Cuban Café con Leche
Also café con leche cubano
The Cuban breakfast drink of hot milk with sweetened espresso, usually eaten with buttered toast for dipping. Milkier than its Spanish parent.
Espresso and milkServed hotFrom Cuba
- Volume
- 241ml8.1 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 2shots
- Caffeine
- 127mgderived, USDA FDC
- Coffee to milk
- 1:3.0
The build
Watch it made, step by step- Milk180 ml75%
- Espresso60 ml25%
- pinch of salt sometimes…1 ml0%
- Volume
- 241ml
- Caffeine
- 127mg
- Espresso
- 2shots
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
A cup of hot milk into which a shot or two of pre-sweetened Cuban espresso is stirred; often served as separate milk and coffee for the drinker to combine.
Caffeine
Derivedin a 241 ml cuban café con leche
USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee volume in components, assuming 1 g per ml. FDC 171891 (Beverages, coffee, brewed, espresso, restaurant-prepared) 212.0 mg/100 g x 60 ml.
USDA FoodData Central record 171891 · read 2026-10-26
A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.
Variants by country
2| Name | Country | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| cortadito | Cuba | Smaller, coffee-forward version. |
| café con leche | Spain | Spanish original. |
History
Popular accountDescends from the Spanish café con leche; the sweetened espresso base follows Cuban custom. We have not found a primary source for this account.
Cuba and Cuban communities in Miami.
Parts of this story are repeated widely but were not confirmed against a source this atlas accepts. They are kept as the story people tell, not as fact.
Related drinks
A sweet layered drink of vanilla syrup, steamed milk, espresso and caramel drizzle. Despite the name it is built like a latte macchiato, not an Italian macchiato.
Espresso and milk Caffè Latte 240 ml · 64 mgEspresso with a large volume of steamed milk and a little foam, usually in a tall glass or wide bowl cup. It is the mildest and milkiest of the core espresso drinks.
Espresso and milk Café Lechero 240 ml · 127 mgVeracruz's theatrical milk coffee: strong coffee in a glass topped with hot milk poured from a kettle raised high above it.
Espresso and milk Koffie Verkeerd 250 ml · 40 mgThe Dutch milky coffee: hot milk with less coffee than milk, its name meaning 'wrong coffee'.
Espresso and milk Latte Macchiato 250 ml · 64 mgSteamed milk in a tall glass with espresso poured through the foam, producing three layers. It is the inverse of the caffè macchiato: milk marked with coffee.
Espresso and milk Puerto Rican Café con Leche 250 ml · 127 mgPuerto Rico's milk coffee: strong local coffee with steamed milk and sugar. Milkier than a Spanish café con leche and usually sweetened by default.