Café Cubano (also known as Cuban espresso, Cuban coffee, cafecito, Cuban pull, and Cuban shot) is a type of espresso that originated in Cuba. Specifically, it refers to an espresso shot which is sweetened (traditionally with natural brown sugar which has been whipped with the first and strongest drops of espresso). However, the name is sometimes used to refer to coffee-based drinks that include Cuban espresso as their main ingredient, such as café con leche.
Drinking café cubano remains a prominent social and cultural activity in Cuba and in Cuban-American communities, particularly in Miami, Tampa and the Florida Keys.
Cuban tradition is to drink coffee strong and sweet, often mixing the sugar with the coffee beans before brewing. The traditional method of brewing coffee was a filter method using a cloth cone; this has mostly been replaced with an aluminium cafetera or coffeemaker—in tourist areas some cafés will have an espresso machine, though espresso machines are expensive, so espresso is not a common drink for most Cubans. Though quality coffee is grown in Cuba, it is expensive, so most Cubans drink coffee imported from Puerto Rico, and often mixed with ground peas.The Cuban habit of brewing coffee with sugar has spread to Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and the Keys, in Florida, US, where espresso is the preferred brewing method and an espresso brewed with sugar is termed Café Cubano, Cuban coffee, Cuban espresso, cafecito, Cuban pull, or Cuban shot. Sometimes demerara sugar is used, and sometimes the sugar (white or brown) is not brewed with the coffee, but is placed in the cup as the coffee is dripped into it, then stirred into a froth. Variations on the Miami café Cubano are with a splash of milk - cortadito; and with steamed milk - café con leche.
Preparation:
Traditional Cuban-style espresso is made using the darker roasts, typically either Italian or Spanish roasts.] It is identical to Italian pulls, except for the addition of sugar directly to the pot or cup that the espresso drips into. Either some or all of the espresso is vigorously mixed with a spoon into a creamy foam called espuma or espumita. The heat from the coffee-making process will hydrolyze some of the sucrose, thereby creating a sweeter and slightly more viscous result than a normal pull or adding sugar at the table.
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