Iced Café de Olla

In many Mexican households, a cafecito and a pan dulce serve as a pre-breakfast or post-dinner snack. Traditionally made in a clay pot, Café de Olla is made with a blend of warm spices that often includes cinnamon, clove, and star anise. It’s often served black with the piloncillo (unrefined whole cane sugar) as a sweetener.

This recipe draws inspiration from the Mexican mocha, a coffee made by combining cocoa powder and chiles. The recipe calls for chiles de arbol because they pack a punch despite their small size, and the closest chiles you can substitute are chiles japones. The world of dried chiles has varieties that are smoky, earthy, and fruity, so experiment to see what you like best. This drink is best served over ice, so there’s a unique dynamic between the warm and spicy notes against the cold coffee touching your tongue.

This Café de Olla is sweetened with a touch of condensed milk but feel free to leave it out for a more traditional take on the drink. Since condensed milk is thick, you'll need to take your time stirring it in until it's fully incorporated. You can also swap it for regular or plant-based milk for a less sweetened version.

How to brew coffee for a Café de Olla

If you take your coffee brewing seriously, you probably have a lot of questions about maximizing this drink's potential. Start with the coffee beans. Some recipes call for instant coffee but ground coffee beans will taste much better. For convenience, you can use pre-ground coffee, but freshly ground coffee will have a more potent aroma and flavor. If you opt to grind your beans, make sure not to grind it too finely as this makes it difficult to filter. Don’t pull out your top-shelf coffee beans for this recipe either, since the spices will overshadow them. It’s also important not to bring the water to a complete boil as it’ll make the coffee unpleasantly bitter — around 200°F should work.  

You'll want to give the same consideration to the spices as you do to the coffee beans. Always opt for whole spices over ground, since the latter tends to lose its potency over time. While your whole spices don't need to be brand new, it's best not to use spices that have been in the cupboard for years. Give them a whiff and if they have a dull or faded scent, toss and replace them.

Once the spices and coffee grounds have infused the water, it's essential to completely strain any debris. Then, let it completely cool before serving over ice. If the coffee is served too warm, it will melt the ice and dilute the flavor. To prepare the drink in advance, refrigerate the spiced coffee and hold off on adding the ice and condensed milk until right before serving.

Whether you’re enjoying your Café de Olla in the early morning or late night, the kick of heat and heavy dose of spices is sure to energize you. While the process is more time consuming than switching on an automatic coffee pot, it’s worth the effort for a weekend morning.