Cremaet, the perfect drink for the winter months, is one of the great symbols of Valencian culture. It sits proudly alongside paella and horchata.
To talk about cremaet, we need to talk about rum. Rum was the faithful companion of sailors and emigrants who travelled to Cuba during its War of Independence. According to popular stories, at the end of the nineteenth century, a man from Castellon returned from Cuba and decided to add rum to his coffee. This, they say, was the birth of the cremaet.
After long days in the fields, labourers wanted something that helped them relax and warm up, especially on cold nights. They began adding a splash of rum to their coffee, creating a drink that kept them awake and kept the cold away.
Tradition tells us that the name cremaet comes from the creamy layer that forms on top of the coffee when the rum and sugar are burned. It plays with the words “crema” and “cremar”, which means to burn in Valencian. This flaming step gives the drink its special flavour and its smooth, creamy texture, one of the most recognisable features of a good cremaet.
Traditional cremaet recipe
Ingredients for one person
- One piece of lemon peel
- Two tablespoons of sugar
- One cinnamon stick
- A few coffee beans
- Forty millilitres of rum
- Fifty millilitres of coffee
Easy preparation
- Cut the lemon peel.
- Add the lemon peel, sugar, cinnamon stick, coffee beans, and rum to a glass.
- Heat the mixture in the microwave and burn it carefully while stirring constantly.
- Gently add the coffee with a spoon to create the typical layers.
Cremaet in Valencian life
Over the centuries, cremaet has grown and adapted alongside Valencian society. What started as a simple pick me up for farm workers is now part of everyday life. Many people enjoy it as a “dessert” after their mid morning snack, and it has become a favourite at celebrations, gatherings, and parties.
Regional and modern versions
You might be thinking that cremaet is the same as a carajillo. Some people even call it a burnt carajillo. But that is not completely correct. A carajillo is more like a relative of the cremaet. It does not use lemon peel, coffee beans, or cinnamon.
There is also the Catalan carajillo, known as “three phase coffee”, made with coffee, liqueur, and milk. A cheerful combination, although certainly quite different from the traditional cremaet.
