Common Mistakes When Making Cuban Coffee

Have you had your homemade shot of Cuban coffee today? You must have gotten that same jolt of caffeine that you would have experienced from a cup at a ventanita.

Yes! Unfortunately, you missed out on the gossip and the chance to make a couple of new friends, but with our secret recipe, the taste must have been as rich and flavorful.

If not, then there is a good chance that you are making one of these common mistakes.

As one of the pioneering experts on café cubano in town, we can predict what might have gone wrong. We will walk you through some of the most common mistakes people make when making Cuban coffee at home.

Choosing the Right Ground Coffee

The all-important ingredient that you must get right is the ground coffee itself. If you go to a supermarket like Walmart or Miami’s Market, you will find shelves upon shelves filled with ground Cuban coffee.

For someone with a newly-found passion for Cuban coffee, looking at too many brands can be overwhelming. If you don’t know much about Cuban coffee when selecting a ground coffee, then you are at the mercy of fate.

Don’t worry we are here to help.

You need to make sure that the Cuban coffee you select contains both Arabica and Robusta beans. Robusta beans are known for helping Cuban espresso form a proper crema or foam, and for having a higher caffeine content. On the other hand, Arabica beans are there to give our daily cafecito that taste that we all know and love.

Making the Signature Creamy Espuma: Azuquita

Most people are unfamiliar, or simply overlook azuquita’s importance in a cup of Cuban coffee. If you get the taste of the coffee right, but it’s lacking that signature creamy foam, then this step is for you.

When brewing the ground coffee, you need to collect the first few drops of coffee and then vigorously blend them with sugar in order to make that unique azuquita. This creamy espuma is then poured over the cup of coffee to form that signature foam.

We recommend keeping the Moka pot’s lid slightly ajar so you can keep an eye out for the first few drops of Cuban coffee to form.

Read more: How to Make Amazing Azuquita.

Using Your Equipment Properly

Not having a fancy espresso machine isn’t what ruins your homemade coffee. You can make the perfect coffee with a traditional Moka pot, but only if you get the sequence right.

There are a couple of things you need to tick off your checklist in order to get that perfectly brewed cup of coffee.

1. Don’t fill the water in the lower chamber of the Moka pot past the fill line; otherwise, it might seep out.
2. Make sure the chambers are snugly attached. You don’t want them to loosen up when pouring your precious cup of Cuban coffee.

Keep these common mistakes in mind. Trust us! You will never let them ruin your coffee again.