Café Cubano (also known as Cuban espresso, Colada, Cuban coffee, cafecito, Cuban pull, and Cuban shot) is a type of
espresso
Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans and ...
that originated in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. Specifically, it refers to an espresso shot which is sweetened (traditionally with
natural brown sugar
Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar.
Brown Sugar may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
which has been whipped with the first and strongest drops of espresso).
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
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
and the
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
.
Preparation
Traditional Cuban-style coffee is made using the darker roasts, typically either Italian or Spanish roasts, with the brands
Cafe Bustelo, Cafe La Llave and Cafe Pilón being popular. It can be made using an electric espresso machine, but is commonly made with a
moka pot.
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''.
The heat from the coffee making process will
hydrolyze
Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile.
Biological hydrolysis ...
some of the
sucrose
Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula .
For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...
, thereby creating a sweeter and slightly more viscous result than a normal pull or adding sugar at the table.
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
A cortado is a beverage consisting of espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity. The milk in a cortado is steamed, but not frothy and "texturized" as in many Italian coffee drinks. The cortado comes from Spain, ...
served in other Latin countries, but pre-sweetened.
, 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
Cuban bread is a fairly simple white bread, similar to French bread and Italian bread, but has a slightly different baking method and ingredient list (in particular, it generally includes a small amount of fat in the form of lard or vegetable shor ...
.
''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.
See also
*
Coffee production in Cuba
*
Dalgona coffee
Dalgona coffee, also known as hand beaten coffee (Chinese: ), is a beverage originating from Macau made by whipping equal parts instant coffee powder, sugar, and hot water until it becomes creamy and then adding it to cold or hot milk. Occasio ...
*
List of coffee drinks
Coffee drinks are made by brewing water with ground coffee beans. The brewing is either done slowly by drip, filter, French press, ''cafetière'' or percolator, or done very quickly under pressure by an espresso machine. When put under the pr ...
*
List of hot beverages
*
Vietnamese iced coffee
References
External links
Cafe Cubano - Cuban Coffee Recipe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban Espresso
Cuban drinks
Coffee drinks