How To Make Cuban Coffee Without A Moka Pot? (3 Options!)

There’s nothing quite as delicious as a strong cup of Cuban Coffee, but how to make Cuban coffee without a Moka Pot?

can you make it at home if you don’t have a Moka Pot?

Cuban coffee can be made without the use of a Moka Pot. The best way to do this is by using a cloth coffee strainer or colador. Although a strainer is basically a pour-over method and a Moka Pot uses pressure, both result in strong and robust coffees that taste similar and are authentically Cuban.

Keep in mind that the Moka Pot was invented less than one hundred years ago. And for centuries before that, Cubans used cloth strainers to prepare their coffee.

But there are also different types of Cuban coffee and more modern ways to prepare them.

So, if you’re open to trying different types of Cuban Coffee and want to know how you can make them without a Moka Pot, keep reading!

FYI: If you decide that you want to buy a Moka Pot to make your Cuban Coffee, we recommend the Bialetti Moka Express (available on Amazon). It’s the original Moka Pot and we’ve been using it for years to make great Cuban Coffee!

How To Make Cuban Coffee Without A Moka Pot?

While Cuban coffee is most commonly brewed in Stovetop Espresso Makers, you don’t need a Moka Pot to make it.

However, before we continue, we should clarify one thing – what exactly do we mean by Cuban coffee?

When most people say Cuban coffee, they’re specifically talking about a cortadito. Cortaditos are those strong, sweet cups of coffee that are served in 1 or 2-oz cups. And there are three elements that make cortaditos so amazing:

a brewer that can extract a lot of coffee flavor
Cuban-style espresso roast beans and
sugar that’s been whipped into a paste.

(To see which Cuban coffee beans we recommend, check out our post on the best Cuban coffee brands.)

How to make Cuban coffee without a Moka Pot? — ***Image: How To Make Cuban Coffee Without Moka Pot (Cortadito)***

If you’ve got sugar and the right coffee beans, you just need a brewer that can extract a lot of coffee. For this, you’ve got three options.

a cloth coffee strainer (a.k.a. colador)
an Aeropress Coffee Maker or
an espresso machine

Let’s take a look at how each of these options works.

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Use A Cloth Strainer To Make Cuban Coffee

When most people say “Cuban coffee” they’re thinking of a cortadito. However, strained coffee is also an authentic type of Cuban coffee that’s been brewed for centuries.

This coffee is basically a pour-over that’s made with a cloth strainer (available on Amazon).

And while you might think strained coffee is weaker than Moka Pot coffee, it’s actually very similar in flavor and strength.

The reason for this is due to the coffee beans. Typical Cuban-style coffee beans are espresso roast and finely ground.

The darkness of the roast makes the coffee bitter and robust whether it’s brewed in a Moka Pot or colador.

And because the grinds are fine, some slip through the colador which gives the coffee a similar consistency to Moka Pot coffee.

If you decide to go with this method, you’ve got two options:

You can place the grounds in the strainer and pour pre-heated water through the colador. This is basically a pour-over method.
Alternatively, you can boil the grounds in a pot of water and strain the coffee through the colador.

We’ve personally tried both methods and we like the boiled coffee method best. When we do this, we place the colador inside our French Press (link to Amazon) before straining the coffee. That way, we can avoid any mess!

Best Cuban Coffee You Can Try!

Use An Aeropress To Make Cuban Coffee

If you want to make Cuban coffee without a Moka Pot or a cloth strainer, the Aeropress Coffee Maker is another option (link goes to Amazon).

Why the Aeropress?

Well, a Moka Pot uses between 1 and 2 bars of pressure to brew a batch of coffee. This results in the strong and robust flavor that Cuban coffee is known for. The coffee brewer that comes closest to this amount of pressure is the Aeropress.

However, there are some differences that’ll affect your Cuban coffee:

An Aeropress uses about half the pressure of a Moka Pot, which results in less extraction.
An Aeropress uses paper filters while a Moka Pot uses metal filters. This means Aeropress coffee is “cleaner”, has less sediment, and is less thick.
Unlike an Aeropress, a Moka Pot is placed over direct heat, so the coffee is generally hotter and more bitter.

Although Aeropress coffee is not as thick or robust as Moka Pot coffee, you can still make a great Cuban coffee if you use Cuban-style coffee beans and prepare the sugar in a similar way.

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Use An Espresso Machine To Make Cuban Coffee

It’s also possible to make Cuban coffee with an espresso machine. In fact, many Cuban cafes and restaurants use large, expensive espresso machines to make their coffee.

Personally, I’ve tried making Cuban coffee in my espresso machine, but there were three main issues I ran into.

Espresso has real crema made from the coffee’s oil, whereas cortaditos have crema made from sugar. This results in a very different taste.
It’s difficult to whip up the sugar crema for your cortadito if you only have one or two shots of espresso. And even if you can do it, your coffee will be much cooler when you’re done.
Several cortaditos can be made from a single Moka Pot brew, whereas an espresso machine can only make one at a time.

Because of this, it’s difficult to make a cortadito with an espresso machine, but you can easily make Cafe Con Leche.

A Cafe Con Leche is simply a 2-oz coffee with 4 to 6 oz of hot milk added. And it’s a common Cuban coffee that you can order at any Cuban cafe or restaurant.

Can You Make Cuban Coffee In A Regular Coffee Maker?

Cuban coffee can’t be brewed in a regular drip coffee maker.

Of course, you could brew Cuban-style beans in a regular coffee maker. You could even whip sugar and coffee together to make crema. However, your coffee won’t taste anything like the cortadito or cafe con leche you can order from your local Cuban cafe.

The key to Cuban coffee is its strength. Regular drip coffee makers use paper filters which screen out a lot of the oils and sediment. So the cup will be less robust and much weaker.

To get authentic tasting Cuban coffee, you’ll want to use a Moka Pot or a colador. Alternatively, you can go with an Aeropress or Espresso machine.

FYI: If you’re thinking about buying a Moka Pot to make Cuban coffee, we’d recommend the Bialetti Moka Express (available on Amazon). We use this same brewer to make amazing Cuban coffee!

Why Does Cuban Coffee Taste Different With A Moka Pot?

Moka Pots work best for Cuban coffee for four reasons:

the pressure
the Moka Pot’s filter
the use of direct heat
the amount of coffee brewed

The pressure – The pressurized brewing method is able to extract much more solubles from the coffee than other methods. This makes the coffee much stronger.

The filter – A Moka Pot’s filter is metal with several holes in it. These holes are large enough to allow fine grinds to slip through. This results in a thicker and more flavorful coffee.

Direct Heat – The heat means your coffee will be hot for a long time, which gives you plenty of time to prepare your sugar crema. It also adds some extra bitterness which is what Cuban coffee is known for.

Amount of coffee brewed – A Moka Pot is able to brew several ounces of coffee in one batch. This is ideal for Cuban coffee, which is often served in social settings.

Best Cuban Coffee You Can Try!

Can I Make Cuban Coffee With Any Type Of Roast?

Cuban coffee should generally be made with Cuban-style espresso roasts. Trying to use any other type of coffee beans will result in something that tastes significantly different.

These roasts have two main characteristics.

they’re incredibly dark and
they’re finely ground

If you use a lighter roast, you’ll get less extraction and the flavor will be less robust. And if you use coarser ground beans, there will also be less extraction.

Also, Cuba has its own roasting recipes which are still used in brands such as Pilon, La Carreta and La Llave.

So, if you want authentic Cuban coffee make sure you stick with recognized Cuban coffee brands. (To see which ones we recommend, check out our post on authentic Cuban coffee brands.)

Key Takeaways

If you don’t have a Moka Pot, you can make Cuban coffee with a cloth strainer (link goes to Amazon).
An Aeropress Coffee Maker ( available on Amazon) will also work, however, the coffee may be weaker than typical Cuban coffee.
Alternatively, you can use an Espresso Machine, but we only recommend this if you’re making Cafe con Leche.
When making Cuban coffee be sure to use a legit Cuban-style coffee brand.

Cheers Coffee Lovers!

KEEP READING

Oliver Holmes

Oliver is co-owner of Coffee Break Lovers. The only thing he loves more than the process of brewing coffee is drinking it.

Brand	Taste	Image	Buy
Cafe Pilon	Robust with a heavy mouth feel		Buy On Amazon
Cafe La Llave	Strong smoky aroma, hints of cocoa		Buy On Amazon
Cafe La Carreta	Aromatic, fresh, and sharp		Buy On Amazon
Na viera	Strong, woody, balanced		Buy On Amazon

Brand	Taste	Image	Buy
Cafe Pi l on	Robust with a heavy mouth feel		Buy On Amazon
Cafe L a Llave	Strong smoky aroma, hints of cocoa		Buy On Amazon
Cafe La Carreta	Aromatic, fresh, and sharp		Buy On Amazon
Na viera	Strong, woody, balanced		Buy On Amazon