Cafezinho Recipe – The Secret to a Perfect Cup of Brazilian Coffee

Last updated on October 26th, 2023 at 19:50

This cafezinho recipe will have you making the perfect cup of the classic Brazilian coffee at home with a bonus recipe for making an authentic Brazilian Latte – café com leite.

Keep reading for an easy-to-follow step-by-step recipe.

Cafezinho Recipe An Overview

A cafezinho is very easy to make but to make it perfectly and exactly as it is enjoyed in Brazil you will need to use rapadura to sweeten your coffee and a flannel coffee sock filter.

The recipe below suggests the use of premium quality Brazilian coffee. You can use regular coffee to emulate the coffee sold on street corners and low-end cafés.

Read: Drinks Cafezinho

What Is A Cafezinho?

For coffee lovers, a Cafezinho stands out as the traditional coffee drink from Brazil and is served everywhere from cafeterias, to street corners, the work place in homes all over the vibrant Latin American nation.

It is made with rapadura, an unrefined sugar from Brazil, and strong hot black coffee that is often served in a 4 Oz (120 ml) cup. It is common to see coffee drinkers add milk or cream to their morning cafezinho but, for the other coffee drinks throughout the day, adding milk is seen as being immature or enjoying a child’s drink as coffee is enjoyed often and even by children in Brazil.

Cafezinho in Brazil is synonymous with welcome as you will be offered the drink everywhere you enter. For example, if you go for a job interview, you will be offered one as you wait. At the work place you will be offered a Cafezinho several times throughout the day. As you enter a Brazilian home or business you will be offered the coffee beverage.

Cafezinho Meaning

Cafezinho is from café, meaning coffee, with the suffix zinho, meaning diminutive, being added to make the word to make it mean small coffee.

Cafezinho Pronunciation

Cafezinho is pronounced exactly as you read it. The first part café is easy to pronounce as it is a very familiar word for English and Europeans. Simply add Zinho (Zeen Yo) to the end and say it all together.

Cafezinho Recipe – An Authentic Brazilian Recipe

Let’s get making an authentic Brazilian cafezinho and taste coffee concoction by sticking to the way that it is made in Brazil, with Brazilian coffee grounds and rapadura, which you will find in any Latin supermarket or online at Amazon.

You will need a coffee sock too as this is how the coffee is made in Brazil.

Of course you can use a paper filter and granulated sugar, but you will not get the Authentic Brazilian cafezinho recipe or experience that you are seeking.

Read: What does cafezinho taste like?

Ingredients Needed

• 60 gram (2 oz) Brazilian Whole Bean Coffee.
• 3 to 4 teaspoons of Rapadura.
• Bottled or filtered water, 4 cups, 16 Oz (480 ml).
• Cloth coffee sock or cloth filter. Best to use a coffee sock.
• Optional: Milk or cream.

While some other recipes may call for the use of high-quality, finely ground coffee, using whole beans is best as you have that freshness factor. As soon as coffee beans are ground they start to degrade in quality as the total surface area has increased, which increases the exposure to oxygen.

Suggested Coffee: Brazil Peaberry By Volcanica or Bourbon Santos By Community Coffee. Notably, a dark roast is best for making a Cafezinho.

Instructions For Making This Cafezinho Recipe

Follow these step-by-step instructions for making an authentic Brazilian cafezinho recipe.

Step One: Grind Your Coffee Beans

Grind your coffee beans to a fine coffee grind using a ceramic conical burr coffee grinder. Finely ground coffee is best. Grind to the perfect grind size for espresso coffee, a fine powder-like grind of 200 microns is perfect.

Step Two: Boil Your Water

Boil your water and add rapadura to the boiling water and stir well. Boil at a high heat.

Step Three: Take Your Water Off The Heat

Take your water off the heat as soon as you have achieved a simmering boiling of the water and rapadura mix. Add your freshly ground coffee grounds and stir well for 15 to 20 seconds.

Step Four: Filter Your Coffee

Filter your coffee mixture by pouring it through your coffee sock coffee filter or cloth filter. I strongly advise the use of a sock filter for a more authentic filtration, flavor and coffee experience. You can use the coffee sock filter for making many different coffee beverages.

Step Five: Add Milk If Required

Serve and enjoy. Add milk if you so desire. Serve in a 4 Oz (120 ml) cup.

Brazilian Latte Recipe

Making a Brazilian latte is easy. Often a Latte in Latin American countries, a café con leche (in Brazil café com leite) is made with condensed milk. This is a peculiar thing that happens in all tropical nations, I’ve seen it in Asia too.

Follow the instructions above for making a cafezinho. Before you pour your coffee into a 4 oz (120 ml) cup to enjoy, add one or two tablespoons of condensed milk and stir your coffee well.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cafezinho Recipe

How is Cafezinho Made?

The traditional technique for brewing a Brazilian cafezinho is very similar to a full immersion method of sock coffee, a popular coffee brewing method in Latin America and Asia. A traditional Cafezinho is made with finely ground coffee which is then added to boiling water that has sweetened.

Brew time can be 9 to 10 minutes. While brewing, stir the coffee mixture well and when ready strain it through a cloth coffee filter that resembles a large sock. Add milk as desired.

Is Cafezinho Espresso?

No, although some refer to it as a Brazilian espresso, it is not actually an espresso. It’s a strong coffee usually served in a small cup.

What Is Brazil’s Traditional Coffee?

Brazil’s traditional coffee is a cafezinho. It has an intense flavor and can be classed as a filter coffee due to the use of a large flannel sock filter. It is usually served sweet and intensely hot. It is a drink that is central to Brazilian coffee culture; you simply can’t visit the nation and not try a cafezinho.

Why Is Brazilian Coffee So Good?

Brazilian coffee is usually sweet with a low acidity, heavy body with the sweetness from the chocolate and caramel notes. The reputation of Brazilian coffee beans is not actually that good, but it is in my opinion how you brew them that counts.

Many coffee shops in Brazil only use Brazilian coffee and make a great cup of coffee.

Read: Cafezinho

How Strong Is Cafezinho Nespresso?

The Nespresso Cafezinho has an intensity of 9 out of 13 on the scale. It’s strong, but not too strong. It’s the lowest of the strong intensity ratings.

Is Brazilian Coffee Arabica Or Robusta?

Brazil produces both Arabica and Robusta coffee, with the vast production by far being Arabica coffee. It is a lot more difficult to find Robusta coffee in Brazil or produced by Brazil.

Most states exclusively produce Arabica coffee.

Why Is Brazilian Coffee So Sweet?

One reason is why Brazilian coffee is sweet due to the way in which it is processed. They used the honey process method, which is also known as the pulped natural method. It’s a way of processing the coffee beans that enhances the natural sweetness. In this method, the mucilage is still on the bean as it dries.

Brazilians also like to drink sweet coffee.

How Do Brazilians Like Their Coffee?

Very hot and uncomplicated. Although growing in popularity among the young and trendy gourmet style coffee is not something the average hardworking working class people of Brazil go for. They like hot coffee that is freshly brewed and sweet. Adding milk is a popular choice, known as a café com leite (coffee with milk).

Final Thoughts – Cafezinho Recipe

I hope that you enjoyed this cafezinho recipe and made it the authentic way with rapadura and a coffee sock. Both these items influence the flavor and final result and can be used for making other coffee beverages.

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