They say that everyone has a vice; for me, it’s a freshly brewed cup of Joe. As humans, we are prone to over indulgence and as the old adage states, “everything in moderation”, and that’s something I have to keep in mind when it comes to drinking coffee. I can’t seem to make it through the day without a fresh cup of coffee made to perfection, fueling my day. The fragrant smell of fresh roasted coffee permeating the morning air like a scented candle from one of those expensive candle shops is one of life’s simple indulgences….I just love it!

Coffee has been a constant in my life for as far back as I can remember. As a little girl growing up in the Bronx, coffee would be brewing practically 24 hours a day in my house. My dad was an avid coffee drinker; he would drink cup after cup of coffee as if it were water. He used to say to me “Hija, coffee is in our blood,” perhaps due to my ancestors who worked the coffee fields in the mountains of Puerto Rico where coffee was considered a way of life.

My dad preferred coffee made the old fashioned way, with a coffee colador. A colador is a triangle shaped cotton sock held up by a wire and has a wooden handle made for brewing coffee, circa 1800’s. It’s an inexpensive (less than $3 bucks) and quick way to make coffee pre-electricity, and before expensive espresso machines were invented. There are many coffee aficionados today who believe that it’s the only way to make a perfect cup of delicious coffee—and I have to agree.

Here’s how I make a delicious cup of coffee made with a colador, the old fashioned way:

1. Simply boil water in a non-aluminum saucepan on the stove. Once the water starts to boil, you add your favorite brand of ground coffee into the pan, one tablespoon of coffee for one cup of water. You can add or subtract the water/coffee to make it stronger or weaker.
2. You should stir the grounds keeping it in motion until the coffee foams up. When it does, lower the heat to medium and allow the coffee to cook in the boiling water for about a minute. Then turn off the heat and let the coffee simmer for up to 3 minutes while you stir the grounds to blend in the flavor.
3. You then strain the coffee through the colador into an empty pot or cup.
4. I prefer my coffee with milk. So for an amazing cup of café con leche, you have to boil the milk before you pour it into your cup, making sure that you stir the milk so that it doesn’t form a milk skin.

And there you have it….café con leche….Buen Provecho!