I have a post on how to make an authentic cup of Cafe’ Con Leche.  That’s a fabulous Cuban cup of coffee that I started drinking a few years ago after experiencing my first cup in Ft. Lauderdale.  Not knowing anything about how to make it, I saw a recipe out of a little coffee book that warmed the milk with some cinnamon and sweetened it with sweetened condensed milk.  They called it Cafe’ Con Leche.  So, I went to town making it that way and enjoyed it.  However, the cup I experienced during each trip to the Cuban Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale just didn’t taste the same.  So, I connected with a wonderful community of folks whose heritage is Cuban and Spanish, many of which still live there. They proceeded to tell me the old authentic way to make it, their childhood stories of drinking it and I’m telling you, I was transformed back in time and relived it with them!  Such a beautiful group of people sharing some of the most intimate memories.  That’s called love.  Hence that post…  Cafe’ Con Leche.  Check it out!

Ok, so here I have a recipe that I was making before all this and didn’t have a name.  Didn’t seem to really exist, but didn’t want to stop drinking it just because the wrong name was attached to it.  I said something to Paul about it, he pondered for about 45 seconds and said…  Cafe’ Libre!  And there it was born.

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Here’s how I make it.

Cafe’ Libre

In a medium size pot, warm the milk on low heat with a cinnamon stick.  When the milk gets hot and you start to notice some little bubbles around the edge, turn off the burner.  Do not let it start to boil.  This will take 3-5 minutes depending on the heat level of your cook top  Cover and let it sit for 15 minutes.

I like to make enough of the milk mixture to last several days and I keep it in a mason jar in the refrigerator. When I want to make my cup of the morning, I just heat it up in the microwave.  A cinch!

Tip:  If you’re like me and typically buy 2% fat milk and keep half n half on hand, here’s how to make your own whole milk:  For every 1 cup of 2% milk, add 2 Tablespoons of half n half.

Remove the cinnamon stick and add the sweetened condensed milk.  Stir until it’s dissolved into the milk.

Tip:  If you double the recipe to make a quart, still use the one cinnamon stick, but let it seep for an extra 5 minutes.

To make a cup of Cafe’ Libre, pour 1/3 cup espresso into your coffee cup…

Don’t have an espresso maker?  No problem!  Just make a strong cup of your favorite cup of coffee.  Our personal favorite is Cafe’ Bustello.  Want to know how we make our espresso?  Check out this post!  How we make espresso.

Then add 2/3 cup of the hot milk mixture and stir.  Simple as that!  You can certainly change the ratio of espresso to milk to suit your personal preference.

Interested in some other beverages from my blog?  Check these out!

Espresso

Cafe’ Con Leche

Pumpkin Latte

Russian Tea Mix

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Here’s the printer friendly recipe.