Apr 19 2009
Cuban Espresso Coffee Recipes

Downtown Havana
Imagine the old days in Havana. Old men dressed in white linens playing dominos and sipping some of the finest espresso in the world, while cigar smoke and guitar music linger in the air. When one round of espresso is finished, women in beautifully woven dresses gladly deliver more. Relive these Cuban glory days in your own home with your do-it-yourself Cuban espresso coffee recipes. Cuban cigars may be illegal, but great coffee made from these Cuban recipes definitely isn’t. It isn’t even difficult to make.
These can be made with your favorite South American coffee blend, or any type of coffee you prefer.
The first of the Cuban espresso coffee recipes involves making the beverage on your stovetop.
Stovetop Cuban Coffee
- Start with one ounce of good water per serving and heat it over a low flame in a small pot.
- Once the water boils, add one rounded tablespoonful of coffee per ounce of water.
- Stir briefly. It’s finished when it boils again.
- The tricky part comes now at the end. Filter the expresso by using a Cuban flannel strainer, which you can usually find at Cuban or exotic markets. Your typical paper coffee will clog up instead of straining properly.
Stovetop Cuban Espresso
The other type of Cuban espresso coffee recipes utilizes the aluminum stove-top espresso makers. These sort of look like steel tea kettles and are typically available at Latin, European, or specialty markets and coffee shops.
To make the espresso in one of these pressurized makers:
- Add water to it up to the brass safety valve in the bottom chamber.
- Place the filter basket, or funnel piece, in the bottom chamber.
- Add enough of your favorite Cuban (or other) ground coffee to make it level to the brim, if not rounded in the center.
- Seal the upper chamber with the lower chamber.
- Then heat over low to medium heat.
It’s done when you the coffee starts to make bubbling sounds in the top chamber. Take the coffee maker off the stove.
Whatever Cuban espresso coffee recipes you use, try adding a big teaspoon of sugar to your serving. Or boil milk for a moment and add it for café con leche. However you have your Cuban espresso, it’s as close to Cuba as you can get without breaking the embargo!
If you have your own Cuban coffee recipe, share it with us here!
Related posts:
- The Kontessa Espresso Pot
- The Convenience of One-Cup Coffee Makers
- Coffee + Soymilk = YUM!
- Espresso Coffee
- Coffee Espresso Machines