I’m slightly addicted to coffee. Forget crack. It’s got nothing on coffee. Every morning, I must have a cup. If not, it ain’t pretty. My mother never gave us coffee as a kid. She’s never been a coffee drinker. It would stunt our growth, she said. (No wonder I’m not 7 feet tall). My grandmother, on the other hand, was a big time coffee drinker – a veritable coffee connoisseur. Maybe that’s where I get it from? In my teens, I visited my aunt in Mexico City. It was the first time I ever had Café de la Olla. It was just a little sip, but it was enough to get me hooked on this delicious drink.
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. If you can’t find it, you can use packed brown sugar
. (FYI, that’s $30 pesos, not $30 American dollars). To soften it, you can warm it up. One cup of this coffee is very sweet. Kinda like a caffeinated liquid dessert.
Not everyone uses cloves but whole cinnamon
is a must to make Café de la Olla. Stick with the stick. None of that powdered cinnamon stuff. I’ve seen recipes with powdered cinnamon. This is not traditional, but I get it. When you need your coffee fix, you’ll take anything even coffee from a shady vending machine at a low-end car dealership. My friends, you don’t know where that machine has been…
Café de la Olla is a traditional coffee drink from Mexico. It goes perfectly with pan dulce and a great way to start the day, or a pick-me-up at any part of the day. Warning: This stuff is almost as addictive as binge watching your favorite Netflix show… minus the eye strain. Hope you enjoy!
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup ground coffee (about 2½ ounces)
- 1 5-ounce piloncillo cone (or 1 cup brown sugar)
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- 3-4 whole cloves (optional)
- Combine all the ingredients in a stockpot.
- Bring to boil over high heat, breaking up the piloncillo to help dissolve.
- Remove from heat.
- Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Strain through a fine strainer.
- Pour the coffee into cups.
- Enjoy!
Mercedes says
Does the coffee need to be instant or the kind that goes in the coffee maker?
Maggie Unzueta says
You need the kind that goes in the coffee maker. Then, after it steeps, strain the coffee grounds. Hope you like it!
Pamela Bennett says
Even though I’m a White Russian/Irish girl, my Russian father grew up with a Mexican family from Tijuana, living there more than home! And my Russian grandmother, my Baboona, was born in a Russian Colony in Tijuana. Hence, I’m a massively huge Latina girl in my heart ❤️ I adore all foods Mexican that my Baboona and then my Irish mom, ( she learned from Baboon!), made! With all this said, I’ve never known what the piloncillo was! So happy I finally know! But what “glove” are you speaking about??? Surely not garlic??? Lol!!