Assembled
How to make café de olla
Café de olla means "coffee from the pot".
- Coffee
- 25 g
- Cup
- 220 ml
- Temp
- 95 °C
- Time
- 11:00
In its traditional form it is coffee brewed in an olla de barro, a clay pot, with piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar, sold as a cone) and canela (soft Mexican cinnamon). The pot sits on the heat, the sugar and spice dissolve into the water, and the coffee is added. This page gives a small two-mug batch and a timed sequence of about eleven minutes. Our version is a home adaptation. We use a measured amount of coarse coffee and take the pot off the heat before adding it. Many households and cooks do it differently, and some boil the coffee in the pot. This page does not cover bottled or instant versions.
The spec
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water | 500 ml |
| Piloncillo | 30 g, chopped or grated |
| Canela | 1 stick, about 3 g |
| Coffee | 25 g, coarse grind (1:20) |
| Yield | about 440 ml, two mugs |
| Cup | 350 ml mug, about 220 ml each |
| Total time | 11 minutes |
You need
- A pot with a lid. A clay olla is traditional. A small stainless pot works.
- A scale and a stirring spoon.
- A fine strainer, or a cloth.
- Piloncillo and canela. Brown sugar is the nearest common substitute, but piloncillo is less refined and tastes deeper.
Ratio 1:20 · Grind: coarse · grind chart
Starting ranges come from your grinder maker’s own guide. Burrs, beans and calibration vary, so treat them as where to begin.
Steps
- 0:00, Heat water, piloncillo and canela.
Put 500 ml of water, 30 g of piloncillo and the canela stick in the pot. Heat gently until it is steaming and just below a simmer, about 5 minutes.
- 5:00, Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Stir until the piloncillo has dissolved completely.
- 5:20, Off heat, stir in 25 g coffee.
Take the pot off the heat. Stir in 25 g of coarse coffee.
- 5:35, Cover and steep five minutes.
Cover and leave for 5 minutes.
- 10:35, Strain into two mugs.
Pour through a strainer into two mugs. Leave the last bit, which holds the sediment.
My notes for this recipe
Why these numbers
1:20 coffee to water. It is a little weaker than most hot brews, because piloncillo and canela add flavour that coffee does not have to carry alone. The ratio is authored. It follows the usual idea that spiced, sweetened coffee is gentler than a black cup.
30 g of piloncillo for 500 ml. That is 6 g per 100 ml, a medium sweetness. It is authored. Piloncillo cones come in different sizes, so weigh it. Taste after the first minute of steeping, and add a pinch more if needed.
One canela stick. About 3 g. Mexican canela is commonly described as softer and more crumbly than the hard cassia sticks sold in many shops. Cassia is stronger, so use half a stick if that is what you have. The remark on canela comes from common cooking guidance, which we did not verify in a primary source.
Off the heat, then steep. Boiling ground coffee extracts harsh, bitter notes. Adding it after the pot comes off the heat keeps it milder. This is an authored change, not the traditional method, which often has coffee simmered in the pot. If you prefer that, simmer for one minute only and compare.
Coarse grind. The coffee sits in the water, so the grind should be near the French press band of 900 to 1300 microns on CupTune's grind size chart. A fine grind will pass through the strainer and leave grit in the mug.
A clay pot. Clay holds heat evenly, and many people say it flavours the drink. We have no measurement of that effect, so treat it as tradition, not evidence. If you buy an olla, make sure it is sold for cooking and is food-safe. The US FDA says lead may be present in the glazes of some traditional pottery, has reported traditional pottery from Mexico labelled "lead free" that contained extractable lead, and advises against cooking, serving or storing food or drinks in pottery that tests positive for leachable lead (FDA). A label alone is not proof: ask the seller for a lab test, or use a stainless pot.
If it looks or tastes wrong
- Bitter and harsh. Water was too hot when the coffee went in, or it steeped too long. Cool the pot a minute, or steep 4 minutes.
- Too sweet or sticky. Use 20 g of piloncillo next time.
- Thin and tastes mostly of sugar and cinnamon. Use 30 g of coffee, not 25 g.
- Grit at the bottom of the mug. Grind was too fine or the strainer too open. Strain through a paper filter or cloth.
- Piloncillo is still a lump. Chop it smaller before heating, and stir for longer.
These fixes are CupTune's judgement, not tested on a clay pot.
Evidence and limits
The only primary source on this page is the FDA's note on lead-glazed pottery. CupTune cites none on café de olla itself, and we did not trace its history, so this page does not make claims about where or when it began. Every number is authored. The notes on clay, canela and cassia are common cooking knowledge that we did not verify. The traditional recipe has many family variations, so the ratios here are one adaptation, tested on paper only.
Questions
Can I use brown sugar?
You can, at about 25 g for this batch. The taste will be lighter. Piloncillo is closer to the traditional drink.
Can I add cloves or anise?
Some cooks do. Start with one clove, and taste before adding more.
Is it served with milk?
Traditionally, no. It is served black and sweet.