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Ask any Puerto Rican family and someone will remember grandma straining coffee in the morning: the hot water, the cloth filter stained from years of use and that aroma filling the house. Café colao, literally “strained coffee,” is simple, but it has its technique. And from there, café con leche is just one step away.
Traditional Café Colao: What You Need
- A cloth coffee filter (in many homes it’s simply called la media, “the sock”).
- Medium-ground coffee, as you’d use for drip or pour-over.
- Freshly boiled water and a pot or pitcher.
How to Make Café Colao, Step by Step
- Heat the water to a boil and let it rest for half a minute. Water at a rolling boil scorches the coffee.
- Add the coffee to the filter: one to two tablespoons per cup of water, depending on how strong you like it.
- Pour the water slowly over the coffee in circles and let it drip through without rushing. For more body, you can pour the coffee through a second time.
- Serve right away as a cafecito, a small, strong cup, black or with sugar, the way it was served at home.
Recommended coffeeCarnival RoastChocolate, caramel and full body: a coffee that holds its own in milk.View coffee
How to Make Café con Leche, Puerto Rican Style
Café con leche on the island is creamy and generous: strong coffee with plenty of warm, frothy milk. The key is to start with strong Puerto Rican coffee, from the greca (moka pot) or a well-loaded café colao, so the milk doesn’t mute it.
Ingredients for one large cup
- ½ cup (4 fl oz) strong, freshly brewed coffee.
- ½ cup (4 fl oz) milk. Some households swear by whole milk; others use evaporated milk for a sweeter touch.
- Sugar to taste.
Method
- Warm the milk over medium heat, without letting it boil, until it starts to steam.
- Whisk it for a few seconds, or shake it in a lidded jar, until it foams.
- Pour the coffee first, then the milk. Finish with the foam on top.
The Best Coffee for Café con Leche
For café con leche we recommend Carnival Roast: its medium-dark roast and chocolate notes stay present even with plenty of milk. If you drink your café colao black and like it softer, you’ll love our Medium Roast.
Café con leche isn’t something you drink standing up. It’s for sitting down, with pan sobao and no one watching the clock.
What to Serve with It
Buttered pan sobao (Puerto Rico’s soft, slightly sweet bread), a mallorca (a spiral sweet roll dusted with powdered sugar), quesitos (flaky cream cheese pastries) or a few soda crackers. And if it’s the weekend, a full traditional Puerto Rican breakfast.
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