Café Bustelo Espresso Ground Coffee, 6 oz
$19.09
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Product Details
Café Bustelo is the dark roast that made its name in New York bodegas. Gregorio Bustelo came to East Harlem from Spain, sold hand-ground coffee out of his home, and opened a Fifth Avenue roastery in 1928; the blend he built became a kitchen staple in Cuban, Puerto Rican and Spanish households across the city.
This is the 6 oz brick, vacuum-packed into a firm rectangular block that loosens into grounds the moment you cut it open. The grind is fine and cut for espresso, which is where the heavy body and the crema of a Cuban-style cafecito come from.
Brew it in a stovetop moka pot or an espresso machine for the small sweetened shot, whipping the first dark drops with sugar if you want espuma on top. Run it through a drip basket instead when you want a full pot with real weight to it. It also holds its own under steamed milk, which makes it the usual base for café con leche at breakfast.
Café Bustelo Espresso Ground Coffee, 6 oz
$19.09
Questions About This Product
The things people actually want to know before they cook with it.
Do I need an espresso machine to use Cafe Bustelo espresso ground coffee?
No. Despite the name, this is regular pre-ground coffee sold in an espresso-style fine grind, and Cafe Bustelo's own brewing guidance points to stovetop espresso makers (moka pots), French press, and standard drip makers as the common ways people brew it. "Espresso" here describes the roast and grind tradition rather than a requirement for a pump machine. It will work in a pump espresso machine too, but since the grind is fixed at the factory you cannot dial it in the way you can with fresh-ground beans.
How fine is the grind, and will it clog my drip coffee maker?
It is ground much finer than typical drip coffee, close to what an espresso grinder produces. In a basket-style drip machine that fineness can slow the flow and let a little sediment through a mesh filter, so a paper filter and a slightly lower dose than usual give better results. In a moka pot or French press the fine grind is exactly what you want, though with a French press you should expect some fines in the bottom of the cup.
How much caffeine is in a cup of Cafe Bustelo?
Figures attributed to the manufacturer put the espresso-style ground coffee at roughly 60 to 90 mg of caffeine per 6 fluid ounce brewed cup, averaging around 75 mg. That is in the normal range for brewed coffee. The real driver is how much ground coffee you use per cup, and because this grind packs densely into a scoop, people often end up brewing a stronger cup than they intended.
Is Cafe Bustelo stronger than regular coffee?
Cafe Bustelo says its traditional products use an espresso grind of darker roasted beans and are generally considered stronger than most regular coffees. In practice, most of that strength comes from the dark roast, the fine grind, and the concentrated brewing methods people use it for rather than from unusually high caffeine per gram. If you brew it in a drip machine at your normal ratio, it will taste bold and roasty but not dramatically more caffeinated.
Is Cafe Bustelo actually Cuban coffee?
It is Cuban-style coffee, but the brand itself began in New York. Gregorio Menendez Bustelo, born in Galicia, Spain, discovered dark-roasted Cuban coffee while living in Cuba and opened his coffee storefront in East Harlem in 1931. The brand is now owned by The J.M. Smucker Company, and Cafe Bustelo says its beans are sourced from suppliers in more than 20 countries, with most products made in the United States.
What is the difference between this espresso-style brick and the newer Cafe Bustelo bags of ground coffee?
Cafe Bustelo explains that its traditional line, which this brick belongs to, is an espresso grind, while the newer packaged ground coffees are a medium grind meant for everyday drip and pour-over brewers. The newer line is also offered in light, medium, dark, and flavored roasts made with Arabica coffee. If a recipe or a friend told you to buy "the yellow Bustelo," the espresso-style grind is what they meant.
How do I make Cuban cafecito and the espuma with it?
Brew a small, concentrated batch in a stovetop moka pot. As the very first few drops of coffee come out, catch about a spoonful in a cup with your sugar and beat it hard with a spoon until it turns into a pale, thick paste, which is the espumita. Pour the rest of the brewed coffee over that paste and stir, and the foam will rise to the top. The fine grind and dark roast of this coffee are what make that foam work.
Can I use this in a reusable K-Cup or a pour-over cone?
You can, with some adjustment. In a refillable pod the fine grind restricts flow, so fill the basket loosely rather than tamping it and expect a slower, more concentrated shot. In a pour-over cone the same fineness means the water drains slowly and can over-extract, so a coarser everyday grind usually suits that method better while this coffee shines in moka pots and espresso baskets.
Is the coffee in the 6 oz brick the same as what is in the cans?
Yes, the espresso-style ground coffee is the same product across the vacuum-packed bricks and the canisters, with the format being the main difference. The brick is vacuum sealed into a hard block, so it arrives compressed and loosens up once you cut it open. Because a brick has no resealable lid, most people transfer the coffee into an airtight container after opening.
Is there a decaf version of this coffee?
Yes. Cafe Bustelo offers a decaffeinated espresso-style ground coffee, typically sold in a can, along with a decaf espresso-style instant coffee. These are separate items from the regular espresso-style brick, so check the label for the decaf wording if that is what you want.
How many cups will a 6 oz brick make?
Six ounces is about 170 grams of ground coffee. At a standard two tablespoons per six-ounce cup, that works out to roughly a dozen to a dozen and a half cups, and fewer if you brew it as concentrated cafecito or espresso, where a single serving uses a heavier dose relative to the water. It is a small format, which is why many people who drink it daily buy the larger canisters instead.
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