Cafe Cubano

Café Cubano…one of my favorite gifts of the universe.

   I am a bit of a foodie. I notice when there is a drizzle of organic honey on my side of fruit, or fresh basil in my greens (Café Passe). I notice if you make your own bechamel and offer it on the side of my crepes (Café Marcel). I notice if you use a house infused liquor in my spicy margarita (La Cocina). When I am really intrigued by something then I have to perfect it on my own. This is the case with my version of Café Cubanos. Now, there are plenty of places in town to get a great Café Cubano; Café Passe, Caffe Luce, Raging Sage, Revolutionary Grounds and I am sure there are many others. Go out and explore on your own…I would recommend sticking to places that actually have it on their menu. I haven’t had much success when I have had to explain what a Café Cubano is to the barista, but if you’re brave go for it.

   The Café Cubano did in fact originate in Cuba. Shortly after Italian espresso pots arrived in Cuba, Cubans began tweeking their version of espresso. Today the term Café Cubano can mean a variety of drink types even in Cuba. The standard interpretation is espresso shots that have a small amount of sugar mixed into the espresso grounds before pulling the espresso shots. The sugar can be raw or demerara. Most likely, the original drink was made with small hunks of the woody ends of raw sugar cane and utilized the high pressure steam of the Italian espresso pots to extract the otherwise wasted sweetness. Ingenious and tasty!!

    Those of you who could not care less about food science can skip this paragraph and head down to the next paragraph about personalizing the finished product with local touches. I, however, am fascinated by food science. It’s all about the pot with Café Cubanos. You can use a big fancy espresso machine if such a device is readily available, I prefer my stovetop Moka Pot.  Any macchinetta will work. The key factor is that the high pressure steam will hydrolyze some of the sucrose, literally infusing your espresso with the fragrance and flavor of the sugar. The aroma of sweetness satisfies very deeply, you use very little sugar only a small sprinkling, but you get maximum performance from it.

   Here is my procedure for, in my opinion, the perfect Café Cubano. Start with freshly ground organic espresso roast beans. I like Raging Sage, Coffee Cartel or Caffe Luce for local sources, but there are also great organic roasters at the farmer’s markets. Fill the grounds basket of your stovetop espresso maker halfway with ground espresso. Sprinkle a little raw sugar and a dash of cinnamon onto those grounds. Then fill the basket the rest of the way with more espresso grounds. Reassemble your stovetop espresso maker, put it on the stove and turn on the fire. When all of the espresso is in the carafe, turn off the heat and pour your Café Cubano into a cup. Top it off with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa. I use Desert Tortoise Botanicals Southwestern Cocoa, it has roasted acorn and a hint of mild chile. When I told you in an earlier blog entry that “Some days a giant plate of super spicy Huevos Rancheros with a Café Cubano is all you need to know about the gifts of the universe.” This is the Café Cubano I was referring to…I highly recommend you try it!!
http://www.cafepasse.com/
http://lacocinatucson.com/
http://www.ragingsage.com/