What does café de olla taste like?
Café de olla tastes like warm, spiced coffee sweetened with dark brown sugar: cinnamon, molasses and coffee, cozy and sweet but not creamy.
Café de olla
cinnamon coffee, brown sugar sweet
Café de olla is Mexican coffee simmered in a clay pot (olla) with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined cane sugar that tastes like dark brown sugar and molasses. Some recipes add orange peel, clove or star anise. The cinnamon is the first thing you smell, then you get sweet, caramel-like coffee that's softer and less bitter than a regular cup. It's served black, without milk, though some cafés offer it. Traditional café de olla has no alcohol, though bars sometimes add a splash of mezcal or tequila.
Where you’ll see it
At Mexican restaurants and cafés, especially with breakfast or pan dulce, served hot in a clay mug or cup. Some cafés make iced or latte versions.
Order it if you want coffee that tastes like cinnamon and brown sugar.
Quick questions
- Does café de olla have alcohol?
- No, the traditional version is just coffee, cinnamon and piloncillo. Some bars offer a spiked version, but it is listed separately.
- What is piloncillo?
- Unrefined Mexican cane sugar, sold in cone shapes. It tastes like dark brown sugar with a molasses depth.