Tejate!

On Sunday Ilona and I went to a market in the town of Tlacolula just outside of Oaxaca. There were lots of interesting things there but nothing more interesting than my first taste of Tejate. Tejate is a drink made of ground corn, cocoa beans, ground mammey seed (a fruit) and rosita de cacao flowers-which are not actually flowers from the tree but called thus because they are used in this specific drink. I found tejate to be extremely refreshing and tasty on a super hot day. Kind of like an ice cream shake but not as heavy. It is has a slightly starchy texture and a subtle but distinctive cocoa flavor. The best part was the cocoa butter “scum” on top which gave it just enough richness to make the drink both refreshing and pleasurable.

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5 thoughts on “Tejate!

  1. How interesting! Is soumds like you are discovering some wonderful recipes (and enjoying your research). Look forward to hearing more about your adventures.

    • That’s been my favorite cocoa based drink so far. A lot of the chocolate is quite sweet-but I found that one to be very refreshing. Ilona and I are having fun exploring despite me getting sick already.

  2. I hope all is well. I’m trying to remember if you were supposed to mail me a couple of photos, but I may be mistaken. But I’m writing just to tell you that a couple of Sundays ago I awoke at 3:30 a.m. and went to San Marcos Tlapazola outside of Tlacolula to watch and photograph my friend Gloria making tejate from scratch to then sell in Tlacolula. Fascinating! Took over 200 photos and will be putting a photo essay as an album on my Alvin Starkman facebook profile within a few days. Thereafter I’ll write a real essay about the experience and process. Keep well. Did you see yesterday’s New York Times piece on Pilar? All the best.

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