Cubanos at Clementine Coffee

I make my way around to a few different coffee shops here in Austin; typically, they are where I prefer to do creative work and borrow an internet connection when my neighbor’s isn’t working properly.  I’m also a bit of a people watcher, and enjoy occupying an afternoon in such a capacity.  As I mentioned a while ago, Clementine is one of my favorites in Austin, mostly because it’s just so conveniently close to my place, with a great atmosphere and good coffee.

In particular, I’m especially fond of the “cubano”, which as you may have guessed from the name, is how Cubans traditionally take their coffee.

“Cuban-style espresso is made by adding sugar to the container where the espresso will be collected after brewing in the espresso machine. This enables the resulting drink to have the strength of espresso, but with a smooth, sweet flavor that is unobtainable by simply mixing sugar into a regular espresso.”

The practice of brewing espresso in this way is also common in number of other Latin/South American countries; I remember the last one I had was at Sao Paulo’s, a Brazilian restaurant here in Austin.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find the cubano in any other Austin coffee establishments.  The cubano itself is deliciously drinkable, especially if you find yourself unable to take espresso straight-up.  If made with a proper machine, it will have a slightly thicker crema on the surface than a standard espresso shot.

So, the next time you need to be wired – quickly – do it how the Cubans do it, at Clementine Coffee.