Black?

[lenguamor]

I'm Cuban. And as other Cubans can attest, we grew up on café con leche - hot milk with strong, syrupy, sweet and delicious Cuban coffee...and more sugar.

I had it every day at breakfast; we were never well-off and sometimes we were downright poor, but that was a staple that was never missing from our table - it would have been unthinkable. We even had our cereal in the stuff - not in milk.

Coffee is that important in my culture.

As an adult living in Miami, where I grew up most of my life, most days would still start out with a big cup, by then it was mostly drip...but the rest of the day belonged to the rich, delicious stuff ground fresh and brewed at any of the thousands of Cuban coffee stands in Miami - several times a day.

Mid-morning, after lunch, mid-afternoon - even after dinner on weekend nights - coffee was a ritual as much as it was meant to be consumed.

My point? That I enjoy very good coffee today as I have all my life, though today my daily cups come from a press pot...but that, as I have all my life, I enjoy it with cream and sugar - or some sort of sweetener.

And while I realize it's not the way of the purist, it diminishes not a whit my ability to recognize a great coffee when I have one, nor to enjoy it to the fullest.

So, I'm curious - how do you take yours?

[bilkay]

Black

Cream and a little sugar

Black espresso

Espresso with lots of hot cream and a little sugar

That about covers it

[bilkay]

Oh, a little condensed or evaporated milk can be nice, too. That's the way my parents drank it.

[fireman43]

Most of the time black, but once in awhile I will have a cup w/cream and sugar when I am craving something sweet. If I get coffee from a coffeehouse it's either straight black or I'll get a Caffè Latte from Starbucks.

[lenguamor]

Originally Posted by bilkay

Oh, a little condensed or evaporated milk can be nice, too. That's the way my parents drank it.

When we were really poor, evaporated milk was cheap...so for the added nutritional density my mom would use that instead of regular milk.

You could almost chew the stuff!

But God, it was delicious.

[Mister Moo]

Mrs. Moo and I mix it up between black brewed, C&S brewed, straight espresso and cappuccinos. It's all good.

[gvarsity]

For me it is often contextual how I take my coffee.

Usually I drink coffee at work and it's french press black.

At home because my wife takes hers with half & half and honey I often do the same.

Espresso if it's really good black but usually with one sugar which is how I normally took it when I was living in France.

Moka Pot usually a little honey and froth machiato style just because it's a touch bitter.

I will also do a late with honey when I am in the mood for a coffee drink usually when I'm out and about running errands because I find most coffee shop drip coffees to not be worth drinking.

So like I said for me it's all about context. I do love the Cuban Coffee in Miami and I have never been able to duplicate it at home. If you have a recipe to share about how to make it I would be much obliged.

Cheers

[Alyks]

I like my coffee like I like my women: Cold and bitter.

Ha ha. Just kidding. I take mine with cream and sugar.

[BigVito]

I'm Sicilian, German, Dutch.

I prefer it black

[bilkay]

Originally Posted by lenguamor

When we were really poor, evaporated milk was cheap...so for the added nutritional density my mom would use that instead of regular milk.

You could almost chew the stuff!

But God, it was delicious.

Yep.

[Syekick]

It just depends on what it is. Some french press is fine black. If straight double espresso, just a half a teaspoon of sugar. Then again, a nice Cortado hits the spot as my favorite selection 90% of the time when espressos the brew of choice. Morning average french press coffee and run - one sugar and a splash of half and half. Yep, it just depends.

[ToddziLLa]

Black.

[Mando]

Black.......but OK...I love it with rum cream on a regular basis

[rumballs]

straight.



(black)

[SmokeyJoe]

I tend to drink it black... but I will add milk and sweetener on occasion. Depends on my mood, I suppose.