Puerto Rican Espresso coffee:
It is cold in New England. No surprise here, as it is winter. This season calls for hot drinks to warm up. Coffee is my beverage of choice. No, not the American on the run, mass-produced version but a nice cup of a full bodied Puerto Rican café con leche. Coffee has been grown on the Island for generations. These days, most coffee produced in the Island is not for export, so if I want to enjoy a cup of my favorite artisanal coffee, I either have to fly there or have one of my cousins mail it to my home.
You would think, why go through all that trouble for a simple cup of coffee? If you grew up in a country where coffee and sugar cane were the main exports for years, you too would probably become very particular about the coffee you choose to enjoy. There are many types of coffee beans, grinds and ways to prepare a simple cup of coffee. In the Island, you either have a pocillo de café negro (black coffee demitasse) or café con leche (coffee with milk). I prefer a café con leche. In order to prepare a café con leche, you must first prepare great espresso as a foundation.
There are many varieties of coffee beans on the world market today. I prefer to enjoy the coffee varieties grown on the Island. These varieties include Arabica, Caturra, Limón, Borbón, Canephor and Robusta. I prefer to enjoy the Borbón variety. Some of these great varieties can be purchased over the internet. Now that’s progress! The beans are ground into a powder and are used to prepare the espresso coffee.
Making espresso coffee is not rocket science. You can prepare strong black espresso coffee using anything from low tech to fancy equipment. The key to a successful cup of espresso are the coffee bean variety, grind type and process used.
Good espresso coffee has been prepared on the Island for generations. A simple cloth strainer to catch the grounds “colador de café” and a pot was all that was used. Today, I still have a colador in my house and use it often. If you want to go the original route, feel free to use a colador. You will still be able to enjoy a fantastic cup of espresso. But if you want to get fancy, feel free to use an expensive espresso machine. Other coffee makers you can use are French Press or Stove Top Italian Espresso. Be sure to follow the manufacture’s instructions. My point is, feel free to prepare the black coffee using any method you want, but make sure it’s really strong. I usually prepare my black coffee either using a colador, or the stove top Italian espresso coffee maker (of which I have three).
The colador method:
2 cups of water
4 to 6 tablespoons of finely ground (pulverized, Café molido) Puerto Rican 100% coffee grounds without additives.
Granulated cane sugar
One colador (Puerto Rican white flannel cloth coffee strainer)
1. Rinse the colador and wring off the excess water with a twisting motion. Loosen the colador to its natural shape and drape the handle over the side of a secondary container.
2. Add 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Place on a high heat burner.
3. When the water is at the beginning stages of boiling add two heaping tablespoons of the pulverized ground espresso style coffee and mix in.
4. Let the coffee mixture come to a boiling rise.
5. Remove pot from stove immediately to prevent spilling. Stir, place pot on the burner and let quickly rise twice more, removing from the burner every time to prevent overflowing. The boiling process should not exceed 1- 1½ minutes.
6. Pour the grounds and water through the damp “colador” and hang it above so all the coffee will drain into the secondary container.
7. Serve hot in a demitasse and season to taste with sugar.
Italian espresso coffee maker:
- Fill the bottom part of the coffee maker with tap water right up to the bottom of the side vent.
- Fit the metal basket according to manufacture’s instructions. Add pulverized coffee to the basket until its filled to the top.
- Screw on the top of the coffee maker tightly and place assembled coffee maker on the burner.
- Turn on burner on high heat and listen to ensure you hear that the coffee has been brewed through, as the brewing noises cease.
- Pour into a demitasse, season to taste with cane sugar and enjoy.
RICO Puerto Rico 