What cuban coffee is and how to make it
Cuban coffee is getting more and more popular. Why? Because it is a unique combination of an incredibly strong coffee with a super sweet froth on the top. This big contrast makes a delicious cup of coffee.
You can find this coffee with many names: Cuban coffee, cafecito cubano, café cubano or cafecito. The last three options are in Spanish, the official language in Cuba.
Personally I love this coffee for two reasons. The first one is for its unique flavor, but the second reason is the most interesting one. Cuban coffee is the way it is because of an incredible reason. It all started when Cuba's government started mixing chickpeas in coffee bean bags.
You don't believe me? Discover the reasons in the article.
Article´s index
What is Cuban coffee and how it was created
The recipe
Tools
Ingredients
Step by step
Notes
What next?
What is Cuban coffee and how it was created
Cuban coffee is a very strong and bitter coffee which is sweetened with sugar. For this beverage is commonly used super dark roasted coffee beans, and made in moka machines.
The combination of a strong coffee with a big amount of sugar makes a unique cup of coffee with an interesting flavor and a thick consistency.
If you are used to drinking light coffee that has less body and with more acidity, Cuban coffee will taste really strange at the beginning, but it is worth giving it a try.
There is a historical reason why Cubans add so much sugar to their coffee. During the decade of 1960, while the country suffered the US embargo, there was a coffee beans shortage. The government of Cuba decided to make a strange blend: coffee beans with roasted chickpeas. This combination resulted in an incredibly bitter coffee, so consumers started to add more and more sugar. That's the reason why nowadays, one of the most famous coffees of Cuba is very strong and with lots of added sugar.
For preparing your own cafecito cubano you will need a brewing method that lets you make strong coffee. The most traditional one is the Moka, but you can look in Coffee Devotion´s articles (part 1 and part 2) where we compare some brewing methods so you can know good substitutes for it.
As you may know if you read our grind size article, for Moka machines we need a fine grind coffee. Beans should be any brand that you like but always with a high roast, like Spanish or Italian. You can learn more about roasting levels in this article.
The espuma (froth) is the signature of this coffee. It has a similar texture to espresso crema but is strongly sweet because of the sugar.
The recipe
Tools
Moka machine
Small cup (also named tacita)
Small bowl
Spoon and whisk
Ingredients
Dark roasted coffee beans with a fine grind
Water
Granulated sugar
Step by step
- Preparing the coffee: Fill up the base of the Moka pot with preheated water. Put the grounded coffee in the filter and set the machine up. Heat the Moka pot over low heat at the burner. Wait until the top of the machine is full of already brewed coffee.
Note: we use preheated water because aluminum is a better heat conductor than water, so if water is room temperature our coffee grounds will burn.
- Make the espuma: The espuma is the soul of Cuban coffee. Add two tablespoons of granulated sugar and the same amount of the prepared coffee to a bowl. Use your whisk to mix it as hard as you can. You are looking to create a thick and clear froth.
- Mix and drink: When your espuma is ready, serve in a tacita (little cup) the brewed coffee up to ⅘ of capacity. Then, with a spoon, crown your cup with the froth you made before.
With this easy recipe you can now prepare a delicious Cuban coffee in your own kitchen, and maybe next time try it directly in La Havana.
Notes
As we mentioned before, Cuban coffee can be way too strong and way too sweet if you are not used to this kind of drink. If you like the idea of the espuma, you can definitely try it in a lighter brewed coffee. Also you can try using less roasted coffee beans. It won't be as the original recipe but that's the fantastic thing about brewing your own coffee: you are able to try new things and play around.
What next?
Now is your turn. Have you ever tried Cuban coffee before?
Try this recipe and open your taste to new coffee combinations. Take a picture of your cafecito cubano and post it on Instagram tagging @coffeedevotion so we can see it and share it!