The only place in the world where you can see cacao and chocolate so imbedded in every day life is Oaxaca, Mexico. Although 70% of the world’s cacao production is in Africa, Mexico has no competition when it comes to daily consumption and use of cacao. Go to any mercado in Oaxaca and you will find vendors selling fermented cacao, washed cacao, balam (cacao’s cousin), fermented balam, cacao paste, or chocolate disks. And you will see they will be making many cacao based drinks. Here are the most popular and most consumed cacao drinks of Mexico; some you can make at home and some you have to travel to Mexico to experience – the most uncommon and indigenous recipes will be in southern Mexico.
- Tejate– You can see women beginning to mix and massage this dough at 8 in the morning in the markets in Oaxaca. They begin the preparation early but you have to wait until 11am to have the drink which is typically consumed as a snack right before lunch. It begins with a paste made from ground corn, ground cacao, mamey seed, rosita de cacao (flower), and optional, sugar. This paste gets a hand/arm massage for a few hours while gently pouring cold water on it. The process of massaging allows the cocoa butter to be released and creates a “whipped cream” foam. This drink is always made in a large clay pot which serves as a thermic vessel. Once the ice is added the drink stays cool all afternoon. You can ask them to add sugar if you prefer a sweet drink. They serve you in gourd, a bowl made from the flesh of a local fruit. This is not to go, you drink it in front of the vender and return the bowl. Every vendor has a slightly different recipe- some add nuts and omit the mamey seed, there are many variations. You should try all of them before deciding on a favorite. In one trip to the market I try four different types, shared with friends. This is a good reason to have friends. Please visit my post about “How to Make Tejate” if you want a recipe.
2. Chocolate-Atole – this is not champurrado (atole made with chocolate). This is an entirely different magical drink- the most complicated that exists in all of Mexico and Latin America. This drink is only consumed and made in Oaxaca. The main ingredient is fermented theobroma bicolor beans, a cousin to cacao. They are fermented underground for 5 months until it goes from resembling a seed to resembling chalk. You make a paste with cacao, the fermented bicolor, wheat, rice, and cinnamon. Grind this on a metate, mix this with a little water to make a foam and use this foam on top of a corn based atole. It is a drink that is prepared for rituals and ceremonies and it is difficult to find an authentic preparation.
For chocolate atole recipe click here.
3. Tascalate: This is the lightest and most refreshing of the cacao drinks; it is served cold preferably over ice. The deep red orange color comes from the annatto seeds and you can find this drink at restaurants to accompany your meal. Depending where you are in Mexico, this can taste more like cacao, toasted corn, or annatto. You can enjoy with our without sugar and with water or milk. For more on Tascalate and a recipe go here.
4. Chocolate: Any drink from Mexico all the way down to Peru, that has cacao and water/milk will be called chocolate. It might have milk or water, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, all spice, sesame seeds, different types of sugars, and even cheese. All are know under the name chocolate. In Mexico what is most commonly known as chocolate is ground cacao, cinnamon, sugar and water or milk. Served room temperature or hot. This is the classic drink that every Mexican on the planet drinks or has drunk. In the USA it is most commonly known as Mexican Hot Chocolate.
It is my favorite way to consume chocolate and the first drink you should try if you have never had a cacao based drink. For much more on what is Mexican hot chocolate or a recipe on how to make Mexican Hot Chocolate from scratch please read my posts.
5. Champurrado: This thick sweet drink is the queen of the holidays. It can be drunk every day for breakfast but must be present at all Christmas related holidays accompanied by tamales or sweet breads. This is always served hot. A normal recipe will include corn masa (corn dough), cacao, cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar, milk or water. Although variations can be made with cornstarch or rice. This is the drink that makes my heart warm. It is extremely filling and rich; like porridge. For more information than you need to know on champurrado and how to make it, visit my post here.
All of these recipes have their roots in Pre-Hispanic Latin America but have now been mixed with the Spanish influence. The most important ingredients being sugar, cinnamon, and milk. If you would like to understand what these drinks were actually like 1,000 years ago remove all of those 3 ingredients. You might not like it. You have to put yourself in that time; before cornflakes, donuts, cinnamon buns, coffee, tea, milk, and much more.
Consuming cacao and water is very filling and stimulating but you have to free yourself from any other sugar and caffeine in your life before understanding the true effects of just cacao and water.
