How To Make Cuban Coffee (Café Cubano)

Authentic and perfectly sweet Cuban coffee (or café cubano or cafecito) made with strong espresso and a thick sugar foam.

Cuban coffee aka cafecito is my favorite beverage of all time!

Anyone that has tried it gets it. If you think Starbucks coffee is strong, wait till you try this delight. It truly is a delicious treat.

Cafécito is a huge part of my culture. We make it after every meal. We order it at Cuban restaurants for dessert. Heck, we even buy it to share with strangers!

What is Cuban coffee?

Cuban coffee is a strong, dark roast espresso that’s honestly way too bitter.

This is why we have to make it with a sugar form affectionately called espumita (es-pu-mee-tah) to sweeten the deal.

This delicious sugar foam is made by vigorously mixing granulated sugar with brewed espresso.

What are the different types of Cuban coffee?

• A colada is a 4-ounce Cuban espresso made with espumita (sugar foam) served in a styrofoam cup with little mini plastic cups meant for sharing. It’s very common in South Florida, for example, to buy one before going to the nail salon to share with everyone. True story.
• A cortadito is a shot of unsweetened Cuban espresso with steamed milk. You can always sweeten it with sugar if you’d like.
• A cafe con leche is unsweetened Cuban espresso served with hot steamed whole milk. Typically, cafe con leche is served at breakfast along with buttered Cuban toast which most of us dip in our café. Yum!

The foundation of all these different types of Cuban coffee is the espresso which is what we’re making today.

Here’s how you make Cuban espresso with espumita.

How To Make Cuban Coffee

• Brew the espresso. Fill your espresso maker with water and ground espresso according to the manufacturer’s directions. Place on the stove at medium-high heat and brew the espresso.
• Make the sugar foam. In a measuring cup or creamer cup, add the granulated sugar. Add the first few drops of espresso from the espresso maker into the cup of sugar. The first few drops of espresso that come out of the espresso maker are usually the most concentrated. That’s what we want! Allow the espresso maker to continue to brew as you make the sugar foam. Stir the sugar and those few drops of espresso vigorously into a pale, thick sugar foam (espumita). See photo. If you’ve never done this before, there will be a bit of trial and error. I recommend you add a few drops at a time and stir until the sugar foam is thick but drippy. Be mindful of how much you add so you know how much to add next time.
• Combine both the brewed espresso with the sugar foam. Pour the brewed espresso into the cup with the sugar foam. Stir both of them together slowly to combine. Serve in these espresso cups.

P.S. Click here to see this entire process in action on Instagram.

Does it matter if you use granulated sugar or brown sugar?

Great question! My mom makes it with both sugars together.

I prefer granulated sugar. Brown sugar will result in a thicker sugar foam and a bit of a sweeter flavor, in my opinion, because brown sugar has molasses.

Either way, it’s up to you. It will taste delicious either way.

You may also like:

• Cuban Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
• Guava Cake Bars (Cuban Masa Real de Guayaba)
• Cuban Beef Pastries (Pastelitos De Carne)