Sometimes You Have To Get Out of Town To Find Something You Love; Cuban Coffee To Share

The colada at the Miami Dade College snack bar

Sometimes you have to get out of town to find something you love.

Cuban coffee culture has created the perfect mix of caffeine and friendship, value and flavor -- and I don't understand why I can't buy them all over America.

Behold above:  The colada, a huge shot of Cuban coffee served everywhere in Miami in a styrofoam cup with a half-dozen tiny plastic thimbles on the side.  Dark, sweet, espresso-like coffee.  Served so that you can share with your friends by filling thimbles and snapping them back.

What could be better than a cheap way to drink coffee all day?  I bought the colada above at a snackbar at Miami Dade College.  Truth be told, I used it as jet fuel.  I drank about two-thirds alone so that I didn't nod off during a morning spent listening to lawyers.  Huge caffeine boost, but small enough liquid that I wouldn't need the bathroom breaks that come with a venti-largo-grandi cup of coffee.

But the real fun comes from spacing them through the day.  I buy one for the group's morning coffee break.  You bring one back when you go pick up lunch.

These cost a little more than a dollar in Miami.  I assume they're making money, so I don't understand why the colada -- and Cuban coffee generally -- has never become a trend in American cities.  A Miami coffee bar serves espresso shots, the big colada, and then sipping drinks like a cafe con leche.  Come on people!  Someone should start the colada revolution around here.

The best Cuban coffee near Howard County is a Cuba de Ayer in Burtonsville, and I'm a big fan, especially of the pork chop and the Cuban sandwich.  They serve nice cafe con leche as well.  I have seen that Le Comptoir offers a "cordata" with espresso and steamed half-and-half, but I haven't tried it yet.