CUBANO SHOT!


wonderful press! it's one of my favorite shots ... but not raw sugar....brown sugar is best because .... it's usually used for cooking for been a heat sensible sugar it get in that wonderful smooth and thick texture... and yeah do never put on top of your coffee cause i may block the water from getting into the coffee and will screw your machine up... that's why it's best to but it on a middle layer 1/3coffee 1/3 sugar 1/3 coffee for example!

goes perfectly on a bicerins (layered mocha)!

I first heard about this over on CG, and I tried it one day just to see how it would taste. I didn't have raw sugar so I used a 1:1 mix of white table sugar and brown sugar, one teaspoon packed into the puck. Dosed half the basket, tamped, added sugar mixture with good distribution, tamped, then added the rest of the coffee and did the final tamp and polish. I didn't get any noticeable channeling this way, and the shot was like a coffee flavored syrup. I was using Black Cat at the time, and it was pretty good. A bit sweeter than I'm used to but overall not bad. My machine doesn't have a 3 way solenoid so I didn't notice any issues with the sugar at all.

SWEET! (pun intended). i guess there's a safe way to experiment... i hope.

Being a cuban living in Miami, the home of the "cafecito", let me tell you that that is the wrong way of making the shot. The correct way is to use normal white sugar and put in into a small metal container. Much like a milk frothing container, but a lot smaller. I guess about a 4 oz container. As soon the espresso is made directly into this metal container, you start mixing with a metal spoon vigorously. This will make the perfect cafecito. Also the brand of coffee is very important. My favorite is Pilon, but Bustelo is also good. They sell both online very cheap at www.javacabana.com. All the hundreds of cuban cafeterias, restaurants, and bakeries I've been to have made it this way.

miamichillin99 wrote:Being a cuban living in Miami, the home of the "cafecito", let me tell you that that is the wrong way of making the shot. The correct way is to use normal white sugar and put in into a small metal container. Much like a milk frothing container, but a lot smaller. I guess about a 4 oz container. As soon the espresso is made directly into this metal container, you start mixing with a metal spoon vigorously. This will make the perfect cafecito. Also the brand of coffee is very important. My favorite is Pilon, but Bustelo is also good. They sell both online very cheap at http://www.javacabana.com. All the hundreds of cuban cafeterias, restaurants, and bakeries I've been to have made it this way.

I agree 1000%
If one were to make it with their regular espresso blend it tastes like, well, a shot with sugar. To me the biggest key is the coffee blend, Pilon is great for this (but don't try a normale with it).

I was making some macadamias nut cookies today and had the brown sugar out and the Elektra hot. So I thought to myself, 'Self, why not put a half teaspoon of fluffed brown sugar into a demi and pull a shot into it', so I did, and it was good.

I am using a home roast blend of Yemen, Java, a screen dried yellow brazil and some Brazil Poco Fundo (this years crop is very good). It pulls all crema, and stays that way for a good bit so I had a sweet, fruity, syrupy cup of crema. Yum.

old442 wrote:I agree 1000%
If one were to make it with their regular espresso blend it tastes like, well, a shot with sugar. To me the biggest key is the coffee blend, Pilon is great for this (but don't try a normale with it).

I have to ask... Pilon is preground, isn't it? Is there a way to get whole bean Pilon?

Are you actually saying that a shot of preground, super-dark roasted coffee, pulled long, makes the best Cafe Cubano?

I mean I'd guess that you get a crema-less, thin, black brew that is extra bitter. And yes, witha "roasty" quality due to the dark roast. Seems like if you didn't add sugar to that, it would be downright nasty.

Also, has anybody in the DC area tried Cafe Cubano with Mayorga's fresh Cuban roast or their Oscuro blend? Just hazarding a guess that it would knock a Pilon shot outta the park.

That was a little confusing. Sorry, I mix my metaphors after 11 pm.

~bean

The_Mighty_Bean wrote:I have to ask... Pilon is preground, isn't it? Is there a way to get whole bean Pilon?

Hola,
Yes, you can buy Pilon in whole bean if that's what you really want.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuban-Espresso-Ca ... 822&sr=1-1


But I would recommend you try Black cat from intelligentsia coffee. You can get it shipped to you in whole bean, roasted fresh to your door. I believe you will taste a big difference.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/store



Enjoy,
Michael

Going back to the original question - maybe this is a stupid question - but since you are dissolving the sugar rather than extracting it, like the coffee from the coffee bean, does it really matter whether its in the pf or cup? I would think the only difference might be the final dose of sugar in the cup. From that standpoint, I would keep it out of the pf to avoid gumming up the group head and causing channeling in the shot.

I would avoid adding sugar to a portafilter. The sugar irregular distributed should cause some interesting flow dyanmics. If your machine has a relief valve system, the sugar can't be good for it.

An "authentic" Caffe Cubano recipe given to me: Moka Pot placed over medium-high heat, remove from heat when the first drips of coffee appear in the pipe of the upper chamber, pour this initial coffee over sugar in a steaming pitcher, return MokaPot to medium heat, stir coffee & sugar mix creating a paste, slowly pour the now brewed Moka Pot coffee into pitcher containing coffee-sugar paste while whisking vigorously to create a frothy top. Pour into thimble size cups. Drink.

Sort of makes sense. Doubt if many Cubans in Cuba have home espresso machines. I break out the Bialetti Moka pot for this method. But IMO a ristretto pulled in place of the Moka Pot brew is quicker and taste more better if you are into a sugar blasted drink. The Bialetti pot is more for show & tradition.