on to my wife. A big hug from Maracay, my dear @yeceniacarolina .
Thanks for this review. I am one of those who lost faith in the coffee of our memories. Many of these brands abandoned us during the crisis, which brought many new brands making their way into the market.
I've also seen it here in just one store, I'm sure I'll give it a chance even if it takes a while later I'll publish why.
Yes, there are many changes that have affected our habits. There are many new coffee brands now; I've tried several, and some are completely unpalatable. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, dear @soychalbed . A big hug from Maracay.