Here’s something you don’t hear too much about. A drink known as Tejate. It’s a cold chocolate drink from Oaxaca, Mexico. The ruling elite and Zapotec Kings believed the prized drink to be invigorating, aphrodisiacal, and medicinal. Today we enjoy the cool refreshing drink before the start of work. Where I live, the temperatures in the summer gets up to High 90’s. So a Tejate would definitely be refreshing.

Each tejatera has her own way for preparing the drink. The special formula is passed from generation to generation. Preparation usually begins the night before with the preparation of the ingredients. The cocoa beans, mamey seeds, oil palm seeds, and flowers (from a tree native to Oaxaca) are toasted. The corn and ash are mixed in water for the corn to swell. When dry corn and ashes are completely dry, these two ingredients are grounded together until a thick mass forms. The hulls are removed from the cocoa beans and all ingredients are finely ground together.

Next, the tejatera (women who make tejate) begins to add water to the mass and mixes it until a thin drink is formed. The drink is then stirred constantly from the bottom up to maintain foam on the top of the mixture and prevent the ash from settling. Making the drink is hard work, but the drink is definitely delicious. The tejatera must get sore arms after making the drink. So thank her, be grateful for the drink she has made for you.

To serve, the tejatera adds about an inch of sugar water to the bottom of the cup, pours in the frothy tejate and adds a piece of ice. The drink was traditionally served in hand-painted gourd bowls called jicaras, but now the drink has appeared at fairs, marketplace, and special occasions. It is now served in disposable plastic cups. The curd-like drink is creamy rather than grainy and invigorating but not too sweet-perfect for starting the day off right.

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Of course, since we see the Tejate in the commercial market there must be an industrial process for making the drink. The commercial equivalent is Tejatli.

Since the indigenous flower from a tree in Oaxaca is one of the ingredients used in Tejate; the drink does not travel well outside of Oaxaca. The next best thing is Tejatli which is a work around for people outside of Oaxaca to enjoy the drink.

Technorati : Chocolate Drink, Mexico, Oaxaca, Tejate, Tejatera, jicaras
Ice Rocket : Chocolate Drink, Mexico, Oaxaca, Tejate, Tejatera, jicaras

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