Where to find the best café de olla in Los Angeles

A caffeinated cup of coffee infused with cinnamon, piloncillo, anise, clove and a dash of grated orange peel — there’s never a bad time to drink café de olla. There’s a nostalgic joke among the Mexican diaspora that we enjoy hot liquids in parching weather, but the classic comfort drink is especially soothing during cold-weather months. For many first-generation Latinos, a sip takes them back to abuelita’s house. For others, café de olla reminds them of their home country — Mexico.

“I’m Oaxaqueña, and in Oaxaca every day you start the day with café de olla,” said restaurant owner and chef Rocio Camacho of Rocio’s Mexican Kitchen.

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With 12 traditional Oaxacan moles to choose from on her menu, Camacho’s restaurant in Bell Gardens is an ode to her Oaxacan roots. But Camacho distinctly remembers the first thing she put on her breakfast menu when she opened her restaurant doors: café de olla.

“The specialty item at my restaurant is mole, but after that it’s café de olla,” said Camacho.

Café de olla literally translates to coffee from a pot, because traditionally the drink is brewed in a clay pot. It will look pretty much like drip coffee, but you’ll quickly spot the difference when you smell the cinnamon sticks the coffee is brewed with, and taste the distinct sweetness of piloncillo The drink is traditionally served hot, but chilled variations are popping up in L.A., including cold brews and iced lattes.

Most of the coffee in Mexico is produced in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Puebla. Historians date coffee’s arrival in Mexico to the late 18th century. The exact date when café de olla was first made is unknown. But what is known is that café de olla played a big part in the Mexican Revolution. Women revolutionaries, also known as adelitas, prepared café de olla for soldiers before they went off to battle.

Since then, coffee, in particular café de olla, has become deeply rooted in Mexican culture.

In Southern California, a good café de olla is typically found at a Mexican restaurant like El Huarachito in Lincoln Heights, which has been in business for more than two decades. In recent years, more coffee shops throughout L.A. have been offering café de olla. For Latino coffee shops, like La Monarca, café de olla is a menu staple that is enjoyed year-round.

As more young Latinos begin to stake a claim in L.A.’s coffee world, coffee shops like Cruzita’s in Huntington Park and Picaresca in Boyle Heights are beginning to serve their own versions of café de olla.

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“It’s a nostalgic drink,” said Elisa Hoyos, co-owner of Picaresca.

Hoyos grew up in Lincoln Heights and frequently visited El Huarachito with her family for its delicious food and café de olla. Now as a coffee shop owner, Hoyos, along with business partner Leo Abularach, serves a new interpretation of the nostalgic café de olla recipe.

“We definitely wanted to have items on the menu that catered to our community,” Hoyos said. So they created a syrup with traditional café de olla ingredients that they add to iced and hot lattes.

Along with Picaresca, below is a list of nine cafes throughout Los Angeles that have mastered café de olla.