Cuba
Espresso with sugar whipped into the first drops to form a pale sweet foam. The base of every Cuban coffee drink.
Café cubano — cafecito — is espresso with sugar, and the technique is what makes it.
A spoonful of sugar goes into a cup. The first few drops of the espresso are poured onto it, and the two are beaten hard with a spoon until they form a thick, pale, caramel-coloured paste.
The rest of the shot is poured through, and the espuma rises as a sweet crema layer.
Beating sugar with a small quantity of very hot concentrated coffee partially dissolves and aerates it. The result is more stable and more integrated than sugar stirred in afterwards, and it sweetens the whole shot evenly.
Cortadito — this, cut with equal steamed or evaporated milk. Colada — a large serving with several tiny cups, meant to be shared. A Miami workplace institution.
Dark-roasted, often with robusta, and traditionally brewed in a moka pot at home.
Whip a teaspoon of sugar with the first drops of a double espresso until pale and thick, then pour the rest through.
The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.
Aluminium · 130 ml · not induction
Ninety years old, sold by the million, and misused by almost everyone who owns one. Brewed properly — low heat, pre-boiled water, off the hob at the first gurgle — it is one of the great cheap coffees.
Best for: One or two strong cups on a gas or electric hob, at almost no cost.
≈ $35 / £25 / 25 €
51 mm portafilter · 15 cm wide · pressurised baskets
Fifteen centimetres wide, heats in forty seconds, and makes a decent drink for under 200. It ships with pressurised baskets that fake crema from any grind — which is exactly why it works for beginners and why it stalls after a year.
Best for: A tiny kitchen, a first espresso machine, or a second machine for an office.
≈ $200 / £170 / 180 €
