Cafe Cubano

[mvnyc]

I think Cooper & Burnett started a thread about this a while back (something about John Diehl having Cafe Cubano at night after working on Vice). Anyway, I've been starting my day drinking this (as of late), it makes regular coffee seem like tea! $3 for a small cup, but if you're a coffee lover, seriously give it a try, it's the only way to go! (IMO).

[Tekka]

Cafe cubano is basically just espresso with a TON of sugar in it. I just got back from Miami and every time I ate out in Miami I was ordering a cafe cubano. I tried to order it in spanish since so many people were speaking it, but the locals didn't seem to quite get it because I wasn't a native Spanish speaker. :DEspresso is pretty nice stuff. It can take some getting used to since the essential oils in the coffee get extracted under so much pressure into such a tiny amount of liquid. It isn't watered down like drip coffee.

[pahonu]

I make it at home all the time, and its really easy. I use a moka pot, which is not technically espresso, but pretty close. They're also pretty inexpensive, It uses a finer grind than drip, but coarser than espresso. I use ILLY moka ground espresso and it takes only five or six minutes.[ATTACH=CONFIG]8084[/ATTACH]Just make the coffee per the instructions, but add a couple of spoons of sugar (preferably demerara or raw) to the top of the carafe. As the hot coffee is forced into the top half it disolves the sugar. A quick stir before pouring and your good. Mmmmm My wife loves when I make cafecito.Damn! I want one right now, but I'm not at home.

[mvnyc]

8084[/ATTACH]Just make the coffee per the instructions, but add a couple of spoons of sugar (preferably demerara or raw) to the top of the carafe. As the hot coffee is forced into the top half it disolves the sugar. A quick stir before pouring and your good. Mmmmm My wife loves when I make cafecito.Damn! I want one right now, but I'm not at home.

I was watching someone make it this morning, dumping in the sugar with the expresso. Nothing like kick-starting your day the cuban way!

[Matt5]

Agreed- a great coffee:D

[Tekka]

One of the things I am going to treat myself to this year is an espresso machine. I want to make my own cafe cubano at home. Sometimes you just want a really super concentrated coffee and not large amounts of it. Espresso is the ticket.

[cageyJG]

I'm decent at Spanish and yes, even for us, it is annoying for us non-native speakers when you're looked at and hear, <<?Que?>> Café Coobano is pretty good, I hear. But how does it measure to these popular Keurig machines? I am o.d.ing on the latter.

[mvnyc]

I'm decent at Spanish and yes' date=' even for us, it is annoying for us non-native speakers when you're looked at and hear, <<?Que?>> Café Coobano is pretty good, I hear. But how does it measure to these popular Keurig machines? I am o.d.ing on the latter.[/quote']As long as your Keurig machine has an espresso maker, you can definitely make it, like this one:http://www.keurig.com/RivoSystem

[Matt5]

Good machine - throughly recommended

[Sonny-Burnett]

I have an unused Espresso machine that I do want to try and so for you Café Cubano enthusiasts, do you recommend using the Espresso machine or the Moka pot?Just wanting to try an authentic Café Cubano and any recipe/coffee brand recommendations would be appreciated.

[Tekka]

I have an unused Espresso machine that I do want to try and so for you Café Cubano enthusiasts' date=' do you recommend using the Espresso machine or the Moka pot?Just wanting to try an authentic Café Cubano and any recipe/coffee brand recommendations would be appreciated.[/quote']You need to use an espresso machine to make cafe cubano. A Moka Pot isn't quite the same thing. As far as recommendations are concerned. Use an 100% Arabica espresso bean. Preferably one which you can acquire from a local coffee roaster. Anything beyond that is really a preference for beans grown in different regions of the world. My favorite coffees are from Africa and south east asia btw. Once you go single origin you won't go back to blends or freeze dried stuff. Coffee tastes radically different depending on where it is grown. You get a really good freshly roasted bean and you never even think about adding cream or sugar (though cafe cubano requires sugar) because it isn't bitter.

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC4_Aa49oR0

[Sonny-Burnett]

You need to use an espresso machine to make cafe cubano. A Moka Pot isn't quite the same thing. As far as recommendations are concerned. Use an 100% Arabica espresso bean. Preferably one which you can acquire from a local coffee roaster. Anything beyond that is really a preference for beans grown in different regions of the world. My favorite coffees are from Africa and south east asia btw. Once you go single origin you won't go back to blends or freeze dried stuff. Coffee tastes radically different depending on where it is grown. You get a really good freshly roasted bean and you never even think about adding cream or sugar (though cafe cubano requires sugar) because it isn't bitter.

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC4_Aa49oR0

Thanks Tekka for the great advice and video. Video was very informative and helpful. :thumbsup:Going to go shopping for some Espresso beans this weekend and give it a shot with my untouched Espresso machine that I have had sitting in a box for years now. Around here I think the bean choices will be limited in the grocery chains unless I go for one of the local coffee shops that sell beans.Btw, do you use a particular type of sugar in your Café Cubano? On a side note, I have also been unsuccessful in finding the real Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee that I tried many years ago. Though there are some sites on the net that claim to sell the real thing.

[pahonu]

I have an unused Espresso machine that I do want to try and so for you Café Cubano enthusiasts' date=' do you recommend using the Espresso machine or the Moka pot?Just wanting to try an authentic Café Cubano and any recipe/coffee brand recommendations would be appreciated.[/quote']If you have the espresso machine, go for it. That's the authentic way of making it, but the moka pot is pretty damn close (and quick and easy). I've heard the moka pot is actually the most common method of making it at home in Cuba. Use raw sugar, also called demerara. I use Illy brand coffee in my moka pot because it is already ground for that method. They also make an espresso grind, which is very good also. Look for the silver can.[ATTACH=CONFIG]8289[/ATTACH]

[Sonny-Burnett]

8289[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the tips on this...esp the bean selection and sugar type.

[mvnyc]

Use raw sugar' date=' also called demerara.[/quote']Definitely use raw sugar, if you can't find Demerara, there is "Sugar In The Raw", which is good, but not quite the same.http://shop.floridacrystals.com/Demerara-Cane-Sugar-44-oz

[Tekka]

Thanks Tekka for the great advice and video. Video was very informative and helpful. :thumbsup:Going to go shopping for some Espresso beans this weekend and give it a shot with my untouched Espresso machine that I have had sitting in a box for years now. Around here I think the bean choices will be limited in the grocery chains unless I go for one of the local coffee shops that sell beans.Btw' date=' do you use a particular type of sugar in your Café Cubano? On a side note, I have also been unsuccessful in finding the real Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee that I tried many years ago. Though there are some sites on the net that claim to sell the real thing.[/quote']Since it'll be your first time using the machine. Get some citric acid at a grocery store use it with water as you run it through the system a few times. It'll clear out any junk you don't want in your coffee. Then pick up a block of espresso at your local grocery store. If you don't own a coffee grinder it'll make things easier for now. These blocks of expresso can usually be found for around 2-5 dollars. It won't be as amazing as freshly ground freshly roasted espresso beans, but it'll get you most of the way there.The Japanese have been buying nearly all of the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee grown in Jamaica for about a hundred years. The Jamaicans were one of the first countries that really helped introduce and supply the Japanese with coffee and now the Japanese do whatever they can to acquire it since they love it's flavor. It makes an already rare coffee even more expensive. It will almost always cost you 50-120 dollars for every 16 ounces of beans. If you see it for cheaper, those are blends that usually contain no more than 5% Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. It is about as expensive as Kona coffee from Hawaii. It is really really good stuff if you can get a hold of it. You might want to try these places if you want Jamaican Blue Mountain. I've not bought from them so I can't tell you how good they are. http://www.coffeebean.com/store/productdetails.aspx?productid=1084&mr:trackingCode=184FF777-3434-E211-B425-BC305BEDE924&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=19156848742&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=19250232502&gclid=CLi03ZKzprkCFfFj7AodUkoAeQ http://www.ecrater.com/p/16112148/jamaican-blue-mountain-coffee-beans?gps=1&id=52211034499http://www.brookstone.com/marley-coffee-top-rankin-jamaica-blue-mountain-coffee?bkeid=compare%7cmercent%7cgooglebaseads%7csearch&mr:trackingCode=5661077C-D6D4-E111-AC8D-001B21A69EB0&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=20923704324&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=20101249044&gclid=CIHBpvizprkCFaXm7Aod_FMAiQhttp://www.soap.com/p/reggies-roast-jamaica-blue-mountain-coffee-ground-12-oz-213588?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_S&utm_term=ZQB-9860&utm_campaign=GoogleAW&CAWELAID=1323176666&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla

[Tekka]

http://shop.floridacrystals.com/Demerara-Cane-Sugar-44-oz

One of the courses I took in college was nutrition. The professor went out of her way to emphasize how white sugar and natural sugar were the same because they were both sucrose. At the time her argument made sense to me, but the more I thought about it, the more problems I had with it because she didn't really address how white sugar goes through further processing to remove various things like color or how less processed sugars have fewer calories.

[Sonny-Burnett]

http://www.coffeebean.com/store/productdetails.aspx?productid=1084&mr:trackingCode=184FF777-3434-E211-B425-BC305BEDE924&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=19156848742&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=19250232502&gclid=CLi03ZKzprkCFfFj7AodUkoAeQ http://www.ecrater.com/p/16112148/jamaican-blue-mountain-coffee-beans?gps=1&id=52211034499http://www.brookstone.com/marley-coffee-top-rankin-jamaica-blue-mountain-coffee?bkeid=compare%7cmercent%7cgooglebaseads%7csearch&mr:trackingCode=5661077C-D6D4-E111-AC8D-001B21A69EB0&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=20923704324&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=20101249044&gclid=CIHBpvizprkCFaXm7Aod_FMAiQhttp://www.soap.com/p/reggies-roast-jamaica-blue-mountain-coffee-ground-12-oz-213588?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_S&utm_term=ZQB-9860&utm_campaign=GoogleAW&CAWELAID=1323176666&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla

WOW many thanks for all the info and tips here...much appreciated. And I will check out the links here for the Blue Mountain coffee. I think I last had that in the UK on business way back when. Never knew that BM coffee was priced according to Japanese demand, not too dissimilar from a particular type of Sushi from I think a much sought after Tuna. I know what you mean also about Kona as I have bought some of that as well in the past. So is it correct then that Café Cubano is essentially espresso but blended with a particular sugar? Or am I oversimplifying?

[Tekka]

WOW many thanks for all the info and tips here...much appreciated. And I will check out the links here for the Blue Mountain coffee. I think I last had that in the UK on business way back when. Never knew that BM coffee was priced according to Japanese demand' date=' not too dissimilar from a particular type of Sushi from I think a much sought after Tuna. I know what you mean also about Kona as I have bought some of that as well in the past. So is it correct then that Café Cubano is essentially espresso but blended with a particular sugar? Or am I oversimplifying?[/quote']Yeah, it is basically just espresso with tons of sugar. I don't really think the kind of sugar matters all that much.There used to be cafes in my city which exclusively brewed Kona coffee. It was really good stuff. They all went bust sadly. :/The thing about the Japanese buying most of Jamaica's coffee is one of those weird facts which somehow got burned into my brain. I don't even remember how or where I learned about it... on that note. Most of the stuff we hear about the Japanese spending crazy money on fish is done for publicity purposes. When an owner of restaurants over there drops the equivalent of a few hundred thousand dollars on a fish the ENTIRE world hears about it. That is a lot more publicity than television ads could ever accomplish. lolHere is an episode of a TV show I've enjoyed for several years. I've learned all kinds of fascinating things because of the show.[h=2]BEGIN Japanology - Cafes[/h]https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=4010852803117https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=4010920524810

[Sonny-Burnett]

BEGIN Japanology - Cafes[/h]https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=4010852803117https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=4010920524810

I made a Kona blend today and it wasn't bad, but it was just a blend. Going to have to search for the real deal on that one as well.I hear you on the fish buying craze thing. But I did hear somewhere that Bluefin tuna commands outrageous sums of money, largely in Japan. (440 pound tuna sold for $220,000 !!)http://most-expensive.com/tuna-fishAt those prices I think I will stay with yellowfin or whatever the local market has for tuna steaks. Great on the grill btw. So Café Cubano is espresso with a lot of raw sugar. It does sound tasty and I will be looking for some decent brand of espresso as well as the sugar this weekend. Btw, do you have a particular Brand(s) of Espresso you go for?

[Sonny-Burnett]

http://shop.floridacrystals.com/Demerara-Cane-Sugar-44-oz

Cool and thanks for the tip on the Demerara sugar.

[Tekka]

http://most-expensive.com/tuna-fishAt those prices I think I will stay with yellowfin or whatever the local market has for tuna steaks. Great on the grill btw. So Café Cubano is espresso with a lot of raw sugar. It does sound tasty and I will be looking for some decent brand of espresso as well as the sugar this weekend. Btw, do you have a particular Brand(s) of Espresso you go for?

If you live in a city with a nice grocery store that roasts coffee throughout the week, like Whole Foods, or you have a local coffee roasting company. Get espresso beans from these places. Freshness of the roast is very very important.If you don't have any of those options available to you. Look for brands like Lavazza Tierra!, Lavazza Qualita Oro, Illy Espresso, Kimbo Top Flavour, and Biancaffe'.Oh and when using your espresso machine. Don't immediately unhinge the little arm that you extruded the espresso through right after brewing. There is a lot of heat and pressure and everything will explode around the room. When my friend got an espresso machine a year ago we had that happen on us. It was a huge slightly painful mess.

[Sonny-Burnett]

If you live in a city with a nice grocery store that roasts coffee throughout the week' date=' like Whole Foods, or you have a local coffee roasting company. Get espresso beans from these places. Freshness of the roast is very very important.If you don't have any of those options available to you. Look for brands like Lavazza Tierra!, Lavazza Qualita Oro, Illy Espresso, Kimbo Top Flavour, and Biancaffe'.Oh and when using your espresso machine. Don't immediately unhinge the little arm that you extruded the espresso through right after brewing. There is a lot of heat and pressure and everything will explode around the room. When my friend got an espresso machine a year ago we had that happen on us. It was a huge slightly painful mess.[/quote']Still looking for some quality beans over here and thanks again for the Brand recommendations. I used to have a combo coffee and espresso machine that I used a lot in the early 90s and so after some searching I found my old bean grinder. So at least I can hunt for whole bean Espresso so I can grind the beans before each brewing cycle. Too funny on that explosion thing...I think I did that also way back when I first got the combo machine.

[pahonu]

The only other thing I would add is, because it has so much sugar, be sure it dissolves well before drinking it. I have the sugar already in the carafe when I make it in the moka pot so the boiling coffee starts dissolving it immediately. Then when it's done I stir it for quite a few seconds to finish the process.

[Sonny-Burnett]

The only other thing I would add is' date=' because it has so much sugar, be sure it dissolves well before drinking it. I have the sugar already in the carafe when I make it in the moka pot so the boiling coffee starts dissolving it immediately. Then when it's done I stir it for quite a few seconds to finish the process.[/quote']Good point on the sugar as I would expect raw sugar to dissolve perhaps more slowly than processed sugar. BTW, how much sugar are you adding to a typical small cup of Café Cubano?