spanish Espresso coffee for breakfast

							How to Make Cafe con Leche - Coffee with Milk
Spanish Espresso Coffee for Breakfast


If you'd like to prepare café con leche like a Spaniard, here are suggestions for a good cup of café:
    1. Use Good Coffee - Use freshly ground coffee beans of a strong variety, such as French
       Roast. This type of roast makes dark, strong coffee. Skip the coffee that comes in a can. The
       grind is probably too large and the quality of the coffee beans themselves is probably not the
       best.
    2. Use Water that Tastes Good - If you like the taste of the water that comes out of your
       faucet in the kitchen, use it! But, if you do not drink your tap water because it has too many
       minerals in it, or it tastes of chlorine, then don’t make coffee with it! If it does not taste
       good enough to drink straight out from the tap, then coffee made with it won’t taste good
       either. In that case, use filtered or bottled water. If you have a water softener in your house,
       again we recommend that you use filtered or bottled water, since softened water may have
       sodium in it that can change the flavor of the coffee.
    3. Make the Coffee in an Espresso Maker - This does not mean you have to purchase a fancy
       machine! Most Spaniards have a coffee maker similar to the one in the photo. Depending on
       the size you buy, a simple stove-top espresso maker costs between $10-$20.
       To make the coffee, simply fill the bottom portion with cold water. Fill the metal filter area in
       the middle with finely ground coffee and screw the pieces together. Place the coffee pot on
       the stove and heat until the water boils up into the top chamber and it fills up. When you
       hear air spurting and the top of the pot is full of coffee, it’s ready and you can turn the
       burner off.
    4. Heat the Milk – Although you can heat the milk on the stove top in a pan, it’s hard to clean
       that up! We have found it is easier to pour the approximate amount of milk we will use into a
       large cup and put it in the microwave until it is almost boiling. In Spain you’ll probably find
       most restaurants serving whole milk, but 2% milk makes a great café con leche in our opinion.
    5. Mix Together - Once you've heated the milk and the coffee is ready, it is time to mix them.
       Everyone’s tastes are different and microwaves vary in how much power (watts) they use, so
       we can’t tell you exactly how much milk to use or how long to leave it in the microwave. We
       can tell you that the typical proportion is about 1/3 cup of coffee to 2/3 cup hot milk. We
       recommend putting 1/2 cup of hot milk in a mug first, then slowly adding the hot coffee. If it
       needs more of one or the other, you can add it until you get it just right!