Coffee, Cascadoo, and the Journey Back Home
Coffee, Cascadoo, and the Journey Back Home.
It’s 4 AM, and as I sit at my computer with a steaming cup of coffee, my mind travels back to simpler times. The deep, comforting aroma of my brew sparks a flood of memories from my teenage years in Trinidad.
I’m 14 or 15 again, in the early hours of a Saturday morning. My dad’s friend John Edwards, an English engineer with a passion for fishing, picks us up from Caroni for a drive to Kernaham village in East Trinidad. It’s still dark as we set off, winding our way through St. Helena, Centeno, Valencia, Sangre Grande, Sangre Chiquito, and Manzanilla.
The countryside awakens slowly—mist hugging the fields, dew glistening on grass, and the cool tropical breeze carrying hints of the rich coffee being brewed in homes along the way.
Our destination: cascadura fishing. The “cascadoo,” as it is affectionately known, is a Trinidadian favorite, especially when curried. These Saturday trips weren’t just about fishing; they were a journey into the heart of Trinidad’s natural beauty, cultural essence, and the camaraderie shared between family and friends.
On one of those trips, I first heard the lines that would linger with me forever:
“Those who eat the cascadura will, the native legend says,
wheresoever they may wander, end in Trinidad their days.”
John, an Englishman like the one described in the legend, chuckled at the idea. But there was a sense of poetry in how he embraced Trinidad’s traditions, the local sport of fishing, and, above all, the joy of good company in the countryside.
Returning to the Moments That Ground Us.
As I sip my coffee this morning, I’m reminded of those timeless Saturdays—the shared jokes, the cool predawn breeze, and the pride of catching our first fish. Those drives through rural Trinidad were a connection to the land and its people. In those moments, nothing felt hurried or complicated.
What strikes me now is the longing for such simplicity that I feel—and I suspect others feel, too. It’s a desire to return to a sense of home. Not necessarily a physical place, but a state of joy, wonder, and belonging. A sip of good coffee has the magical ability to transport us there, even if just for a moment.
The Symbolism of Coffee and Cascadura.
In the way cascadura ties those who eat it to Trinidad, coffee ties us to cherished memories. The simple act of sipping a warm cup has a profound ability to ground us. Coffee, like the cascadura, is a shared experience—a reminder of companionship, of slowing down, and of appreciating life’s small yet meaningful rituals.
Whether brewed in a humble country kitchen or sipped in a bustling city café, coffee evokes a universal longing to find moments of connection and nostalgia. It’s the comfort of shared traditions, the bond of conversations that linger long after the cup is empty, and the chance to be transported back to places that shaped us.
An Ode to Home and Coffee.
There’s an innate desire in all of us to find “home.” Not just in the physical sense, but in the moments that make life richer and more meaningful. For me, that home is fishing trips at dawn, the taste of curried cascadoo, the warmth of a Trinbagonian morning, and the smell of fresh coffee wafting through the air.
Today, as I sip my coffee and reflect, I’m reminded that life’s most precious moments are often the simplest—a good cup of coffee, shared laughter, and the lingering feeling that, no matter where we wander, there’s a place and time that always pulls us back.
So here’s to the memories that stay with us and the comfort of knowing we can always find them in the aroma of coffee or the taste of cascadoo. And perhaps, as the legend says, we all ultimately return to the places that feel most like home.
The Poem
Those who eat the cascadura will, the native legend says,
Wheresoever they may wander, end in Trinidad their days.
And this lovely fragrant island, with its forest hills sublime,
Well might be the smiling Eden pictured in the Book divine.
Cocoa woods with scarlet glory of the stately Immortelles,
Waterfalls and fertile valleys, precipices, fairy dells,
Rills and rivers, green savannahs, fruits and flowers and odours rich,
Waving sugar cane plantations and the wondrous lake of pitch.
Oh! the Bocas at the daybreak – how can one describe that scene!
Or the little emerald islands with the sapphire sea between!
Matchless country of Iere, fairer none could ever wish.
Can you wonder at the legend of the cascadura fish?
Allister Macmillan