If you grew up in Miami chances are you don’t go about your day without stopping at a ventanita to refuel with cafecito.
As a matter of a fact, you are very likely to be shunned or looked down upon if you order American coffee, or even an espresso, anywhere in this town... do you know where you are, bro?
Cuban coffee is an institution and social tradition that is slowly but surely beginning to emerge in all the ventanas around the world, and we couldn’t be happier to spread the gospel.
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Cafecito, colada, café con leche, y cortadito
Learn these terms and learn them well because they can make it or break it when it comes to ordering la gasolina that keeps everyone moving in this city.
The main difference between the four terms is wether you like to drink solo or with friends, and if you like your coffee with milk or milk in your coffee.
¿Cómo? Pues eso, cafecitos are usually individual shots, coladas are for sharing, caféccon leche is the latin version of a latte--steamed milk with a shot of Cuban coffee--and a cortadito is a less potent version of a cafecito, which has been diluted or “cortado” with a couple of teaspoons of milk. ¿Ya entiendes?
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Crema or espumita
The trick to the perfect cuban coffee is found en el azúcar! There’s a reason why the late queen Celia Cruz celebrated the term so often.
The trick to making the frothy foam for your espresso is to add the first stream of coffee that brewed into the pot (about a teaspoon) into a separate cup of sugar, y bate que bate until you mix it into a caramel paste.
Pour the rest of the brewed coffee into the cup with the sugar/caramel paste, and the espumita will rise to the top. Note: There’s absolutely no cream or dairy products involved in the process.
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Cafetera or espresso machine
Will the great debate ever be answered? Some traditionalist believe that real Cuban coffee should always be brewed en la cafetera, whilst coffee savants would argue that expresso will always be infinitely better brewed through an espresso machine.
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