Café de olla is a traditional Mexican spiced coffee that I order any chance I get. As a die hard coffee lover who also happens to be obsessed with warm spices, combining the two makes me very happy and once you give this warm, inviting drink a try, I know it will make you very happy too.
Let’s get started…
There are only several ingredients needed to make an authentic batch of café de olla.
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- Ground Coffee – you will need a good quality ground coffee, preferable Mexican coffee beans, such as Volcanica or Café Garat. Be sure it is not instant coffee or Mexican coffee already flavored with spices.
- Piloncillo – this raw unrefined sugar is popular in Central and South American kitchens and although it looks similar to the brown sugar we use in the US, it is not. Not only does it impart a unique flavor, but it also has. a lower glycemic index and far more vitamins and minerals that white sugar. It can be found in Latin markets and here on Amazon.
- Whole Spices – café de olla is traditionally spiced with cinnamon, cloves and star anise. Depending on where you order your spiced Mexican coffee, it may be spiced only with cinnamon, but I love the balance of all 3 spices.
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Once you have all of your ingredients gathered, add 8 cups of water, 3 ounces of crumbled piloncillo, 3 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 star anise pods into a saucepan and place over medium high heat.
Note: This is the amount of sweetness and spice that I prefer and I would describe the balance as lightly sweet and boldly spiced. If you like your coffee on the sweet side, feel free to add more piloncillo and if you prefer your spices more mild then only add 1 cinnamon stick, clove and star anise pod.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir to bring all of the piloncillo up off of the bottom of the saucepan. As soon as the piloncillo has fully dissolved, transfer the saucepan off of the heat and add 1/2 cup of coffee grounds.
Do not boil the coffee or your cafe de olla will taste bitter.
The strength of your coffee will depend on how long you let the grounds steep. I like this coffee fairly strong, so I let it sit for about 8 minutes. I would start with 5 minutes and go from there.
As soon as your coffee has steeped for your desired amount of time, strain it through a very fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
You want your strainer to be fine enough to catch all of the coffee grounds and spices, so only the café de olla is transferred into your carafe.
Traditionally, café de olla is steeped in clay pots, which add yet another layer of flavor to this delicious drink. If you love unique kitchenware, research Mexican clay coffee pots… you will not be disappointed.
The only thing left to do is pour yourself a mug (the bigger, the better) and find yourself somewhere cozy to sit down and enjoy your warm, perfectly sweet and spicy café de olla.
Salud!
Café de Olla
Ingredients
- 8 cups of water
- 3 ounces of piloncillo
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise pods
- 1/2 cup of coffee grounds
Instructions
- Combine 8 cups of water with 3 ounces of piloncillo, 3 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 star anise pods in a medium pot placed over medium high heat
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir to bring the piloncillo up from the bottom of the pot
- Once the piloncillo has fully dissolved, transfer the pot off of the heat and add 1/2 cup of coffee grounds
- Let the coffee steep for 5-8 minutes, depending on how strong you prefer your coffee
- Pour the mixture thru a fine strainer or cheesecloth and enjoy hot
