☕Café de Olla: Traditional Mexican Coffee with Piloncillo and Cinnamon

What is café de olla?

It's the traditional way coffee is made in many Mexican homes, especially in the countryside and small towns: instead of going through a coffee maker, the coffee is brewed right in the pot along with the sweetener and spices. Piloncillo gives it a deep, almost caramel sweetness, and the cinnamon fills the whole kitchen with its aroma.

There's no single recipe. Every family has its own touch: some add cloves, star anise or orange peel, some like it strong and dark, and some make it lighter for the afternoon. What never changes is the base: water, piloncillo, cinnamon and coffee.

It's also the coffee of fondas, market stalls and town festivals, the one served in a little clay mug with a piece of pan dulce on the side.

Why is café de olla made in a clay pot?

A clay pot heats slowly and evenly, and plenty of people swear it gives the coffee an earthy note no other pot can match. It's also part of the ritual: café de olla served in a clay jarrito just tastes like Mexico.

If you're buying a clay pot or jarritos to cook with, look for ones labeled lead-free. Some traditional glazed clay pieces can have lead in the glaze, and it's not worth the risk.

No clay pot? No problem: a regular stainless steel saucepan works perfectly. The flavor changes very little and the recipe stays the same.

What coffee is best for café de olla?

Ideally, a dark or medium roast coffee with a coarse or medium-coarse grind, the kind you'd use in a French press. If the grind is too fine, it slips through the strainer and the coffee turns muddy and bitter.

Mexican coffees from Veracruz, Chiapas or Oaxaca are the classic choice, but any whole bean coffee you enjoy will work. Pick it up at your grocery store or local roaster and ask for a coarse grind.

And if you want the flavor without boiling anything, there are instant coffees made in the café de olla style that are ready with hot water in a minute. More on those in the last section.

What is piloncillo, and what can you use instead?

Piloncillo is unrefined cane sugar sold in cone shapes; in other Latin American countries it's called panela. It tastes deeper than white sugar, with notes of caramel and molasses, and it's the heart of café de olla. It's hard as a rock, so chop or grate it to help it dissolve faster.

If you can't find it, use dark brown sugar. It still tastes good, though piloncillo has a rounder, richer flavor.

Cinnamon works the same way. Mexico uses Ceylon cinnamon, the thin, flaky sticks sold in the U.S. as canela or Mexican cinnamon. It's softer and more aromatic than cassia, the thick, hard cinnamon that's most common in American grocery stores. If cassia is all you have, use a smaller piece, since its flavor is stronger.

How do you make café de olla?

The full recipe, with amounts, is in the recipe card on this page. These are the details that make it taste like home:

• •Piloncillo and cinnamon go first: boil them in the water until the piloncillo fully dissolves. That gives the cinnamon time to release its flavor.
• •Add the coffee off the heat: if it boils for long, it turns bitter.
• •Steep it covered: 5 to 10 minutes is enough for the coffee to give up its flavor and for the grounds to settle.
• •Strain gently: a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth keeps the grounds out of your cup.
• •Make it yours: more piloncillo if you like it sweet, more coffee if you like it strong.

start to finish, give or take

20 min

when the coffee goes in, so it doesn't turn bitter

Heat off

of steeping with the pot covered

5 to 10 min

or medium-coarse, like for a French press

Coarse grind

What do you serve with café de olla?

Pan dulce, no question. A concha or a cuernito from the bakery, some butter cookies or a few polvorones are perfect for dunking. It's also great with tamales for breakfast or on a cold afternoon.

In December, café de olla shares the table with champurrado and Mexican hot chocolate at posadas and family dinners. If you're hosting a Mexican-style merienda, make all three and let everyone pick their favorite.

Where to buy what you need for café de olla in the U.S.?

Piloncillo is the hardest ingredient to find outside Mexico, and it's the one you can't skip. Mexican-brand cinnamon sticks, like Verde Valle, can go in the same order. Ground coffee you can pick up at your regular grocery store.

Want the flavor without gathering ingredients? Tanto Mucho ground café de olla already comes mixed with piloncillo, cinnamon and anise: brew it in a pot or a drip coffee maker and it comes out sweetened. And if you are in a hurry, two shortcuts give you that café de olla flavor without boiling anything: Nescafé café de olla style instant coffee and Moretto instant coffee with piloncillo and cinnamon. Just add hot water. Another home trick: boil water with piloncillo and a cinnamon stick, then stir in your everyday instant coffee, like Nescafé Clásico.

MexGoodies carries piloncillo and these original Mexican coffees, and ships anywhere in the U.S. in 3 to 7 days (Canada too).

Frequently asked questions