Mexican Coffee, Or Café de Olla

This is my version for one of the most delicious beverages we have in Mexico: Café de Olla (Claypot Coffee).

It is perfect to start your day, after lunch or with dessert, or simply to enjoy in the middle of the evening. The combination of cinnamon, coffee and piloncillo (sugarcane molasses with a nice different taste) is just irresistible.

The traditional way to prepare it, is to boil the water in a claypot and then sweeten it with piloncillo, while infusing cinnamon and clove into it. Then, the coffee is made in this infusion. But I know not everyone has a claypot at home, so I chose to use my traditional coffee maker and got almost identical results!!! I hope you enjoy!

 Yields: 6 servings

Cook Time: 10 min

Preparation Time: 5 min

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp of ground coffee (preferably a dark roast)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of ground clove
• 6 cups of water
• Piloncillo (also known as panela) to sweeten (to your taste)

Directions:

1. Mix the coffee with the spices and put them in the filter of your coffee maker. Use only 5 cups of water to make the coffee and prepare it as you usually do. You can also use a french press to prepare the coffee, let it rest at least for 5 min).
2. To sweeten the coffee, cut a 2 in square of the piloncillo and chop it roughly (this is how I like the coffee, you can always add more/less piloncillo to your taste). Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the piloncillo, stirring constantly. Once you have the coffee ready, add the sweetened water and there you go: Café de Olla! Enjoy!