How to Make Cafecito with Cuban Sugar Foam
Cafecito is small, strong, sweet Cuban coffee with no milk. The whole technique rests on one move: whipping sugar with the first drops of coffee into a pale foam called espumita.
Quick Answer
To make cafecito, brew dark-roast coffee in a moka pot, pour the first few drops onto 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar per cup, and stir hard until the sugar turns into a thick, pale paste. Stir in the rest of the coffee and serve in demitasse cups. Want it with milk? That drink is the Cuban cortadito.
What Cafecito (Café Cubano) Is
Cafecito, also called café Cubano, Cuban coffee, or a Cuban shot, is a type of espresso that originated in Cuba. Café Cubano is sweetened as it is made rather than afterward: a small portion of coffee from early in the brew is whipped with sugar into espuma, or espumita, which gives the finished cafecito a sweeter, more viscous body than stirring sugar into a finished shot.
Café Cubano is usually brewed at home in a stovetop moka pot, and it is sold from walk-up café windows called ventanitas in Cuban-American communities such as Miami, Tampa, and the Florida Keys, according to the Wikipedia entry on Cuban espresso.
Cafecito Ingredients and Equipment
- Coffee: dark-roast, espresso-grind coffee. Common Cuban-style brands include Café Bustelo, Café La Llave, and Café Pilón.
- Sugar: demerara, the natural brown sugar named in the café Cubano entry on Wikipedia, or fine white sugar. Café Real uses 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup.
- Water: cold water for the moka pot base.
- Equipment: a moka pot (cafetera), a small cup or metal pitcher for the espumita, a spoon, and demitasse cups.
Cafecito Recipe: Step by Step
1. Load the moka pot
Fill the moka pot base with cold water to just below the safety valve, fill the basket with ground coffee without tamping it hard, and screw the pot together (Café Real). Set it on medium heat. The moka pot guide covers heat and grind in more detail.
2. Measure the cafecito sugar
Put 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar per serving in a small cup or pitcher. A pitcher with a spout makes pouring the finished cafecito easier.
3. Catch the first drops of coffee
Watch the top chamber. As soon as the first few drops of coffee come through, pour only those drops onto the sugar, then put the moka pot back on the heat. The first drops are the most concentrated part of the brew.
4. Whip the espumita
Stir the sugar and coffee vigorously until the mixture becomes a thick, pale paste. The color shifts from dark brown to light tan as air is beaten in.
5. Pour in the rest of the coffee
When the moka pot finishes brewing, pour the coffee slowly over the espumita and stir gently. A light tan foam rises to the top of the cafecito.
6. Serve the cafecito
Pour into small demitasse cups and drink it hot, right away, before the espumita foam fades.
How to Get Thick Espumita Sugar Foam
Espumita problems almost always trace back to the ratio of coffee to sugar. Café Real notes that the espumita takes practice and that the ratio of sugar to coffee drops matters.
- Espumita is runny: too much coffee went onto the sugar. Use only a teaspoon or so of the first drops; add more sugar to rescue a thin batch.
- Espumita is gritty and dry: too little coffee. Add a few more drops and keep whipping.
- Espumita never lightens: the coffee was taken from late in the brew. Grab the first concentrated drops instead.
- Foam disappears in the cup: the coffee was dumped in fast. Pour it slowly and stir gently.
For a fuller fix list when the espumita still fails, see why Cuban coffee sugar foam will not form.
Cafecito vs Colada vs Cortadito
| Drink | What it is | Milk |
|---|---|---|
| Cafecito | One sweetened Cuban shot with espumita | None |
| Colada | 3 to 6 shots in a Styrofoam cup with small plastic demitasses for sharing | None |
| Cortadito | Sweetened café Cubano cut with steamed milk | About equal parts |
The milk version gets its own walkthrough in how to make a Cuban cortadito at home.
Cafecito FAQ
What is espumita in Cuban coffee?
Espumita (also called espuma) is the pale, creamy sugar foam made by whipping sugar with the first few drops of coffee from the brewer. The espumita sweetens the cafecito and forms the light foam layer on top.
How much sugar goes in a cafecito?
Café Real's published recipe uses 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar in a small cup for the espumita. Adjust the sugar to taste, but too little sugar will not hold a foam.
What sugar is used for Cuban coffee?
Wikipedia's café Cubano entry names demerara sugar, a natural brown sugar. Many home recipes use fine white sugar, which dissolves into a paler espumita.
Can I make cafecito without a moka pot?
Yes. An espresso machine also works; the key is catching the first concentrated drops of coffee for the espumita. The moka pot is simply the common home brewer for café Cubano.
What is the difference between a cafecito and a colada?
A cafecito is one small sweetened shot for one person. A colada is 3 to 6 shots of Cuban coffee served in a Styrofoam cup with small plastic demitasse cups for sharing.
Related Guides
Sources
This cafecito guide was researched from the published sources listed below.