I'll be the first Cuban to admit that our culture has plenty of shortcomings, but if there's something we got right it's coffee. Cuban coffee (or cafecito) is more than just a drink you order; it's a sociocultural tradition that breeds camaraderie.
RECIPE:
Medium to finely ground dark roast coffee beans, suitable for espresso
Granulated white sugar, to taste
1. Fill moka pot reservoir with water up to the pressure release valve. Hot water will yield a shorter extraction time.
2. Place filter in reservoir and fill until heaping with ground coffee. Do not tamp down. Place on high heat.
3. In a separate vessel, add sugar. As soon as coffee begins extracting from the moka pot, remove from heat and add a few drops to the sugar. Whip vigorously until it reaches a thick, viscous consistency.
4. Return moka pot to high heat as it finishes extracting. Remove from heat once it has quieted down and is no longer extracting.
5. Carefully pour coffee over sugar, stirring gently so that the foam rises to the top. Portion and serve.
Caefecito is made in a moka pot (referred to as a cafetera in Spanish), an innovation borrowed from the Italians. It's more similar to espresso than it is to actual coffee, and it's got the same caffeinated kick to back that up. The main difference between a moka pot and an espresso machine is that it doesn't generate nearly the same amount of pressure. As a result, it doesn't normally produce any crema, the foam you see floating on top of a quality espresso. Cuban coffee works around that by producing its own through the use of sugar.
By whipping sugar with the first few bits of coffee your cafetera produces, you can get a rough approximation of that crema. Naturally, it'll sweeten your cup too. You can play around with the amount of sugar to taste, but even if you normally take your coffee black, I'd argue you need a little bit...to give it mouthfeel, to make it more visually appealing, and most importantly, to properly transform it into actual cafecito.
Cafecito serves as the base for many other Cuban coffee based drinks, like cafe con leches and cortaditos. Its main differentiation from its Italian espresso cousin is the taste. Cuban coffee is often richer, earthier, and more robust, as opposed to the bright, citrusy acidity of most Italian espressos. This is due to the fact that Cuban coffee is more darkly roasted.
Taste aside, the most important element to Cuban coffee is the ritual surrounding it. In Miami, Tampa, and New York, you'll often get your Cuban coffee (or colada as its sometimes called, referring to the whole batch produced from a cafetera) served with a stack of tiny demitasse cups. While one of those things won't be enough to satiate me and my other fellow caffeine junkies, it is symbolic. This is a drink that is made to be shared. Whether it's family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, or total strangers doesn't matter. What does matter is the time you spend with your chosen tribe, sipping what my mentor calls the nectar of the gods.
Enjoy in good company and good health, particularly of the cardiovascular kind.