The cafe often sponsors art shows by local Chicano artists, readings, mercaditos and music by members of the Latino community. Akat Cafe Kalli is a Mexican American-owned coffee shop in Lake Merritt, Oakland. Combined with the vitamin-rich cacao, Tovar considers café de olla a “superdrink.”īut Los Angeles isn’t the only place where you can enjoy a good cup of Mexican coffee. Because café de olla uses piloncillo, or unrefined cane sugar that still has molasses in it, there are enzymes in the drink that soothe the stomach. Tovar explained that after doing research into the history of café de olla, he began using roasted cacao in his recipe to make the drink truer to its original form and to honor the memory of the adelitas. His café de olla is smooth, thick, and rich with a chocolaty flavor. For his own café, Tovar sources the majority of his coffee from producers in Guadalajara and in Tijuana. Most of the coffee plantations were introduced to Mexico by German immigrants, most notably in Chiapas. Tovar said that coffee came to Mexico in the 1700s by French immigrants, who brought their beans from Cuba into Veracruz, and then it spread throughout Mexico. So I started searching for the coffees of different regions, and I found that one-third of the states in Mexico grow coffee and have a really good history behind them.” He told Latino USA, “I got into Mexican coffee because nobody was really paying attention to it, and you would only see coffees from Oaxaca or Veracruz. The owner, Chuy Tovar, who was born in Jalisco, is committed to sourcing all of his beans from Mexico. Primera Taza has been in Boyle Heights for just two years, but it has become an epicenter of the Mexican-American community and a place that welcomes local artists, political discussions and debate. It’s just blocks from Mariachi Plaza, and features Chicano art lining its clay colored walls and warm interior. A delicious example is the Mexican American-run coffee shop Primera Taza, in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The tradition of drinking Mexican coffee and café de olla is not only popular in Mexico, but its popularity is growing in the United States. The movement of resistance, and the fight to preserve indigenous customs in Chiapas is still ongoing, as is the Zapatista struggle for economic stability and autonomy in Mexico. That area is now known for both its cafetaleras and the struggle of the indigenous people for autonomy that culminated in an uprising in 1994.
The drink was said to be a favorite of Emiliano Zapata, the leading figure of the Mexican Revolution, and who would later become the namesake for the Zapatistas in Chiapas. They prepared café de olla with cinnamon, piloncillo, cloves, coffee and chocolate roasted in a clay pot, to serve as a filling drink that would help boost the soldiers’ energy throughout the day. During the early days of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, soldaderas, also known as adelitas, supported soldiers by cooking, cleaning and setting up camp.
Courtesy of Primera Taza.Ĭafé de olla is a drink steeped in Mexican history. Coffee at Primera Taza in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California.
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