Coffee with milk, known as “Café con Leche” or “Café Lechero” in México, is a favorite coffee drink served at the legendary Gran Café de la Parroquia, a café and restaurant in the Port of Veracruz.
COFFEE WITH MILK RECIPE
Originally founded in 1808, Gran Café de la Parroquia (also called “La Parroquia”) is a Veracruz institution, and it made the Café Lechero famous. Patrons flock to this establishment to enjoy the fresh, hot coffee with milk, and a piece of “pan dulce”, (sweet breakfast bread). When they run out of coffee, they simply tap the glass with their spoon, and that’s the waiter’s cue to come and give them a refill! They start by adding some espresso to the glass, then pour in the milk from really high up (like when pulling tea). This makes the coffee extra frothy and delicious!
There are three reasons for which I’m making this post: the first one being that I love Veracruz, the magical port city in the Gulf of Mexico! I lived there for some time and still have family there, so the ties to Veracruz are strong for me. Secondly, my Dad loved this recipe, and while I was talking to my mom about our Day of the Dead altar, she mentioned that I had to include Coffee with milk -Café Lechero in our altar. This brings us to the third reason: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is coming up, and I’ll be talking about making the Day of the Dead altar in this post.
MY DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR ITEMS
MY DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR ITEMSI usually make a small arrangement for the altar for my dad, and thankfully, I was able to get most of the things I needed at my local Kroger store. Starting with the coffee, I also bought the milk for this recipe, plus the candles, flowers, and tissue paper to decorate. Fruit and even roasted peanuts were other of my purchases, which I place on my dad’s altar because those were some of his favorite snacks.
The elements commonly used in making the Day of the Dead altar are a picture of the deceased, marigold flowers, baby breath flowers, and candles. Plus food, incense, a cross, a glass of water, bread, sugar skulls, a small dish with salt, and an arc of flowers with fruit. Some people set very large and elaborate altars, but you can create yours with just a few of the things mentioned above.
DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR
Each one of these elements has a meaning. For example, the salt symbolizes purification, and the bread means fraternity. The food we place on the table is meant to be that which the deceased enjoyed when they were alive. This is why for my altar this year I’m making Café Lechero, which my dad really enjoyed.
CAFE LECHERO – COFFEE WITH MILK
For this Café Lechero (coffee with milk), I’m using the Breakfast Blend Dark Roast Coffee from the Kroger Private Selection brand. Because it has rich and robust flavors, it’s the type of coffee that we need for this drink, since we’re also adding milk to it. This coffee is commonly made using whole milk; my preference is the Simple Truth Organic Whole Milk, but you are welcome to use the lower fat versions.
Visit your local Kroger and its family of stores or visit tukroger.com for offers, recipe inspiration, and to find the store near you.
The best way to make this coffee is using an espresso maker, either the stovetop type or an electric type. If you don’t have one, try using your coffee maker with the same amount of coffee and water. Additionally, you can also try the method found in the Café de Olla recipe on the blog.
HOW TO MAKE CAFÉ LECHERO – COFFEE WITH MILK
JUMP TO SEE INGREDIENTS & INSTRUCTIONS
DIRECTIONS:
- Place the coffee in your espresso maker following the manufacturer’s instructions (they vary depending on your coffee maker type).
- Add the water. Turn the heat up if using a stovetop espresso maker, or turn on if using an electric espresso machine.
- While the coffee is brewing, place the milk in a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. Heat the milk, and once it comes to a boil, slightly reduce the temperature to keep simmering.
CREATING THE FOAM IN THE COFFEE WITH MILK
CREATING THE FOAM IN THE COFFEE WITH MILK- Pour the coffee in a tall, thick glass, and in a gentle but quick stream, pour the milk in. This will cool down the coffee/milk mixture, it will form a layer of foam at the top of the glass. After this, add sugar to sweeten and enjoy your Coffee with milk!
COFFEE WITH MILK
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons of espresso coffee grounds.
- 1/3 Cup of water
- 1-1/3 Cup of milk
- Sugar to taste
Instructions
- Place the coffee in your espresso maker following the manufacturer’s instructions (they vary depending on your coffee maker type).
- Add the water. Turn the heat up if using a stovetop espresso maker, or turn on if using an electric espresso machine.
- While the coffee is brewing, place the milk in a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. Heat the milk, and once it comes to a boil, slightly reduce the temperature to keep simmering.
- Pour the coffee in a tall, thick glass, and in a gentle but quick stream, pour the milk in. This will cool down the coffee/milk mixture, it will form a layer of foam at the top of the glass. After this, add sugar to sweeten and enjoy your Coffee with milk!
Nutrition
Provecho!
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Leticia
October 31, 2018 at 10:11 amHello Mely !
This post did bring sweet memories from my time living in Xalapa,Ver. I remember going to “La Parroquia” restaurant to wait for my mom’s phone call, We ate lots of times there, the food was soooo good.
Thanks for the reminder of the cafe con leche.
mmartinez
November 3, 2018 at 6:05 pmHello Leticia,
Sweet memories. The food in Xalapa is delicious.
Alice
December 31, 2018 at 10:47 pmThank you for sharing your traditions and delicious recipes.