Cuatro Sombras, Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan)
Cuatro Sombras a coffee shop in Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan) is probably my favorite coffee shop in general. Cuatro Sombras brands itself as a micro-roaster, having roots to the original owner who established the hacienda in 1846. The name, which translates to four shades, was inspired by the method used by the hacienda for growing coffee under the shade of four different species of trees. This method of growing coffee, shade grown coffee, used to be the traditional method until most growers stopped using it in the search of more yield. Higher yielding plants require more sun, which lead to a lot of deforestation worldwide.
Cuatro Sombras opened in 2011 in Old San Juan. It's locations is ideal for anyone visiting the city. It is close to various parking garages, ferries, and cruise ship arrival ports. In 2017, Hurricane Maria severely affected coffee plantations in the island. After an informal conversation with one of the baristas, she indicated that about 80% of the coffee plants were destroyed or affected, which is in line with what was reported by the Eater.
As of December of 2017, they were still utilizing their reserves. After everything runs out, the coffee they sell might be blended with some other regional coffee beans. It is important to support local coffee shops, even if the end up blending their products. The recovery of this industry will probably take 4-5 year. Based on the life-cycle of the coffee plant, it takes about 5 years for the plant to be mature enough to produce cherries with commercial value.
Before the hurricane Maria, Cuatro Sombras offered two coffee options for online purchase, Arabica "normal" and peaberry. Peaberry beans are considered a natural mutations and occurs in about 3-5% of the the harvested beans. The sorting process is time intensive, this means that 100% peaberry beans are sold at a premium. I would like to point that I have never tried peaberry beans. Now that I discovered them, I will definitely try them at some point. All of their beans are hand picked single origin shade-grown arabica coffee from Yauco, Puerto Rico.
The Old San Juan shop experience is outstanding. I will start saying that this coffee shop is one of the bests I've seen so far and it has nothing to envy to other cosmopolitan cities. It offers great coffee, good food, and a great overall experience. If you enter through the main entrance (pictured below) you will find the main shop, including the roasting equipment, as you move towards the back, you will find a courtyard and the "coffee lab". Even though it is consider a "coffee lab" you can request the whole menu (food and drinks), which could save you some time.
During my stay in Puerto Rico, I was able to get a pour over, note that pour overs may not be available during busy times. To my surprise I found this pour over to be outstanding. For a medium roast, the coffee was smooth and (in my view) well balanced. I have tried various of their sandwiches and they were all good, I normally get the cuatro sombras panini. Additionally, their dessert options are good. I would go for their "quesitos" (a type of turnover with cheese or cheese and guava inside) or their "pastelillo de guayaba" (a puff pastry with guava inside). All of their espresso beverages are executed well and include some degree of art. Final veredict, Cafe Cuatro Sombras wont disappoint!
A 2019 update, if you made it all the way to the end… I have a 2019 update. Café Cuatro Sombras is still going strong in old San Juan. After the hurricane, the water in Puerto Rico has a funny flavor, which I believe affects the end product provided by the shop. This situation is partially out of their control and it is not noticeable if you order milk based drinks (e.g. lattes). If you enjoy chemex, which is a great deal, you may experience a bit of an after flavor. Hopefully this can be mitigated in the future with a water filtration system. I also added more pictures.
