Cartagena Coffee Concoction.

Posted by rose - November 20th, 2008

  • What is the proper spelling of a coffee concoction served in Cartagena Spain that was invented by a con man some time ago as an elixir cure for yellow fever? It is pronounced occ-sea-ott-ico. It includes coffee, cinnamon and alcohol (rum?).


  • Greetings Sojourn: What a challenging quest! I first uncovered the coffee macchiato, the surname Occhiato and I found a reference to xocolata at http://www.aboutbarcelona.com/barcelona/food-drink.asp - the latter, however, is a pastry. I also found the term xocolati (chocolate). Then, I ran across this "legend" that seemed sort of like the story you described: "I also show evidence to discredit certain embelishments to the tale of the cure of a Spanish noblewoman, miraculouly saved from malaria thanks to the timely discovery of this plant, a legend that lacks a factual base notwithstanding the circumstance that Chinchon, the lady's family name, became immortalized as "Cinchona" by Linnaeus, who created thus the botanical genus to which this remarkable plant was ascribed." and "Sebastiano Bado 1663: "He refers that this tree is native from America; and he says it is born in the Kingdom of Quito, although not everywhere but in a particular place, called by the Indians in their tongue Loxa, or Loja, that is, located some 60 leagues from the City named Quito, which is the main metropolis of that Kingdom or Province, and from which the region derives its name." From http://www.cuencanet.com/ortiz/cinchona.htm The site also states "genera Cinchona, the bark of which yields quinine, an antimalaria drug" This is in reference to the Cinchona plant (named after the lady of legend above): "Next, I looked up cinchona in the botanical journals. I discovered it was a member of the Rubiaceae (madder) family and a close cousin of coffee. Like coffee, it preferred hot, moist climates and thrived on rich organic soils and well-drained slopes, such as are found on the sheer sides of volcanoes. Like coffee, it also often took the form of a shrub or small tree with ovate leaves and fragrant white flowers." And more about the false legend: "An even bigger mistake came to light in 1930, when the official diary of the Count of Chinch n was discovered...For example, the diary states that Ana de Osorio, the first Countess of Chinch n, died in Spain at least three years before Philip IV appointed the count viceroy of Peru. The second countess, Francisca Henr quez de Ribera, accompanied her husband to South America. And while Do a Francisca continued to enjoy excellent health, the count had several episodes of fever, none of which was treated with bark." From http://stevenlehrer.com/explorers/chapter_6-3.htm But it turned out to be none of those... After a few hours, I finally broke down and called my friend, Heather, who is a Federal court interpreter in Spanish and Catalan. She became extremely fluent having lived in Catalonia and Spain for many years. She suggested that it might be a variation of the drink crenada or an alcohol called aguardiente (fire water) in coffee, and she offered to search your keywords in a Spanish search engine. While I was waiting for her to call me back, my colleague, Pink Freud, sent me an email correctly identifying the word. It's "asiatico" -- Spanish for "Asian." As in "Asian cure" for yellow fever? I then searched asiatico Cartagena Spain and discovered the following: "The wines and Sherries of Spain can be sampled with your meal or at one of the many bodegas. And the perfect end to a meal or the day an Asiatico, coffee with condensed milk, cognac and cinnamon." http://www.creaturecomforts-es.com/i_4.htm So, there it is. It was cognac in your coffee and thanks to my colleague, Pinkfreud (and my friend, Heather, whom I now have to call and stay "Stop searching!"), you finally have you answer. I also thank the Creature Comforts site for publishing that particular travelogue. AND I thank you for your patience while I played Nancy Drew. :) Best regards, journalist-ga SEARCH STRATEGY: "Cartagena, Spain" drinks coffee "Cartagena, Spain" malaria "Cartagena, Spain" "yellow fever" "Sebastiano Bado" cinchona drink cinchona drink coffee Spain cinchona drink coffee Cartagena asiatico Cartagena Spain Google Translate at http://translate.google.com/translate_t for the Spanish-to-English translation of asiatico


  • ADDENDUM: Just spoke with Heather and she also discovered the term and pronounces it ahs-she-ah-the-ko. Best regards, journalist-ga


  • Okay, this is under my skin now. lol Since you must have enjoyed this coffee, I began wondering if other coffee drink names would pop up if I searched the ingredients list. So I searched coffee condensed milk cognac cinnamon and I found one that may be tasty: Cafe Champs Flysees 1 oz Cognac 1 cup brewed Chocolate Almond Whipped cream or Condensed milk [add cinnamon to taste] Combine the cognac, condensed milk and coffee. Pour over cracked ice. Top with whipped cream. Serves 1 From http://www.bageco.com/coffeebeverages.htm [brackets mine] Best regards, journalist-ga


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