All rituals
Cafecito poured to shareMangocity / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Cuban cafecito
Moka-pot coffee whipped with sugar into a sweet, pale foam called espumita.
Where it comes from
Coffee reached Cuba in the 1700s. Cafecito is a daily social ritual in Cuba and in Cuban-American Miami and Tampa.
A colada is a larger cup of it with tiny cups for sharing; a cortadito adds steamed milk.
How to make it at home
- Start the moka pot and put the sugar in a small pitcher.
- Pour the first few teaspoons of coffee onto the sugar.
- Beat hard with a spoon until it becomes a thick, pale foam.
- When brewing finishes, slowly stir in the rest so the foam rises to the top.
- Serve in small cups.
Traditionally a dark roast.
More ways to brew
Turkish coffeeTürkiye: Coffee and water boiled together in a tiny pot, served with its foam and grounds settled in the cup.Vietnamese phinVietnam: A slow, strong drip over sweetened condensed milk and ice: cà phê sữa đá.Café de ollaMexico: Coffee steeped with cinnamon and piloncillo in a clay pot.Ethiopian coffee ceremonyEthiopia: Green beans roasted, ground and boiled in a clay jebena, shared over three rounds.