Alex and I both grew up drinking strong coffee. I have fond memories of my grandfather sitting outside with a small coffee cup filled to the brim with freshly brewed Arabic espresso. He would serve us a cup and tell us stories after stories of his younger days. He would tell us all about my mom’s mischiefs, my grandmother’s cooking, and smile as he smoked his pipe and drank his coffee. It’s a memory that will forever be ingrained in my mind.
Alex grew up drinking cortaditos with his grandparents. A cortadito is the cuban version of an espresso. I like to think of it as the sweeter cousin of my grandfather’s arabic coffee. Over the years, Alex has become quite the cortadito maker and he has his grandparents to thank for that skill.
These days, the way we drink our coffee has evolved. We drink cold brew, black coffee, french pressed, lattes, cappuccinos… you name it. However, from time to time, we like to take a minute and reflect on the way our grandfathers enjoyed their brew and whip up our versions of espresso. We use a small espresso maker and take the first little bit of brewed coffee and pour it into a cup with a few tablespoons of sugar. After we pour it in, we mix it vigorously with a spoon which creates a crema of sort that mixes in with the coffee and adds a sweet layer to the top of the brew. It’s so good friends!
We also thought of a fun way to incorporate both of our coffee styles and add a shot of espresso to our non-dairy and lactose-free NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Pumpkin Spice Flavor Creamer! Fun right?! Also, we didn’t stop there, we kicked it up a few notches and created a super fun and tasty way to drink our espressos and came up with our Spiced Cafe Con Leche (recipe below). We like to drink our Spiced Cafe Con Leche on the front porch and share all of the memories we have of our grandfathers.
Spiced Cafe Con Leche
Ingredients
A shot of espresso coffee
3/4 cup of milk
cinnamon
chili powder
whipped cream for serving
Instructions
In a coffee cup, add the espresso, the milk, and the coffee creamer. Add the cinnamon and chili powder and mixed until well combined. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon and chili powder.
Also, be sure to pick up your NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Pumpkin Spice Flavor Creamer at your local Walmart in the Milk and dairy aisle.
