café chorreado

over the past four months, i've managed to gain what some may refer to as an "addiction" to coffee. it's not my fault, really, it's more or less part of the culture. in fact, most ticos don't use the term "addiction", but rather talk of painful headaches which occur on unfortunate days when they are deprived of their rico café. most folks around here drink coffee twice a day-once in the morning with breakfast, and again mid afternoon to early evening. it's this afternoon cafecito i've fallen madly in love with. in fact, i'm drinking coffee right now.
true story.
anyway, what makes tico style cafecito even more awesome is the way in which many families prepare their coffee. while coffee makers are becoming more and more common nowadays, there are those whole like to hold onto tradition, and our first host mom was one of these. this post goes out to doña aida, muchas gracias por todo. nos hace mucha falta.

a recent purchase which may be the best thing i've bought in 2011. this electric kettle boils water in less time than it takes to brush your teeth, even if you're not very thorough about your dental hygeine. i had never given electric kettles a thought before i landed myself in an empty room with no signs of a kitchen. now she's my best friend.

here's the set-up for café chorreado: we've got the two coffee cups, the coffee stash, and the chorreador, which consists of a stand and a cloth filter. it's pretty basic, but i like to think the coffee tastes much better this way.

i add a spoonful of coffee for each cup i plan on making.
don't quote me on this, i'm still learning.

next, we pour in the hot water and drain it through the filter into the mug below.

i like to pour it through again, to get a bit more flavor.

that's all there is to it.

mmm...a piping hot cup of café chorreado. qué rico!

a side note for spanish learners: the verb chorrear literally means "to drip", and this is where the term café chorreado comes from.