Café de Olla (Mexican Spiced Coffee)

Ingredients

• 1 l water
• 40 g espresso, coarsely ground
• 80 g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 2 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp orange zest, in wide strips
• 1 pinch salt

Method

1. 1.

   Build the spiced syrup — Put the water, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon sticks, star anise, orange zest and salt into a clay olla or a heavy saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved — brown sugar with molasses stands in for the traditional cone of piloncillo.

2. 2.

   Draw out the cinnamon and orange — Turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes so the cinnamon and orange have time to give up their perfume and the liquid turns dark and faintly syrupy.

3. 3.

   Steep the coffee off the heat — Take the pot off the heat entirely, stir in the coarsely ground coffee, cover and leave to steep for 5 minutes. Coffee must never boil here: boiling scorches it and the whole pot turns harsh and bitter.

4. 4.

   Strain without pressing — Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a warmed jug, letting it drip through on its own — pressing the grounds pushes bitterness and silt into the cup.

5. 5.

   Sweeten to taste and serve — Serve piping hot in clay mugs, with a cinnamon stick in each if you like. Taste first and add a little more sugar: café de olla is meant to be frankly sweet. Keep it warm over the lowest heat, but never let it boil again.