Café de Olla is a Mexican spiced coffee drink made with piloncillo, spices, and ground coffee. It’s simple to make on the stove and it’s great for spicing up your morning coffee routine.
If you like spiced caffeinated drinks like Masala Chai, then you have to try Café de Olla (oy-yah). It’s a popular Mexican coffee drink made with cinnamon, piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar), and ground coffee. Sometimes other spices and orange peel are thrown into the mix like our recipe here. The result is a heavenly concoction that’s sweet, complex, and warming.
Because of the added sweetness and spices, it’s great on its own, but you can add a splash of milk or half-and-half if you like a bit of dairy in your coffee. For food pairing, you can’t go wrong with other Mexican foods like our Chipotle Chilaquiles or a baked good like conchas.
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Find the full list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions in the recipe card below!
- Piloncillo: This is a key ingredient for making café de olla. It’s an unrefined cane sugar cone that you can find in most grocery stores (at least here in Texas) or at a Mexican supermarket.
- Mexican Cinnamon Stick (Canela): Also known as Ceylon cinnamon, this type of cinnamon is less intense and more brittle than the usual Cassia cinnamon that’s used in most American recipes. They’re pretty easy to find at most grocery stores.
- Ground Coffee: A good strong coffee is best. Our go-to for this recipe is Café Bustelo.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This section provides a general overview as well as any pictures to guide you through the recipe. The full detailed recipe instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
1. Heat the sugar, spices, and water. Place them in a saucepan over medium heat and stir occasionally until the piloncillo has melted. Increase the heat and bring to a boil.
2. Steep the coffee. Turn off the heat and stir in the coffee grounds. Cover and steep for 6 minutes.
3. Strain the coffee. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or a cheesecloth. It’s now ready to enjoy!
Ways to Enjoy Café de Olla
- By itself: If you’re not into having dairy in your coffee, feel free to enjoy it without anything extra. The sugar and spices add plenty of flavor anyways!
- With milk or half-and-half: We usually add 2 tbsp of half-and-half to our cup, but you can also add milk.
- With pan dulce: Conchas are a classic, but of course, any kind of Mexican sweet bread is always a good choice.
- Iced: If you have leftover coffee in the fridge, just pour it over ice and enjoy!
If you made this Café de Olla recipe, please let us know by leaving a star rating and review down below. We’d love to hear from you!
📖 Recipe
Café de Olla
Equipment
- Small Saucepan
- Fine Mesh Sieve
Ingredients
- 3 oz (84 g) piloncillo
- 1 Mexican cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 3-inch (7.6 cm) piece orange peel
- 4 cups (1 litre) water
- 4 tbsp ground coffee we use Café Bustelo
Instructions
- To a small saucepan, add the piloncillo, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, orange peel, and water. Place it over medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
- Increase to medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn off the heat and quickly stir in the ground coffee. Cover and let it steep for 6 minutes.
- Strain the coffee through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth and enjoy!
Notes
- Pour any leftover coffee into an airtight bottle and keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
- You can also enjoy it over ice! Just let it cool all the way to room temperature first or keep it in the fridge until chilled.
- Makes around 4 cups (1 litre) of coffee.
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