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 ''Café con leche'' ('coffee with milk') is a coffee beverage common throughout Spain and Latin America consisting of strong coffee (usually espresso) mixed with scalded milk in approximately equal amounts. The amount of milk can be higher in a ...

. Drinking ''café cubano'' remains a prominent social and cultural activity in Cuba and in

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...

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 The moka pot is a stove-top or electric coffee maker that brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. Named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, it was invented by Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti in 1933 and ...

. 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.

Café con leche ''Café con leche'' ('coffee with milk') is a coffee beverage common throughout Spain and Latin America consisting of strong coffee (usually espresso) mixed with scalded milk in approximately equal amounts. The amount of milk can be higher in a ...

, 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 s ...

. ''Colada'' is 3–6 shots of Cuban-style espresso served in a Styrofoam cup along with small, plastic

demitasse A demitasse (; French: "half cup") or demi-tasse is a small cup used to serve espresso. It may also refer to the contents served in such a cup (though that usage had disappeared in France by the early 20th century). A demitasse typically has a ...

s. It is a takeaway form, meant to be drunk as one shot. This is customary of workplace breaks in Cuban communities.

References

External links

Cafe Cubano - Cuban Coffee Recipe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban Espresso Cuban drinks Coffee drinks

Preparation

Variations

See also

References

External links