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Mexican

Café de olla

Vegetarian

Coffee simmered in a pot with cinnamon and dark piloncillo sugar, traditionally brewed in a clay pot — sweet, spiced and comforting.

Café de olla is a Mexican hot drink from Mexico, ready in about 19 minutes and made with brown sugar, cinnamon and finely ground coffee. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Top view of Mexican cafe de olla with cinnamon sticks, chocolate, and coffee beans on a rustic table.
Photo: Vintage Lenses / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
2 min
Cook
12 min
Rest
5 min
Total
19 min
Serves
4
Level
Beginner
Calories
66

Ingredients

4 cups

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Bring the water, sugar, cinnamon (opens in a new tab) and cloves (opens in a new tab) (and orange (opens in a new tab) peel, if using) to the boil in a pot, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Take off the heat, stir in the coffee, cover and steep for 5 minutes, until the grounds sink and the coffee is dark and fragrant.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    Strain through a fine sieve or cloth into cups and serve hot.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Mexico · Well documentedMore food from Mexico
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Hot drinks
Cooking method
Simmered, Boiled
Taste
sweet, aromatic / warmly spiced, bitter
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Brown sugar · Cinnamon · Finely ground coffee
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

66 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 268 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 2%
  • Carbohydrate 98%
  • Fat 0%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy66 kcal25 kcal
Protein0.3 g0.1 g
Carbohydrate16.8 g6.3 g
Net carbohydrate16.4 g6.1 g
Sugars14.6 g5.4 g
Added sugars14.6 g5.4 g
Fibre0.4 g0.1 g
Fat0 g0 g
Saturated fat0 g0 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium10 mg4 mg
Salt equivalent0 g0 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
94 mg
Calcium
48 mg
Iron
0.3 mg
Magnesium
13 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
0 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: cloves, orange.
  • Finely ground coffee: Instant coffee powder used as a stand-in for the soluble part of roasted ground coffee; list the grams actually consumed with consumedGrams.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Storage

  • Best fresh; keeps 1 day refrigerated and can be served iced.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & Blend

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Orange, peel only, in a strip (optional)0.25 piece · 33 g
Used in step 1

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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