The Café de Olla recipe is an easy Mexican coffee recipe made with cinnamon and piloncillo. It’s a great alternative to traditional-style coffee and a perfect choice for cold mornings.
I don’t know about you, but I love the morning coffee smell. This café de olla recipe is one of my favorites because it has this amazing aroma that makes me feel good before I even taste it.
The cinnamon adds such a nice flavor to this drink and gives you a little energy boost when you need it most.
Things Required
- Cheesecloth
- Medium saucepan
- Coffee mug
Ingredients
- Water
- Piloncillo/panela (dark brown sugar)
- Ground coffee (preferably dark Mexican coffee)
- Mexican cinnamon stick
- Cloves
- Anise star
Directions
- Place the piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and anise star in a medium saucepan and add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Cook over low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the piloncillo has dissolved. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Add the ground coffee and continue to cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for an additional 5 minutes.
- Pour the coffee through cheesecloth and into a cup or serving container, and voila! Your Café de Olla is ready to drink.
Useful Tips
- One of my favorite ways to prepare this recipe is with dark Mexican coffee or dark roast coffee. However, you can use any blend you typically keep in your pantry.
- Piloncillo is a traditional Mexican form of unrefined cane sugar, usually sold in the shape of small cones. However, you can also substitute brown sugar for piloncillo.
- You can also serve café de olla with a wedge of orange peel for a bit of a twist!
Ways to Serve Café de Olla
Café de olla is best consumed right after brewing and straining, when its flavors are still fresh and not yet muddy or overly loud. Adding milk to cold café de olla makes it even more delicious, however.
Adding unflavored cream to café de olla makes a delicious alternative, and you can serve it with milk if your taste buds prefer that.
Finally, a delicious way to prepare café de olla as a warm treat after dinner is to add a shot of Kahlua or other chocolate-flavored liqueur to each cup of café de olla before serving.
FAQs about Café de Olla Recipe
What is the meaning of Café de Olla?
Café de olla (literally “pot coffee” or “coffee from a pot”) is traditionally made in a large clay pot or an enameled pot. Hence the name.
What are the Places where Café De Olla can be found?
You can find this beverage in Mexico in restaurants, roadside eateries, and some Mexican homes. People often serve it during the Posadas, at Christmas celebrations, and at funerals.
What is the taste of Café de Olla?
Café de Olla is a sweet and spicy coffee due to the combination of cinnamon and piloncillo (a dark sugar with a taste that resembles molasses). Some people may even add orange peel for a twist.
Is it Strong?
Mexican coffee is typically a medium to dark roast, with the Planchuela and Caracolillo varieties being the most popular in Mexico. When using these coffees to make Café de Olla, the addition of cinnamon and piloncillo will help balance flavors.
Conclusion
Cafe de olla recipe is a simple Mexican coffee drink that can easily be made at home. It is traditionally served during the holidays but also enjoyed year-round. All in all, Cafe de olla brings a wonderful spiced flavor and originality to your coffee cup!
