Café de Olla is a traditional Mexican coffee spiced with cinnamon, cloves, star anise and sweetened with piloncillo. Made in a Mexican olla de barro, or clay pot, this drink is delicious served as is or with a splash of milk in the morning!
There’s nothing more relaxing than having a cup of café de olla and a concha (Mexican sweet bread) in the morning! It warms me up from the inside out and feels like a big hug from my family.
I especially love drinking the coffee in these cute little jarritos de barro, or Mexican clay mugs. The ones you see in the photos are actually my sister’s! She’s had them for as long as I can remember, and they’re still in the family.
What is Café de Olla?
Café de olla is a traditional Mexican coffee sweetened with piloncillo and spiced with cinnamon, cloves and star anise. It’s brewed in an olla de barro, or Mexican clay pot, that gives the coffee a unique earthy flavor. It’s traditionally used for cooking beans, soups and stews, and drinks like this coffee!
Café de olla literally translates to ‘coffee from a pot‘ in English.
You can find an olla de barro at most Mexican grocery stores and specialty shops in the U.S. nowadays along with other traditional Mexican housewares. If you can’t find any locally, you can also get them online here.
If you don’t have an olla de barro and would still love to make this recipe, you can! Instead of an olla, you can use any medium pot or saucepan instead.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Water – A crucial ingredient in making coffee! You’ll need 6 cups.
- Ground Coffee – A freshly ground dark roast coffee works best in this recipe, but you can use any ground coffee that you have on hand.
- Piloncillo – This dark Mexican cane sugar is used to sweeten the coffee and gives it a unique, almost molasses-like flavor.
- Cinnamon Sticks – I highly recommend using Mexican cinnamon sticks (or canela) in this recipe as it gives it a delicious soft and smooth cinnamon flavor. Mexican cinnamon sticks are often larger and flakier than the typical cinnamon sticks you find in many stores. You can get them at most Mexican grocery stores, but if you can’t find them locally, you can get them online here.
- Whole Cloves – Just two little cloves is all you need to give the café a touch of warming spice that leaves you feeling all cozy inside.
- Star Anise – Just add one little star anise pod to give the coffee a small hint of sweetness that compliments the cinnamon and cloves so well. You can get star anise at most Mexican grocery stores, but if you can’t find them locally, you can get them online here.
Don’t have some of these ingredients in your kitchen? See below for substitutions.
How to Make Café de Olla
- Heat: Add water, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise to an olla de barro or medium pot. Place over med-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally so that the piloncillo fully dissolves.
- Steep: Remove the olla or pot from the heat and add the coffee. Give it a stir, cover, and let it steep for 6-8 minutes.
- Strain: Pour the coffee through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and serve!
Substitutions
Can’t find all the ingredients in this recipe? Here are some substitutions that may be helpful:
- Instead of piloncillo, you can use 1/2 cup dark brown sugar.
- Don’t have Mexican cinnamon sticks? You can use regular cinnamon sticks instead.
- Don’t have star anise? You can leave it out completely. It adds an amazing flavor to the coffee, but it’s okay if you don’t use it.
Tips and Tricks
- For regular-strength café de olla, let the coffee steep for 6 minutes.
- For extra-strength café de olla, let the coffee steep for 8 minutes.
- Have leftovers? Turn them into iced Mexican coffee! Simply transfer the strained coffee to an airtight jar and let it chill in the fridge. When you’re ready for a drink, serve the coffee over ice!
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Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 4 ounces piloncillo (or 1/2 cup dark brown sugar), plus more to taste*
- 2 cinnamon sticks (Mexican cinnamon sticks preferred)
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 star anise pod
- 9 tablespoons dark roast ground coffee
Instructions
- In a medium olla or pot, add water, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise pod.
- Place over medium-high heat and stir often until the piloncillo completely dissolves and the water comes to a boil.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Add the ground coffee, stir to combine, and cover. Let the coffee steep for 6 minutes for regular strength coffee or 8 minutes for extra-strength strength coffee.
- Pour the coffee through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a coffee mug and serve.
- Enjoy as is or add some milk for a cafe con leche.
Isabel’s Tips:
- Instead of piloncillo, you can use 1/2 cup dark brown sugar. This amount offers a medium sweetness. If you prefer your coffee a little sweeter, add in 1-2 more tablespoons of piloncillo.
- Don’t have Mexican cinnamon sticks? You can use regular cinnamon sticks instead.
- Don’t have star anise? You can leave it out completely. It adds an amazing flavor to the coffee, but it’s okay if you don’t use it.
Nutrition Information
AWESOMMMME!!!
Simply delicious and very satisfying
love using this recipe, thanks for sharing.
WOW!! I love drinking Cafe de Olla after a meal in Mexico. It’s so soothing and relaxing. This is the best authentic recipe. Reminds me so much of family dinners in Mexico. I now make this frequently. Thank you for this recipe!
We cook it outside over a fire… bring it all to a boil and then add evaporated milk and let it cook couple more minutes. Like my grandma use to make!
Love this coffee so much! I have it with my white every day. I’m am only wondering what steps we need to make so we can make a bigger batch.
Spice levels are perfect. Added the piloncillo and it was waaaay too sweet for us. So I now omit it entirely.
Excellent coffee de Holla. Very smooth taste and flavor.
Just made this. It is so good! It is the only recipe that even comes close to what I have tasted in Mexico. Thank you so much for sharing! I made it in the coffee pot. I put the brown sugar in the carafe (after I added the water) along with the spices. I used a dark roast coffee and brewed as normal (I made 8 cups). After it brewed, I stirred the coffee in the carafe to make sure the sugar dissolved then set a timer for 6 minutes. Perfection! So, so good! It didn’t let me select the stars, but I give it 5!
I love seeing stoneware like this, it’s beautiful! Ever since you wrote about piloncillo the other day I have been keeping an eye out for it, now I really have to since the other day I picked up some Chiapas coffee. I really like your recipes and your site!