Cafecito, Colada, Cortadito: Cuban Coffee Explained
Mario CruzOrder coffee at a Miami ventanita and you will hear four or five words for what looks like the same small cup. They are not the same. The difference is milk, size, and who you are drinking it with.
The Quick Version
| Name | What it is | Milk | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cafecito (café cubano) | Sweetened Cuban espresso | None | One tiny cup |
| Colada | Several shots, for sharing | None | Large cup + small cups |
| Cortadito | Cafecito cut with milk | About half | Small cup |
| Café con leche | Espresso in hot milk | Mostly milk | Mug, breakfast |
The Sugar Is the Whole Trick
What separates Cuban coffee from any other espresso is when the sugar goes in. It is not stirred in at the end. Sugar goes into the cup first, the very first dark drops from the pot are beaten into it, and the two are whipped until the mixture turns pale, thick, and closer to frosting than syrup.
That is espuma, or espumita. The rest of the espresso is poured through it and the foam rises to the top. Skip that step and you have sweetened espresso, which is not the same drink.
Cafecito
The base unit. One small, strong, sweet shot, drunk fast and usually standing up. Ordering "un cafecito" gets you one of these.
Colada
A colada is four to six shots in a styrofoam cup, handed to you with a sleeve of thumb-sized plastic cups. It is a serving for a group, and that is the point: somebody brings a colada back to the office and pours rounds for everyone.
Drinking an entire colada by yourself is the kind of thing Cubans will tease you about, gently, for years.
Cortadito
Cafecito cut with steamed milk, roughly half and half, in a small cup. Cortado means cut. It is the middle setting between the straight shot and a milky breakfast coffee, and it is what a lot of people order in the afternoon.
Café con Leche
A breakfast drink: a shot or two of espresso in a much larger cup of hot milk. It arrives with buttered Cuban toast, and the toast is meant to be dunked. Nobody is subtle about this.
La Ventanita
The walk-up window on the side of a Cuban bakery or market. You do not sit down. You order, you stand at the counter, and you end up in a conversation with whoever else is standing there. In Miami the ventanita does more social work than most cafes with actual seating.
How to Make Cafecito at Home
- Fill a moka pot with finely ground dark espresso roast and water to the valve.
- Put 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar in a small heatproof cup or pitcher.
- Catch the first drops. As soon as the first dark coffee comes through, pour about a teaspoon of it over the sugar.
- Beat it hard with a spoon until it turns pale tan and thick. This takes a minute of real effort.
- Pour the rest of the coffee into the cup through the espuma, stir once, and serve in small cups.
Where It Fits in a Cuban Meal
At the end of it. A Cuban lunch of bistec de palomilla with rice and beans finishes with a cafecito, not dessert. It is also what gets passed around after a Noche Buena pig roast, somewhere around midnight, when everyone claims they are too full to eat again and then does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cafecito?
A cafecito is a single shot of Cuban espresso sweetened with sugar whipped into it, served in a tiny cup. The sugar is not stirred in afterward: it is beaten with the first drops of espresso to make a pale foam called espuma, then the rest of the coffee is poured through it.
What is a colada?
A colada is a large serving of Cuban espresso, usually four to six shots, poured into a styrofoam cup and handed over with a stack of small plastic cups. It is not meant for one person. You bring it back to the office or the job site and pour rounds for everybody.
What is a cortadito?
A cortadito is Cuban espresso cut with steamed milk, roughly half and half, served in a small cup. Cortado means cut. It sits between a straight cafecito and a milky cafe con leche.
What is the difference between a cortadito and cafe con leche?
The ratio and the cup. A cortadito is about half espresso and half milk in a small cup. Cafe con leche is a shot or two of espresso in a much larger cup of hot milk, closer to a latte, and it is a breakfast drink usually served with buttered Cuban toast for dunking.
What makes Cuban coffee different from regular espresso?
The sugar. Cuban espresso is sweetened during the pull, not after. Demerara or raw sugar is whipped with the first few drops of espresso until it turns into a thick pale cream, and the rest of the shot is poured over that. It gives the coffee a foamy top and a caramel sweetness that stirring sugar in later cannot reproduce.
What is espuma or espumita?
Espuma, sometimes called espumita, is the sugar foam on top of a Cuban coffee. It is made by beating sugar with the first dark drops from the espresso maker until the mixture lightens and thickens. It is the step that makes the drink Cuban.
What is a ventanita?
A ventanita is the walk-up window on the outside of a Cuban cafe or market where coffee and pastries are sold. In Miami it is a social institution as much as a counter: people stop, order a colada, and stand around talking.
How much coffee is in a colada?
Usually four to six shots of espresso, depending on the shop. That is why it comes with the little cups. A colada is a serving for a group, and drinking one alone is a widely acknowledged mistake.
What coffee do Cubans use?
A dark, finely ground espresso roast. In Miami the common supermarket brands are Cafe Bustelo, Pilon, and La Llave. The brewing is usually done in a stovetop moka pot at home or a commercial espresso machine at a ventanita.