Cuban Coffee

[Richard Kilgore]

I have heard of making Cuban coffee by dumping sugar in a filter basket and then running your coffee through it. Also by using a Moka and adding sugar? Is there an authentic way? Best way?

[beans]

For several years, a couple of doctors from Miami rented my Grandmother's old house during their time spent in Cleveland to fulfill their residencies at one of our mega health care institutions. Both were born in Cuba, employed a Cuban nanny and had parents that lived in the Little Havana neighbourhood of Miami. We became good friends almost immediately and often had coffee. At first the sugar was an add-your-own after brewing, but started to change to the way they like to drink it, which I learned I enjoyed as well.

Their nanny would often make the espresso in a Moka brewer and pour a bit of it, before it had completed brewing, into a small sauce pan or larger bowl with sugar. She preferred using either of those because she would then use a whisk to whip air vigorously into the mixture making it thick, somewhat frothy and syrupy. She'd portion it out into our little cups and topped with the remaining, freshly brewed coffee.

If either of the doctors were making the coffee, they'd go the no fuss route and use their little espresso machine on the counter.

[phaelon56]

An option worth considering if you're using an espresso machine is to put the sugar on top of the grounds and tamp with the coffee. Most of it tends to dissovle and come out in the stream of espresso.

[Beto]

Beans accurately described what I know to be the traditional method. If you order a Cuban coffee in Miami, they'll place a cup with the sugar in it under the portafilter and wisk it all together as the espresso drops into the cup.

Phaelon, I've tried it using your method and it comes out poorly. When the sugar dissolves, it leaves behind channels in the puck and the water shoots directly through those channels without going through the coffee properly.

[phaelon56]

Beto - I should have added that I use a nominal amount of sugar - less than a half teaspoon spread across a 58 mm portafilyter basket and tamped in. Worked for me but I've never tried it with larger amounts of sugar. Also - I used turbinado sugar - not sure if this makes any difference. I do agree that just adding the sugar to the demitasse and puling the shot directly into it seems to work really well.

[Richard Kilgore]

Ah, ha! What Beans described is similar to what I have seen in the Florida Keys: a sugar mixture in a small saucepan, but I did not see the whole procedure. Very good stuff. It propelled me from KW to the Miami Airport one day.