Coffee in Mexico
Coffee is not native to the Americas. It reached Mexico in the late eighteenth century, and its cultivation expanded through the nineteenth century into the mountain regions where it is now a major crop. The reasons are partly geographic: coffee does well at moderate to high altitude in warm, humid, frost-free climates, and southern and central Mexico have many such slopes.
The best-known growing areas include Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Puebla, with significant production also in Guerrero and Hidalgo, among other states. Many farms are small, family-run plots, and in parts of the country coffee is grown under a canopy of shade trees, often mixed with bananas, citrus or other crops. Flavour differs by altitude, variety, soil and processing, and it is better to say that coffee from one region is “often described as” a certain style than to promise a fixed profile.
Mexican coffee also has an everyday life that is not about specialty beans. Much of the country’s daily coffee is instant, filtered or lightly roasted and drunk at breakfast or in the afternoon, and traditional preparation in a pot is only one part of it.
Cafe de olla
The best-known traditional preparation is cafe de olla, which means “pot coffee”. The coffee is simmered with cinnamon and unrefined cane sugar in a clay pot, then strained into cups or mugs. The result is sweet, lightly spiced and a little earthy.
Three ingredients define it:
- Coffee. Typically a medium roast, ground coarsely, since the grounds spend several minutes in hot water.
- Cinnamon. A stick of Mexican cinnamon (canela), which is softer and more fragile than the harder cassia sticks common in other countries, and tends to give a gentler flavour.
- Piloncillo. Cones of unrefined cane sugar, with a deep, molasses-like sweetness. You can read more about piloncillo sugar and its forms elsewhere, but for coffee it is simply chopped or broken so it dissolves quickly.
Some households also add a clove, a star anise or a piece of orange peel. These additions vary a lot from family to family and from region to region, and none is required.
Brewing method
The method is simple, and exact quantities are a matter of taste. As a rough guide, a small piece of piloncillo and one cinnamon stick are used per litre of water, with about a tablespoon of coarsely ground coffee per cup of water. Adjust sweetness to your own preference.
- Heat the water in a pot with the piloncillo and cinnamon, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Bring it to a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil.
- Remove from the heat, add the coffee, stir once, and cover.
- Let it steep for a few minutes so the grounds sink.
- Strain through a fine sieve or cloth into cups.
Two points are worth remembering. Boiling coffee for a long time can make it bitter, so the usual advice is to add the coffee off the heat or after the simmer and let it infuse. And the grounds should be coarse enough to settle, since there is no paper filter in the pot.
Why a clay pot
Traditionally, the drink is made in earthenware, known as an olla de barro. Clay heats gently and holds warmth well, and many people feel it adds a mild earthy note, especially when the pot has been used for a long time. A new clay pot should be cured and used according to the maker’s instructions to avoid cracking, and glazed pots from unknown sources should be checked, since some glazes are not food safe. A stainless pot works fine for everyday cooking, and the resulting coffee is still cafe de olla in the sense that matters: sweet, spiced and simmered. More on the pots themselves appears in the discussion of the clay cazuela and other earthenware, though the olla is a taller, rounder shape.
Serving and context
Cafe de olla is traditionally served in mugs, often earthenware, and drunk hot. It is a common companion to sweet bread, so a breakfast or evening snack might pair it with pan dulce, which suits the sweet, spiced cup. In the Mexican mealtime rhythm, coffee often appears at breakfast and again in the late afternoon or evening merienda.
It is also associated with cold mornings, markets and festivals. Stalls in tianguis markets and street corners often sell hot drinks, and in cooler highland regions a warm cup is a common start to the day. For other warm drinks, from corn-based atoles to the thicker chocolate champurrado, see the wider overview of Mexican beverages.
Variations and cautions
Some cooks add a splash of milk, a dash of chile or a little cocoa, though these are modern or personal touches rather than a fixed rule. Others make an iced version, which is a recent adaptation.
Coffee contains caffeine, and sensitivity differs from person to person; people who are pregnant, sensitive to caffeine, or advised by a doctor to limit it should adjust accordingly. Serve it hot but not scalding, and take care when pouring from a hot clay pot.
Tasting notes
A good cafe de olla should taste like coffee first, with sweetness and cinnamon in support. If it tastes mostly of sugar, the piloncillo was probably too generous; if it is harsh, the coffee may have simmered too long or the grind may have been too fine. Because the drink is forgiving, small adjustments over a few batches are usually enough to find a version that suits you.