Café de Olla
- 6 cups1440 ml water
- ⅜ cup90 ml coarsely ground dark-roast coffee (6 tablespoons)
- ½ cup120 ml piloncillo, grated or chopped (about 4 oz by weight), or dark brown sugar
- 11 cinnamon stick (Ceylon/Mexican canela)
- Bring the water to a boil in a clay pot or heavy saucepan.
- Lower the heat, add the piloncillo, cinnamon stick and coffee, and simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring until the piloncillo dissolves.
- Turn off the heat, cover and let it stand 5-10 minutes.
- Strain through a fine sieve (or press it in a French press) and serve hot.
Garnish: cinnamon stick (traditionally served in small clay mugs)
The syrup
In this recipe
Brown Sugar Syrup1 oz30 ml
Brown sugar syrup is packed brown sugar simmered briefly with an equal volume of water.
To make a single mug: brew strong, coarse-ground coffee with a piece of cinnamon stick (a French press works), then stir in about 1 oz brown sugar syrup per 8 oz cup, which is roughly Jinich's sweetness. Piloncillo tastes deeper and more caramel-like than brown sugar, so dark brown sugar syrup is the closer match.
As printed: 4 oz piloncillo for 6 cups water, dissolved while the coffee simmers (Jinich); dark brown sugar is her named substitute.
Or use
Cinnamon Syrup¼ oz7 ml
Cinnamon syrup is simple syrup infused with whole cinnamon sticks.
If you have no cinnamon stick, use 3/4 oz brown sugar syrup + 1/4 oz cinnamon syrup per cup. Simmering the stick with the coffee gives a rounder flavor, so the syrup is a shortcut.
As printed: 1 cinnamon stick simmered in the pot.
Where it comes from
The name comes from the clay pot (olla) it has been brewed in for centuries in Mexico. The clay gives an earthy note, and piloncillo and cinnamon are the flavors that define it.
Source: Spiced Sweet Mexican Coffee (Café de Olla) by Pati Jinich.
Checked against: Pati Jinich: Spiced Sweet Mexican Coffee (6-cup version) · Pati Jinich: Spiced Sweet Mexican Coffee (8-cup version) · Pati Jinich: Café de Olla (or Coffee from the Pot) (history) · UTSA La Cocina Historica: Café de Olla 1998 (from Sebastián Verti, El Libro Clásico de la Navidad en México) · Camila Made: Café de Olla
Gear for this drink
OXO SteeL Angled Measuring Jigger
Zulay Kitchen 2-in-1 Metal Lemon & Lime Squeezer
Best for Fresh citrus for sours and lemonade