Olla Express Café launches Pan de Muerto latte, tapping into Mexico’s traditional Día de Muertos flavors
- Courtesy Photo / Olla Express Café
- Like it’s namesake, the Pan de Muerto latte features citrus notes and easy, natural sweetness.
Coffee truck Olla Express Café has a new fall-inspired menu including Pan de Muerto latte, a coffee so full of nostalgic flavors that owner Andrea Ley said she was brought to tears once she perfected the recipe.
The drink’s inspiration is the traditional sweetbread baked in Mexico during the weeks leading up to the Día de Muertos, the Mexican holiday during which families remember loved ones who have died. And like that namesake, Ley’s latte features citrus notes and easy, natural sweetness.
“When I got the recipe to the point where it was really balanced and the flavor was perfected, I wanted to cry. It was just amazing,” Ley told the Current. “After so many tastings, we were amazed by the azahar [an orange blossom water made in Mexico for tea]. When people sip on this, they say, ‘Oh, my God, it’s like drinking Dia De Muerto!’”
Ley sees her truck as a means to invite others to partake in the traditions of her childhood in Mexico. Olla Express Café is credited with introducing café de olla — a Mexican coffee prepared in a traditional earthen clay pot — to SA in 2017.
- Instagram / sacurrent
“My mission is to bring flavors to coffee that take you back to your abuelita’s home, back to Mexico,” she said. “When I see the smiles on customers’ faces, that’s the best reward, because they’re traveling when they’re sipping my coffee. … Café can take you to so many beautiful places.”
While Día de Muertos is only celebrated from Saturday, October 31, to Monday, November 2, the Pan de Muerto latte will be available throughout the cooler holiday months. Follow Ley on social media to find out where her bright blue mobile coffee shop will be posted up on Saturdays and Sundays.
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