🇨🇺 Cuban Cuisine

Café Cubano

Cuban Espresso with Sugar Foam

Prep Time 5 min
Servings 4
Difficulty Medium

An intensely sweet, thick espresso shot topped with espumita — a creamy sugar foam created by whipping the first drops of coffee with sugar into a golden froth.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Fill moka pot with water and coffee. Place on medium heat.
  2. 2 Put sugar in a measuring cup or small pitcher.
  3. 3 When the first drops of coffee emerge, pour just 1-2 tsp of coffee over the sugar.
  4. 4 Whisk vigorously for 2-3 min until a thick, pale golden espumita (foam) forms.
  5. 5 Let the rest of the coffee brew completely.
  6. 6 Pour brewed coffee into the espumita and stir gently. Serve in small tacitas.

Did You Know?

The espumita technique is considered an art form — Cuban grandmothers judge potential in-laws by the quality of their espumita.