Café Cubano

Café cubano, or Cuban coffee, is strong, dark-roast coffee made sweet in a very particular way: the first drops from the moka pot or espresso machine are beaten into sugar until they form a thick, pale foam called espumita, and the rest of the coffee is poured on top. The result is intense, sweet and syrupy, with a creamy layer on top. In Miami it’s poured all day from walk-up café windows. Here’s how to make it, and what to call the different versions.

The short version

• Dark-roast coffee, from a moka pot at home or an espresso machine in cafés.
• Sugar beaten with the first drops into a foam called espumita.
• Cafecito: one serving, in a small cup.
• Colada: a bigger cup with tiny cups for sharing.
• Cortadito: the same coffee with steamed or evaporated milk.

What makes Cuban coffee different?

The espumita. Barista Magazine explains that sugar, demerara or any other, goes in at the start: as the first drops boil up through the moka pot or steam out of an espresso machine, they’re beaten vigorously into a couple of tablespoons of sugar until a creamy foam forms, a technique it calls “distinctively” Cuban. The University of Miami adds that this makes a sweeter and slightly more viscous coffee than simply adding sugar at the table.

The sources disagree on the sugar:

Sugar	How much	Source
Demerara “or any other sugar”	A couple of tablespoons	Barista Magazine
Pure cane sugar	Not stated	University of Miami
Demerara, which you “need”: its larger crystals help whip up the topping	Start with 2 teaspoons, then adjust	Mayorga Coffee

The coffee itself is a dark, Italian-style roast. In Miami, Barista Magazine says, popular brands include Pilon, Bustelo and La Llave.

How do you make café cubano at home?

The University of Miami’s tips for a moka pot:

1. Fill the moka pot and put it on medium heat, slightly to one side, so you don’t burn the plastic handle.
2. Have the sugar ready in a small jug or cup.
3. Catch the first teaspoon of coffee as it comes through and add it to the sugar.
4. Beat it hard with a spoon until it’s thick, pale and frothy.
5. Listen for the finish. If the coffee explodes upward, the heat is too high; if it burbles lethargically, turn it up. It’s done when you hear a hissing, bubbling sound. Pour it onto the espumita and serve.

Cafecito, colada or cortadito?

Order	What it is	Source
Cafecito	A single serving in a demitasse, like a shot of espresso elsewhere	Barista Magazine; University of Miami
Colada	3–6 shots in a disposable cup, with thimble-sized cups for sharing	University of Miami
Colada	A 12 oz cup with half a dozen tiny cups	Barista Magazine
Cortadito	Cuban coffee topped with steamed milk, 50/50 or 75/25; often evaporated milk	University of Miami
Café con leche	Cuban coffee with steamed milk, often with buttered Cuban toast (tostada) for dunking	University of Miami; Barista Magazine

The University of Miami suggests bringing a colada round the office at 3:05 pm.

Where does café cubano come from?

Cuba, by way of Miami. Barista Magazine traces coffee in Cuba to José Antonio Gelabert, who brought coffee plants to the island in 1748; French immigrants fleeing the Haitian Revolution later helped build a network of farms in the east of the island, and by the early 1800s coffee had overtaken sugar as Cuba’s top export. After the revolution nationalised the farms, more than half a million Cubans came to Miami in the following decades, the magazine says, bringing their coffee with them. Restaurateur Felipe Valls Sr., founder of Versailles and La Carreta, designed and installed the first ventanitas, walk-up coffee windows, at his restaurants after arriving in the 1960s.

Café cubano vs other espresso drinks

• Cortado: the Spanish espresso cut with milk, unsweetened.
• Café con leche: Spain’s half coffee, half hot milk.
• Espresso macchiato: espresso marked with a little foam.
• Vietnamese iced coffee: another strong, sweet coffee tradition.

Explore every drink in the espresso drinks chapter.