Ever since the five-day working week was established, it has been our tradition to hold fetes whenever we can during Sundays. Sometimes we party too hard into the early morn and drive to the office with a heavy, sleepy head. For many folks, this has been a routine. A very dangerous one at that.

The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine published a study last February, 2010 detailing the great dangers that come with sleepiness at the wheel. Sleep deprivation leads to reduced motor function and results to impaired hand-eye coordination. So a dopey driver is really putting his life and those of others at risk just like a drunk driver would.

Luckily there are quick solutions that die-hard Sunday party fanatics can avail of to recharge their sleepy heads before driving to work. There is, for instance, that good old cup of coffee. A single cup of conventional coffee, though, would not be amiable to some people who have acquired high tolerance levels of caffeine over the years of voracious coffee drinking.

If you are one of those who need more than a cup of regular coffee to get yourself going, then you might probably consider relocating to a more aggressive type like Cuban coffee.

Basically it is espresso made the Cuban way. Espresso is among the strongest forms of coffee. Cuban coffee, though, packs a lot more caffeine than regular espresso. Enthusiasts say that one cup of Cuban coffee is equivalent to two cups of ordinary American espresso. So do not be surprised if you will get a tremendous rush of caffeine even taking a sip of cafe Cubano.

How can a tiny cup of coffee posses so much potency? The secret lies in its brewing. Cuban coffee needs to be brewed using an espresso machine. It undergoes pressurized brewing wherein hot water is literally forced through the ground beans. The process results in a concoction that has a much fuller flavor and higher concentration of coffee compounds.

Possessing an espresso machine, however, is not a guarantee that you will make good cafe Cubano. For one thing, you need to procure quality Cuban coffee beans to lend an authentic Cubano flavor to your concoction. You also need to make sure that your beans are roasted properly. Over-roasted beans would give your coffee a burnt taste. So take proper precautions in ensuring that you roast the beans the right way. Another factor to take note of is the consistency of the ground beans. The espresso machine, however high-tech and expensive it is, would not yield a great brew unless your Cuban beans are not finely grounded.

The final and most important factor in creating great Cuban coffee is patience. Lots of patience-most particularly in honing your brewing technique. But the effort is all worth it. After all, you would not worry about sluggishly driving your way to work with a sip of home-made cafe Cubano every morning.