At our bakery, Gusto Bread, we've been offering café de olla daily since we opened the storefront in 2020. This was way before we had an espresso machine to make more elaborate coffee drinks, since all the equipment you need to brew this tasty warming beverage is a pot and a strainer.
There are probably as many recipes for Café de Olla as there are families in México, so you may adjust the spices and sweetness to your taste and preferences. We keep it simple by only spicing it with whole canela and keeping the sweetness at a slight level with evaporated cane juice.
As some folks call this "Mexican coffee" we embrace that idea and take it all the way by making ours with coffees grown in México, thus making it truly Mexican coffee. We find that these cafés pair excellently with the spices and sweet tones of the beverage, too.
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
- filtered water : 6 cups
- whole canela sticks (aka ceylon cinnamon - avoid cassia or powders): 2ea
- cane sugar or piloncillo : 2-3 tbsp
- coffee (coarsely ground / for French press) : 80 gr
Process
- Add canela and cane to water in a medium sized pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add coffee grounds and turn off heat. Stir to hydrate all grounds and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Strain with reusable/fabric coffee filter or fine mesh strainer
- Serve hot brew immediately or pour into thermos to enjoy for a longer while
Tastes great chilled and over ice too!
Try it for yourself with some freshly roasted options from Café Cuate in the shop.
