A delicious Mexican treat, cafe de olla is coffee brewed in a pot with spices and other aromatics. There are many ways to spice up this recipe, including adding cloves or cardamom. Here, we keep things simple with cinnamon and orange peel. The coffee is further enriched with a little piloncillo, a unrefined brown sugar sold in solid cones that adds a subtle molasses flavor to the coffee.
Makes 7-8 cups
- 1 1/2 quarts water
- 4 slices orange peel, about 1/2 inch wide by 2 inches long
- 3 oz piloncillo
- 1 three-inch stick cinnamon
- 3/4 cup freshly ground coffee (medium roast, medium grind)
Place a large pot (or olla) over high heat and add the water. Once boiling, add the piloncillo, cinnamon and orange zest. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pour the water through a sieve to strain out the solids and return the water to the pot. Discard the solids.
Return the water to a boil and slowly add the coffee grinds. Be careful as adding them too fast will cause the water to froth up and overflow the pot. When the water returns to the boil, cover with a lid and remove from heat. Let sit for a total of 8 minutes for the coffee to steep.
Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to strain out the coffee grinds, and then again through a permanent coffee filter and into your coffee pot.
[...] be no more cafe de ollla until next winter. Learn to make you own from the video below, or simply check out the recipe. It’s easy to make and the flavors infused into this coffee are absolutely [...]