Café de Olla
(ka-FEH de O-ya)
El Desayuno de Fin de Semana (Slow Weekend Mornings)
If you grew up in a Mexican household, you already know this smell. It is the scent of a slow Saturday morning, an aroma of floral cinnamon and dark, smoky sugar weaving through the house. The tradition comes from the Adelitas—the fierce women of the Mexican Revolution who brewed comfort for their troops on freezing nights. You don't need a traditional clay pot to make it, just a standard saucepan, some decent coffee, and the iron discipline to never, ever boil the grounds.
Before you start
Grind the coffee coarsely.
Use a medium-coarse grind, similar to what you would use for a French press, so it strains out easily and doesn't muddy the final brew.
Ingredients
- filtered water6 cup
- piloncillo8 oz
- Mexican canela stick1 med
- cloves2 small
- medium-dark roast coffee6 tbsp
Method
- 01
Combine the water, piloncillo, canela, and cloves in a medium saucepan.
A standard stainless steel or enamel pot works perfectly if you don't have a traditional clay olla de barro.
- 02
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Stir occasionally to help the piloncillo dissolve completely, then let it boil gently for exactly five minutes to extract the essential oils from the cinnamon and cloves.
- 03
Remove the pot from the heat completely.
This is the crucial step. Boiling roasted coffee grounds destroys their flavor and extracts harsh, bitter compounds.
- 04
Stir in the coarsely ground coffee and steep.
Cover the pot and set a timer for exactly five minutes. Do not let it steep any longer, or the brew will turn astringent.
- 05
Strain immediately and serve.
Pour the coffee through a fine-mesh strainer directly into mugs or a serving pitcher to catch the grounds and spices. Serve piping hot.
Notes
Sourcing the right sugar.
Piloncillo is unrefined Mexican cane sugar with deep caramel notes, easily found in the international aisle of most supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute one cup of packed dark brown sugar mixed with one teaspoon of molasses.
Canela is non-negotiable.
Do not use the hard, aggressively spicy Cassia cinnamon sticks commonly found in the baking aisle. Seek out Mexican canela (Ceylon cinnamon), which is soft, flaky, and yields the delicate floral sweetness essential to this drink.
From Cook Mexican in America.