Cuban Coffee (Cafecito): How to Make the Sweet Espuma

Cuban coffee, or café cubano, is a short, dark espresso sweetened in a very particular way. Instead of stirring sugar into the cup, you whip the first few drops of fresh coffee with sugar until they turn into a thick, pale caramel foam called espumita or espuma. Then you pour in the rest of the coffee. The result is intense, syrupy and sweet, with a light-brown layer of foam on top.

You do not need an espresso machine. Most Cuban homes make cafecito in a stovetop moka pot, and that is the method below. You will also find the classic variations you will see on menus in Miami: colada, cortadito and café con leche.

What is Cuban coffee?

Cuban coffee is less about a specific bean and more about a style: a dark-roasted, finely ground coffee brewed strong and sweetened during preparation. Traditionally it uses brown or raw sugar. Because the sugar is whipped into hot coffee, more of it dissolves, giving a sweeter, slightly thicker drink than you would get by adding sugar at the end.

Coffee arrived in Cuba in 1748, when José Antonio Gelabert is credited with bringing the first plants to the island. Production grew after French planters fleeing the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s settled in eastern Cuba, and the remains of their plantations in the Sierra Maestra area are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today Cuban-style coffee is just as closely associated with Miami and Tampa, where Cuban communities have made it part of daily life.

Cafecito recipe (moka pot)

Makes 3 to 4 small cafecitos (demitasse cups) with a 3-cup moka pot.

Steps

1. Prepare the moka pot. Fill the bottom chamber with water up to the valve. Fill the basket with coffee, level it without pressing hard, and screw the pot together.
2. Get the sugar ready. Put the sugar in a small metal pitcher or a sturdy cup with a spout.
3. Brew on medium heat. Put the pot on the stove and watch closely. Keep the lid open if your pot allows it.
4. Catch the first drops. As soon as the first dark coffee appears, pour about 1 to 2 teaspoons of it onto the sugar. Put the pot back on the heat.
5. Whip the espumita. Beat the sugar and coffee vigorously with a spoon for about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping and folding, until it turns into a pale tan, thick, creamy paste. Add a few more drops of coffee if it is too dry to whip.
6. Finish brewing. When the moka pot starts to gurgle, take it off the heat.
7. Combine. Pour the rest of the coffee slowly into the sugar paste and stir gently. The espumita will rise to the surface as a light-brown foam.
8. Serve right away in small cups, with the foam on top.

Tips for a better espumita

• Use only the first drops. The first coffee out of the pot is the most concentrated. Too much liquid and the sugar will dissolve instead of foaming.
• Whip with energy. The paste should go from dark and grainy to light and creamy. Your wrist will feel it.
• Use fresh, finely ground coffee. Fresh coffee gives a stronger base and better texture.
• Don’t tamp the moka basket. Pressing the coffee too hard can over-extract or slow the brew.
• Keep the heat moderate. Too much heat makes the coffee burnt and bitter.

Colada, cortadito and café con leche

The colada is the social one. In Miami, a colada typically comes in a small foam cup with a stack of tiny plastic cups, so one person can buy coffee for the whole office or the group at the counter. Café con leche is the traditional breakfast drink, often served with tostada, buttered and toasted Cuban bread, for dunking.

Lighter and dairy-free options

• Less sugar: You can make espumita with 1 tablespoon (about 12 g) of sugar for a 3-cup pot. The foam will be thinner but still noticeable.
• Dairy-free cortadito or café con leche: Use steamed oat or soy milk, which foam well and pair nicely with dark roasts.
• Decaf evening cafecito: The technique works the same with a decaf espresso roast.

Miami’s ventanitas

In Miami, Cuban coffee is often bought not inside a cafe but through a ventanita, a small walk-up window at a Cuban bakery, cafeteria or restaurant. People stand on the sidewalk with a cafecito or colada, a pastelito or a croqueta, and talk: about family, business, sports and, famously, politics. The ventanita at Versailles restaurant in Little Havana is one of the best known, and has hosted visits from several US presidents and countless local debates.

Journalists and scholars describe these windows as cultural anchors for the city’s Cuban community, and a recent book, Ventanitas: A Window Into Miami’s Coffee Culture, was published to document 50 of them. The coffee is quick, but the conversation is the point.

Which coffee to use

Cuban-style coffee calls for a dark roast with low acidity and a bittersweet backbone that stands up to sugar. Our French Roast is a dark roast of specialty grade Central American coffees with bold, smoky-sweet notes, bittersweet chocolate and low acidity, a natural fit for cafecito. For an even more intense cup with a thick crema, try Italian Roast, our darkest roast, a blend of Arabica and Robusta. Order either in Espresso grind for a moka pot. Both are roasted 1–5 days before delivery; for more dark options, browse our Blend collection.

Cuban coffee FAQ

What makes Cuban coffee different from regular espresso?

The sugar. Cuban coffee is sweetened during brewing by whipping the first drops of coffee with sugar into a foam called espumita, which gives it a sweet, syrupy texture and a light foam on top.

Is Cuban coffee stronger than regular coffee?

It is brewed as a concentrated, espresso-style shot from a dark roast, so it tastes much stronger than drip coffee. A small cafecito is still a small serving, though.

What is a colada?

A colada is several shots of sweet Cuban coffee served in one cup with small cups for sharing. It is a common workplace and social coffee in Miami.

Can I make Cuban coffee without a moka pot?

Yes. An espresso machine works well: whip the first few drops of the shot with sugar, then add the rest of the shot.

What is the difference between a cortadito and a cortado?

Both combine espresso and steamed milk, but a cortadito is made with pre-sweetened Cuban coffee, while a cortado is usually served unsweetened.

Sources

1. Cuban espresso, Wikipedia.
2. Coffee production in Cuba, Wikipedia.
3. Ventanitas are key to Miami’s culture and politics, Axios, 2024.
4. Miami’s coffee culture is explored in the book Ventanitas, Miami New Times.

Facts checked in October 2026.

Keep reading: How to make espresso at home · The history of coffee · Shop our blends