Cuban espresso explained

Café Cubano
Alternate Name:	Cuban coffee, Cuban espresso, cafecito, Cuban pull, Cuban shot
Country:	Cuba
Type:	Beverage
Main Ingredient:	espresso, demerara sugar

Café Cubano (also known as Cuban espresso, Colada, Cuban coffee, cafecito, Cuban pull, and Cuban shot) is a type of espresso that originated in Cuba. Specifically, it refers to an espresso shot which is sweetened (traditionally with natural brown sugar which has been whipped with the first and strongest drops of espresso).^[1] However, the name is sometimes used to refer to coffee based drinks that include Cuban espresso as the main ingredient, such as café con leche.

Drinking café cubano remains a prominent social and cultural activity in Cuba and in Cuban-American communities, particularly in Miami, Tampa and the Florida Keys.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Preparation

Traditional Cuban-style coffee is made using the darker roasts, typically either Italian or Spanish roasts, with the brands Café Bustelo, Café La Llave and Café Pilón being popular. It can be made using an electric espresso machine, but is commonly made with a moka pot.^[5]

A small portion of espresso from early in the brewing is added to sugar and vigorously mixed with a spoon into a creamy foam called espuma or espumita.^{[6] [7] [8]} The heat from the coffee making process will hydrolyze some of the sucrose, thereby creating a sweeter and slightly more viscous result than a normal pull or adding sugar at the table.^[9]

Serving

In addition to being served at Cuban restaurants, in areas with a high Cuban population, small cafés (or parts of larger establishments) will have small windows, or ventanitas, where Cuban coffee can be ordered. Cuban coffee is often bought with tostada (a buttered slice of Cuban bread), pastelitos, or other Cuban pastries.^[10]

Variations

Cortadito is a standard espresso shot topped off with steamed milk. The ratio can be between 50/50 and 75/25 espresso and milk. It is similar to a cortado served in other Latin countries, but pre-sweetened.^{[11] [12] [13]}

Café con leche, or "coffee with milk", is an espresso served alongside a cup of hot or steamed milk. Traditionally served separate from the coffee, the espresso is poured to the desired darkness into the cup of hot milk and then stirred. It is the traditional Cuban breakfast beverage, served with slices of buttered, toasted cuban bread.^{[14] [15]}

Colada is 3–6 shots of Cuban-style espresso served in a Styrofoam cup along with small, plastic demitasses. It is a takeaway form, meant to be drunk as one shot. This is customary of workplace breaks in Cuban communities.^{[16] [17]}

See also

• Coffee production in Cuba
• Dalgona coffee
• List of coffee drinks
• List of hot beverages
• Vietnamese iced coffee

External links

• Cafe Cubano - Cuban Coffee Recipe

Notes and References

1. Web site: 19 June 2015 . How to Make Cuban Coffee - Cafe Cubano Recipe MokaBees . 6 February 2019 . MokaBees • Coffee Recipes & How-Tos . en-US . 7 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072326/http://www.mokabees.com/how-to-make-cuban-coffee-cafe-cubano-recipe/ . dead .
2. Book: Lisa Simundson . Miami and the Florida Keys . Hunter Publishing, Inc . 2001 . 978-1-55650-913-1 . 24–.
3. Book: Bob Brooke . The Everything Family Guide to Coastal Florida: St. Augustine, Miami, the Keys, Panama City—and All the Hot Spots in Between! . 1 September 2007 . Adams Media . 978-1-60550-239-7 . 104– . registration.
4. Book: Sarah Hull . The Rough Guide to Florida . Stephen Keeling . 11 October 2012 . Rough Guides . 978-1-4093-5999-9 . 63– . registration.
5. Book: Lindgren, Glenn M. . Three guys from Miami cook Cuban . 2004 . Gibbs Smith, publisher . 158685433X . 2 . 54677627.
6. Book: Ana Sofia Pelaez . The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History . 28 October 2014 . St. Martin's Press . 978-1-4668-5753-7 . 45–.
7. Book: Steven Otfinoski . 1990S To 2010 . September 2009 . Marshall Cavendish . 978-0-7614-4625-5 . 21–.
8. Book: Restaurant Business . October 1999 . Restaurant Business.
9. Web site: 24 April 2012 . Espresso versus Cuban Coffee . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171022232211/http://www.martinezfinecoffees.com/blog/espresso-cuban . 22 October 2017 . 20 May 2016 . J. Martinez & Company - Coffee Merchants.
10. Web site: Campbell . Geraldine . 2019-12-17 . A Guide to Ordering & Drinking Cuban Coffee . 2023-05-27 . The Kitchn.
11. Book: Susan Zimmer . I Love Coffee!: Over 100 Easy and Delicious Coffee Drinks . 25 February 2014 . Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC . 978-1-4494-6011-2 . 213–.
12. Book: Ted Henken . Cuba . 29 October 2013 . ABC-CLIO . 978-1-61069-012-6 . 372–.
13. Book: Ana Quincoces Rodriguez . Sabor!: A Passion for Cuban Cuisine . 23 October 2012 . Running Press . 978-0-7624-4889-0 . 326–.
14. Book: Daniel Young . Coffee Love: 50 Ways to Drink Your Java . 11 March 2009 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-0-470-28937-2 . 51–.
15. Book: Victoria Shearer . Florida Keys Cookbook: Recipes & Foodways of Paradise . 20 November 2012 . Globe Pequot Press . 978-0-7627-9084-5 . 271–.
16. Book: Steven Raichlen . Miami Spice: The New Florida Cuisine . 11 January 1993 . Workman Publishing Company . 978-0-7611-6439-5 . 16– . registration.
17. Book: Jose Garces . The Latin Road Home: Savoring the Foods of Ecuador, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru . 19 November 2013 . Lake Isle Press . 978-1-62921-343-9 . 322– .