In this post, you'll learn everything you need to know to make Cuban coffee three classic ways: the iconic cafecito (a.k.a. Cuban espresso with that signature sugar-foam magic), the cortadito (a slightly creamier, mini latte moment), and the beloved café con leche (the one you want in a big mug with a tostada or some Cuban Crackers (Galletas Cubanas)).
In many Cuban households, the Moka pot lives on the stovetop-always on standby for the next round of cafecitos, cortaditos, or café con leche.
That's because for Cubans, coffee isn't just a drink -it's a daily ritual, a warm welcome, and a shared tradition. It's a warm, shared pause in the day that is big on connection. The flavor is sweet, bold, and unapologetically strong. One sip and you're ready to conquer the world… or at least deep-clean the kitchen.
Serve it with Pastelitos de Guayaba (Guava Pastries) or some Homemade Cuban Bread, and you'll be looking forward to your afternoon snack.
This is a comprehensive post on how to make the three styles of Cuban coffee you'll find in every restaurant in Miami or a vegan Cuban kitchen like mine. Trust - you'd never know it's dairy-free.
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Three Ways To Make Cuban Coffee
These aren't just fun to know for showing off your Cuban coffee lingo when making these homemade coffees-they're essential if you want to order like a pro at any Cuban restaurant or from a ventanita (those walk-up windows at some Cuban restaurants in Miami).
Cuban Coffee (aka Café Cubano or Cafecito Cubano)
The classic! This is a strong, sweet Cuban espresso with espumita (the whipped sugar foam on top). Cafecito means "little coffee" in Spanish-served in a tiny cup called 'tacita', but don't let the size fool you-this packs a punch.
When you make it with that signature foam and share it (think: tall styrofoam cup + mini cups to share), it's known as a colada. Perfect for gatherings, the office, and popular to share even with strangers at nail salons, barbershops, mechanic shops-basically anywhere in Miami where people gather, chat, and need a caffeine jolt. It's awesome and one of my favorite Cuban traditions.
Cortadito
A cortadito is a Cuban coffee "cut" with a splash of milk-typically scalded. It's creamier than a straight shot but still bold and sweet, like a mini Cuban latte. It's often made with a 2:1 ratio of coffee to milk, though that can be adjusted to taste.
Café con Leche
Café con leche is typically half strong Cuban coffee and half hot milk, but you can adjust the ratio to your taste. In my house, we use oat milk or a mix of oat milk with vegan evaporated milk (or even a blend of oat milk and condensed oat milk) for extra richness.
What is a Moka Pot?
Each of these classic Cuban coffee drinks starts with strong, dark coffee brewed the traditional way-in a moka pot. It's the bold base that makes them all shine.
Short answer: A Moka pot is a stovetop coffee maker that brews strong, espresso-style coffee by forcing steam upward through finely ground coffee. And it is very traditional in Cuban coffee making.
The details: The moka pot is a staple in Cuban households. There is no fancy machine required to make coffee. It's budget-friendly, simple to use, and made up of just three easy-to-clean parts.
It works the reverse of a traditional drip coffee maker, which lets water flow down through the grounds. In a Moka pot, pressure from boiling water pushes the brew up into the top chamber-no plugs, no pods, just pretty cool engineering.
With its iconic octagonal shape and signature gurgling when it's done, the Moka pot is basically the soundtrack of a Cuban morning, and the key to a perfect Cuban coffee.
How much coffee does a Moka pot make?
Moka pots come in different sizes. They're measured in espresso cups. A "3-cup" Moka pot doesn't make three mugs of coffee-it makes three small espresso-sized servings (about 4.5-5 ounces total, though the exact amount can vary depending on grind size, how firmly the grounds are packed, and brewing time).
Here's a quick cheat sheet:
- 1-cup = ~1.5 oz (a solo shot)
- 3-cup = ~5 oz (smaller one in the picture above)
- 6-cup = ~10 oz (standard size in most homes)
- 9-cup = ~18 oz
- 12-cup = ~25 oz
So if you're making cafecitos or cortaditos, even the smaller pots will do. But for café con leche or if you're serving a crowd (aka everyone who smells the coffee), you'll want a 6- or 9-cup.
What You'll Need
What kind of coffee should I use in a Moka pot to make Cuban coffee?
For authentic Cuban-style coffee, you'll want a dark roast, finely ground coffee - think strong and bold.
Most Cuban households (mine included) swear by brands like Café Bustelo, Pilon, or La Llave. These are all pre-ground specifically for stovetop brewing and give that signature punchy flavor.
What Else Do I Need To Make Cuban Coffee?
Besides your trusty Moka pot and dark roast coffee, you only need a few simple tools and ingredients to bring your Cuban coffee to life:
- Granulated sugar: A must if you're making espumita (es-pu-mee-tah). Espumita is that sweet, frothy sugar foam that defines a true Cuban coffee. Regular white sugar works best here. Use organic to ensure it is vegan.
- A small metal cup or bowl: (Optional) This is where you'll whip the first few drops of brewed coffee with sugar to make the espumita. A metal bell creamer cup or even a stainless steel measuring cup works great. Why metal? Not only is it traditional, it also holds heat better than glass or ceramic, which helps the sugar dissolve quickly and whip into a thick mixture. You're going to put some muscle into it when stirring, so it is sturdy enough to handle the fast stirring-no risk of cracking or cooling too fast.
- Milk: If you're making a cortadito or café con leche, oat milk and soy milk are great options for a vegan version. You can also use evaporated milk (there are vegan versions) or a mix of both evaporated and milk for extra richness. I sometimes use condensed vegan oat milk for extra richness. You can find condensed vegan oat milk at Whole Foods or Sprouts, too.
- Optional - Disposable small cups (tacitas) for serving cafesito, demitasse for serving the cortadito, and a big mug for the cafe con leche.
See the printable recipe card for quantities and a full list of ingredients.
How To Make Cuban Coffee 3 Ways
Prepare a Moka Pot
This Cuban espresso is the base for all three Cuban coffees. Here are the easy steps to make the espresso:
Step 1: Fill the bottom chamber with hot water up to the safety valve-don't go past it.
Step 2: Add finely ground coffee (like Bustelo or Pilon) to the filter basket. Fill it to the top, and pack it down a little.
Step 3: Assemble the Moka pot by screwing the top and bottom together snugly.
Step 4: Place on the stove over medium heat. Leave the lid open if you want to catch the first few drops for espumita. Listen or look for the sputtering or gurgling! That means it's done. Remove from the heat right away to avoid burning the coffee.
For the Cuban Cafesito (Cuban Espresso with Espumita):
Step 1: Add sugar to a small metal cup, then pour in the first few drops of coffee from the Moka pot.
Step 2: Whip it up aggressively until it turns thick and caramel-like-that's your espumita.
Step 3: Pour the rest of the brewed coffee over the espumita and stir gently.
Step 4: The Cuban coffee (cafecito) is poured into small plastic espresso cups, ready to serve.
For the Cortadito (Cuban Espresso Cut with Milk)
Step 1: Prepare a cafecito as above, complete with espumita. In a small saucepan, heat your oat milk (or a mix of evaporated oat milk and regular oat milk) over medium heat until hot but not boiling. I sometimes add a couple of tablespoons of condensed oat milk to the oat milk for a sweeter and richer experience.
Step 2: Add a splash of the hot, scalded milk-usually a 2:1 ratio of coffee to milk (or to taste) in a demitasse or small cup.
Cafe Con Leche (Coffee with Milk)
Step 1: Brew a cafecito in the Moka pot.
Step 2: Heat milk (or evaporated milk or a combo of regular and evaporated) until hot but not boiling. Combine half milk and half coffee in a mug (or customize to taste), and for a real Cuban touch, add a pinch of salt. Enjoy with toast for breakfast.
Top Tips When Making Cuban Coffee
- Whipping the sugar into foam is fast and a little vigorous. Put some elbow grease into it when whipping it up to get the right consistency, or it won't make the foam correctly.
- Avoid using a super fine espresso grind (it can clog the filter) or anything too coarse, like a drip grind. You want that sweet spot: fine, but not powdery. If you're grinding your own beans, aim for something just a bit coarser than espresso.
- Using hot water in the base of your Moka pot helps it brew faster. The smaller the moka machine, the quicker it will brew.
- You want scalded milk, which means the milk is heated until just before boiling - it' hot, but without foam.
What to Serve with Cuban Coffee
- Tostada (Cuban Toast): This is a butter sandwich of sorts. It's sliced Cuban bread, slathered in butter (vegan butter for me) on the inside and outside, and pressed until golden. Dunk it straight into your café con leche and you're living your most traditional Cuban breakfast life.
- Have cookies or Cuban crackers with your coffee. You can also try Pastelitos de Guayaba (Guava Pastries), Vegan Flan, or Vegan Rice Pudding.
Recipe FAQS
You can use a Moka pot on gas and electric stovetops, no problem. Just make sure the flame (if gas) doesn't lick up the sides of the pot.
For induction stoves, though, it depends. Most traditional moka pots are made of aluminum, which induction cooktops won't recognize.
If you've got an induction burner, look for a stainless steel moka pot or use an induction adapter plate under your pot.
You should rinse your Moka pot with warm water after every use to remove leftover coffee grounds and oils. No soap needed-especially on aluminum pots-as it can mess with the flavor over time. Think of it like seasoning a cast-iron skillet.
Drop a comment and tell me how your Cuban coffee turned out! Did you love it? And if my directions helped (or didn't), please let me know so I can continue to improve these recipes for you.
Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for inspiration.
Cuban Coffee (3 Ways)
Equipment
- Moka Pot 6 cup standard pot
- Cuban Mini Disposable Cups optional
- Demitasse Espresso Cups optional
- Stainless Steel Bell Creamer optional
Ingredients
Brewed espresso
- Ground Coffee for authenticity, use Café Bustelo, Café Pilon, or La Llave
- Water
Cuban Coffee (Cafecito)
- brewed espresso
- 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar to taste
Cortadito
- 1 batch Cuban Coffee
- ½-1 cup oat milk adjust depending on how many you're serving and how creamy you like it
- evaporated oat milk optional; you can use evaporated milk in place of the oat milk entirely or use a 50/50 ratio of milk to evaporated milk.
Café con Leche
- 1 batch Cuban coffee
- 1-2 cups oat milk use more or less depending on how light or strong you like your cup
- evaporated oat milk optional; you can use evaporated milk in place of the oat milk entirely or use a 50/50 ratio of milk to evaporated milk.
- sugar to taste
Instructions
Brew the Espresso in the Moka Pot
- Fill the bottom chamber with water up to just below the steam valve. Hot water from the tap will speed up the brewing process.
- Spoon ground coffee into the filter basket and level it off. Gently tamp it down with the back of the spoon so it's packed in snugly.
- Screw on the top tightly and place over medium heat.
- The coffee will bubble up into the top. When you see it sputter, take it off the burner.
To Make a Cuban Coffee (Cafesito)
- Add the sugar to a metal cup or bell creamer cup.
- As soon as the first few drops of coffee brew, pour them over the sugar to start whipping up the espumita-that magical sugar foam that gives Cuban coffee its signature charm. Then pop the moka pot back on the burner to finish brewing the rest.The first few drops are liquid gold. They are the most bold and concentrated. Making espumita takes a little trial and error, so go slow the first time. Add the coffee bit by bit if you need to, stirring vigorously until the sugar turns into a caramel-colored, glossy mixture-drippy, not soupy.It's hard to say exactly how much coffee to add, since it depends on how much sugar you're working with. I usually go with about one tablespoon of those first coffee drips to two tablespoons of sugar. This is the soul of your cafecito, so make a mental note of your ratio for next time.
- Vigorously whip the sugar and those first drops of coffee with a fork or spoon until it transforms into a thick, glossy caramel-colored foam.
- When the coffee is done brewing, pour the remaining brewed coffee into the whipped sugar mixture and stir gently. You'll know you've made espumita correctly if a layer of light, sweet foam rises to the top when poured. Serve in small espresso cups.
To Make a Cortadito (Cuban espresso 'cut' with milk)
- Make a batch of the Cuban coffee using the instructions above.
- In a small saucepan, warm the oat milk (or a combo of oat and evaporated milk) over medium heat until it's nice and steamy, but not boiling.
- Pour about ¼ cup of the Cuban coffee into a small cup or demitasse, then add a few spoonfuls of the hot milk mixture. A 2:1 coffee-to-milk ratio is traditional, but feel free to adjust depending on how strong or creamy you like it.
To Make Café con Leche (Cuban coffee with milk)
- Make a batch of the Cuban coffee using the steps above.
- In a small pot, heat milk (or a combo of oat milk + evaporated milk) over medium heat until hot but not boiling.
- Pour your desired amount of brewed cafecito into a large mug. Then slowly pour in the hot milk mixture using a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio of coffee to milk, depending on your taste. Stir in more sugar if you want it sweeter, and for a classic Cuban touch-though not everyone does this-you can add a pinch of salt.
Video
Notes
- Cuban Coffee or cafecito - Just strong coffee and sugar (no milk).
- Cortadito - About a 2:1 ratio of coffee to milk.
- Café con Leche - Typically a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio of coffee to milk, depending on how light you like it.
Regi Pearce says
I grew up with Cuban coffee like it was a ritual—and now I’m passing that magic (veganized) along to you without compromising flavor at all! Which one are you sipping first—cafecito, cortadito, or café con leche? Tell me below!