How To Make A Perfect Cup Of Cuban Coffee

A café cubano, or cafecito, is one of many underrated coffee drinks around the world. It has a spirit of grit and invention akin to the high-caffeine moka pot it's poured from, consisting of no more than ground espresso, water, and sugar. Cuban coffee uses a grind so fine it almost behaves like stubborn dust. Heat pushes water upward in the moka pot, and the coffee fights back with a strength that borders on theatrical. This force is what gives the cafecito its reputation for tasting like a small thunderstorm.

What turns the brew into something distinctly Cuban is the espuma. It is more than a simple foam or crema. It is a frothy mixture of sugar and espresso that sits atop the café cubano. To make the espuma, combine 1 tablespoon of sugar with 1 tablespoon of coffee — a splash of the first drops from the moka pot. Whip the sugar and coffee with a spoon until it forms a glossy, caramel-colored paste that behaves like a distant cousin of meringue. When you pour the remaining coffee into the cup, the espuma will rise to the top. It tricks the tongue into expecting sweet softness before the sharp bitterness kicks in, but the tension between these flavor profiles is deliberate.

It takes more than a cheap but good coffee brand to make a café cubano. Technique sets the stage, but the heart of the drink comes from the culture that shaped it. It is the flavor of a country that learned to stretch rations and build community during hard times. For many Cubans, the strong, dark espresso is meant to be savored over a conversation with friends, family, or neighbors.

Different versions of Cuban coffee tell different stories. A cortadito softens the punchy espresso with a quick splash of steamed milk. Café con leche flips the dynamic entirely with more milk than coffee, sugar that tastes like a small celebration, and a pinch of salt that wakes everything up. Then there is the colada, which comes as several shots of sweetened espresso served in one cup with tiny sharing cups on the side. Friends gather and pass it around on street corners or outside ventanitas that still survive as cultural anchors. The perfect Cuban coffee hits fast. It lingers long. It refuses to be ordinary.