01/05/2022
Cacao and Chocolate Drinks
Mexico offers hundreds of different possibilities on how to drink your cacao. Here 4 options:
Tejate: typical in Oaxaca, is drunken cold at all times of the day - ingredients are corn, cacao, ground seed of the Mamey and rosita de cacao (not to be confused with the cacao flowers, Quararibea funebris is a traditional medicinal plant). While this drink has a suspicious lumps on top, it is incredibly smooth to drink
Chocolate Caliente: served with ground cacao, almonds, cinnamon and loads of sugar or piloncillo. Here the froth and foam is essential.
Atole: This is normally a hot drink with water and corn, it can be flavoured with anything you like. The one in the picture is done with blue corn and ground cacao. There is only a tiny bit of sweetener added, but traditionally has no sugar.
Tascalate: Corn, Cacao, Cinnamon and Axiote which gives it a slightly redish colour - can be drunken cold and is very refreshing and nutritious.
These are just four out of an endless list of opportunities.
While Cinnamon and Sugar are treated as part of tipical anscestral recipes, it is always good to remeber that it was the Spaniards who brought these ingredients to Mexico.
Which one would you like to try?
