Easy Mexican Coffee Recipe (Café de Olla): A Coffee Lover’s Dream Beverages

Lately I’ve been perusing and enjoying international recipes as well as learning about the cuisine and customs of different cultures. This Mexican coffee recipe, called Café de Olla, is flavored with cinnamon sticks, orange peel and sweetened with piloncillo, an unrefined whole cane sugar used in Mexican cooking and baking to sweeten desserts or drinks. Café de Olla is made in a Mexican olla de barro (clay pot) and is a truly unique drink.

I’m typically more of a tea drinker than a coffee drinker, but this traditional Mexican coffee recipe contains some of my favorite flavors. If you’re a coffee lover, I highly recommend trying this traditional Mexican beverage. If you pair it with this recipe for coffee cake, you’re sure to start your day off right!

Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup ground dark roasted coffee (medium to coarse grind)
• 1 quart (32 ounces) water
• 1 cinnamon stick, plus more for garnish (optional)
• 1 3-inch piece orange peel
• 5 ounces piloncillo or 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

Here’s how to make it:

1. In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat add coffee grounds, water, cinnamon, orange peel and dark brown sugar. Stir to combine ingredients. Bring to a slow boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. 
2. Remove from the heat and cover for about 5 minutes, letting it steep. Strain through a fine mesh strainer directly into cups and serve immediately. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or two, if desired.

Note: Piloncillo is usually found in the shape of small cones. Although piloncillo looks and tastes similar to brown sugar, they are not the same.

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