flipCafé de Olla with Cinnamon and Piloncillo
Café de Olla with Cinnamon and Piloncillo
Why this dish? Frida reportedly drank very strong black coffee; café de olla, scented with cinnamon and sweetened with piloncillo, is the traditional Mexican version served after the meal.
A black coffee simmered in a clay pot (olla) with a cinnamon stick and raw cane sugar. Spiced, comforting, slightly caramelized.
My coffee, I want it black as the Coyoacán night and strong enough to wake the dead! I boil it in the olla de barro with the canela and a piece of piloncillo that melts and caramelizes — that's what makes it bittersweet, almost like a secret. We drink it in clay cups, because in metal it loses its soul, I tell you. One cup at breakfast, another after the comida, and the cigarette to go with it.
- •Ground Mexican coffee (Veracruz, Oaxaca) — to taste, coarsely ground (base)
- •Piloncillo (raw cane sugar cone) — one piece (caramelized sweetness)
- •Cinnamon stick (canela) — 1 (aroma)
Café de Olla with Cinnamon and Piloncillo
A black coffee simmered in a clay pot (olla) with a cinnamon stick and raw cane sugar. Spiced, comforting, slightly caramelized.
Why this dish? Frida reportedly drank very strong black coffee; café de olla, scented with cinnamon and sweetened with piloncillo, is the traditional Mexican version served after the meal.
My coffee, I want it black as the Coyoacán night and strong enough to wake the dead! I boil it in the olla de barro with the canela and a piece of piloncillo that melts and caramelizes — that's what makes it bittersweet, almost like a secret. We drink it in clay cups, because in metal it loses its soul, I tell you. One cup at breakfast, another after the comida, and the cigarette to go with it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ground Mexican coffee (Veracruz, Oaxaca) — to taste, coarsely ground (base)
- Piloncillo (raw cane sugar cone) — one piece (caramelized sweetness)
- Cinnamon stick (canela) — 1 (aroma)
Ingredients
- Water — 1 L (base)
- Ground coffee (filter grind) — 6 tbsp (coffee)
- Piloncillo (or dark brown sugar) — 60 g (sweetness)
- Ceylon cinnamon stick — 1 (aroma)
Method
- Bring water to a simmer with piloncillo and cinnamon, stir until sugar dissolves.
- Remove from heat, add ground coffee, cover, and steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain and serve very hot in clay cups.
How it was made : Café de olla takes its name from the *olla de barro*, the clay pot that gives it its characteristic flavor. Born during the Mexican Revolution, it was the drink of *soldaderas* and home kitchens. Piloncillo was sold in hard cones at markets.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a small glazed clay *jarrito* with a cinnamon stick planted in it as a stirrer.
Sources : Diana Kennedy, *The Cuisines of Mexico*, 1972
Frida Kahlo · Charactorium