I drank a fair amount of Cuban coffee when I was down around Miami last week.

I'm really not much of a coffee drinker, but I'd like to try this at home.

Can anyone recommend a decent Cuban Style coffee that is reasonably priced?

I thought all imports from Cuba were banned, including coffee. Are you sure you didn't get a fake?

Ya, you gotta watch out for the fakes. They come disguised like the real thing. I bought some Maxwell house last week and I think I got a fake, because it wasn't "good to the last drop."

Hey Andy,

I drank some Cuban coffee in Canada some years back & it was tasty. If I remember isn't it a dark roast & if so if you can't find a source for Cuban coffee, which I bet you can, then just by a good dark roast & that ought to do it for ya.

Cafe Bustello and Cafe Pilon are found in Publix in the Atlanta Area ... Which, are just about the most popular coffee in Miami. I know that Bustello was the only coffee that was used at the coffee shop in the airport that I used to go when I worked there. Both are very good. But, you gotta use lots of sugar!

There are several great Cuban coffees, and like all other Cuban products, are illegal in the US. Miami, and it's proximity to Cuba ... make it easy for the 'real deal' to be sold in their coffee houses, because it's not easy to prove ...

Also ... What tequila is to liquor, cafecito or café cubano is to the world of coffee. It is not sipped or savored … it is shot! Café cubano is at-least double the strength of American coffee. It is a daily morning ritual for Cubans and Cuban-Americans.

At any time of day or night at the countless little Cuban restaurants that dot Miami, people line up for "jolts" of café cubano served in thimble-sized paper cups.

Cuban coffee is served at the end of a meal in tacitas that are smaller than demitasse cups. The old-fashioned way to make café cubano is in a pot on the stove, though the truth is that Cubans in this country make their coffee in Italian espresso makers.

You can best approximate the taste of cuban coffee by using finely ground, almost powdered, Jamaican beans. Cubans enjoy their coffee with generous amounts of sugar, but if you wish to omit the sugar, that's fine.

Some of the best 'green' Cuban coffee bean (I roast them myself) that I have received from a friend in Canada ... is Turquino and Crystal Mountain, though there is another one that is said to be even better that I haven't tried ... is Cubita. There is also Serrano Selecto ...

All I know is that if I had my choice of any one drink to drink and nothing else, it would be cafe con leche as served in the Cuban joints in Miami!

The best!

Charlie

Which brings up an interesting point.

It's not exactly that the coffee beeans came from Cuba ...

... but how tht coffee is made.

Café Cubano or Café con Leche (Café cubano's quieter cousin) ...

Cafe Cubano (Cuban Coffee)

1. Using an espresso machine, add the desired amount of finely ground coffee. Any of the very dark roast Colombian brands work best for Cuban coffee. Grind it there at the store so that it is fine, fresh and ready to be made like an espresso. Always keep your coffee is an airtight ziplock bag.

2. For every demitasse cup of coffee you plan on making, use a teaspoon of sugar. The key to Cuban coffee is that it be very sweet. The trick here is to put the sugar into the glass carafe before you even brew the coffee.

3. Brew the coffee just as you would an espresso. The coffee will pour over the sugar in the carafe as it begins to brew. After it is finished filling the carafe, stir it briskly as there will still be a little undissolved sugar. Pour the coffee into several demitasse cups and enjoy.

* For Cafe con Leche, simply use 2 parts Cuban Coffee to 1 part steamed milk.

While at LCdH TJ I'll have an occasional Cubita Cappucino. It pairs well with Habanos. X

Sorry to mislead you all......I was referring to Cuban Coffee as one would refer to Cuban bread............the preparation style, not the origin.

I picked up some Bustelo today, but my espresso maker crapped the bed. I'll have to pick up another.

Slim,

Please shoot me an e-mail. I need some info on roasting Turquino.

My handle @ hotmail

Thanks!

Mike

Picked up another cheap espresso machine and I am now enjoying Cafe Cubano. I remember ordering it as Cafe Colada, which didn't make sense, so I looked it up.

FYI;

Cafecito or Café Cubano : Cuban-style espresso. Served in a small espresso cup, it is very strong and very sweet. Whether to sip it or down it like a shot is up to personal taste, so whichever way you prefer is accepted.

espumita : The first few drips of cafecito are dripped into a pot with a few teaspoons of sugar. The person making the cafecito will whip this mixture into a sweet foam for the top of the drink. This foam is called espumita.

colada : Being a social drink, cafecito can be ordered ready to share with friends. Order a colada and your drink will come in a large cup with a lid along with plastic espresso cups. After lunch, you will see stores and businesses all over Miami with shots of cafecito being passed around. Take a colada back to your office, and you will be surprised at the number of friends you have!

cortadito : Cafecito with mild added. Each place you go uses a different ratio, so there really is no standard. Some places use only a few tablespoons of milk while others use half milk and half cafecito. Either way, it’s a great way to try Café Cubano for the first time to get the taste of it.

Café con Leche (coffee with milk) : Similar to a latte. You are served a cup of hot milk and a shot of Café Cubano in a separate cup. Just dump the coffee into the milk when you are ready for it. You usually won’t need sugar, since to cafecito is sweetened already.

Any way you drink it, Café Cubano is about twice a strong as American coffee, so be careful drinking it as an after-dinner drink. Once you get hooked on the taste of it, you’ll wonder where to coffee is in your old drinks!