Love Hot Drinks? Try This Coffee Drink That’s Traditionally Cooked in a Clay Pot

People who love drinking coffee can’t imagine starting their day without pouring a cup. Their passion for hot coffee frequently compels them to experiment with new and thrilling preparation techniques beyond their usual setup. Have you heard of Café de Olla? It translates to “coffee from the pot” in Spanish, and it’s an adventurous hot beverage that recently became popular.

A Brief History of Café de Olla

Café de Olla, steeped in flavor and history, was created during the Mexican Revolution, from 1910 to 1920. During this time, female soldiers, known as Adelitas prepared spiced and sweet coffee to make other soldiers energized all day long. It’s said that the original recipe for this coffee includes chocolate, cloves, piloncillo, and cinnamon. Together, these ingredients were simmered in a clay pot known as an olla de barro.

How to Make Café de Olla

This Café de Olla recipe contains only coffee, piloncillo, and cinnamon. That said, it’s a blank canvas for adding more ingredients. This recipe can be prepared in an olla or any medium-sized pot.

Ingredients for the Coffee Recipe

1/3 cup piloncillo, or as a substitute, packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of dark-roasted, medium-ground coffee
1 small cinnamon stick (preferably Mexican cinnamon or canela)

Directions for Preparing Café de Olla

Add four cups of cold water, piloncillo (or brown sugar), cinnamon, and coffee to a small or medium pot, or olla. Over medium heat, stir the piloncillo until it dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to steep for five minutes. Then, place the strainer or coffee filter with fine mesh over a pitcher and strain the coffee. Pour it into mugs, and serve it hot.

Café de Olla is straightforward to prepare and looks like standard black coffee. However, the flavor is worth the extra effort. This coffee is both sweet and bold. If you want to make things a little bit more interesting, try adding orange peels for a citrusy kick.