Tejate is a non-alcoholic

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and cacao beverage traditionally made in

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

, Mexico, originating from pre-Hispanic times. It remains very popular among the indigenous

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerre ...

and

Zapotec peoples The Zapotec ( Valley Zapotec: ) are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Their population is primarily concentrated in the southern state of Oaxaca, but Zapotec communities also exist in neighboring states. The present-day population is estimated at 4 ...

, especially in rural areas. It is also very popular in Oaxaca and the surrounding regions. Principal ingredients include toasted

, fermented

cacao bean The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao trees ...

s, toasted mamey pits ( pixtle) and '' flor de cacao'' (also known as ''rosita de cacao''). These are finely ground into a paste. The paste is mixed with water, usually by hand, and when it is ready, the flor de cacao rises to the top to form a pasty foam. It can be served as-is or with some sugar syrup to sweeten it. The drink is served cold. The origin of the

Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish () is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico and its bordering regions. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spo ...

name is not known for certain, but is thought to derive from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

"floury water" , compounded from "flour" and "water" . The Zapotec name for tejate is .

Ingredients and preparation

The main ingredients of tejate are roasted corn flour, fermented cocoa beans, mamey seeds and cocoa flower also known as rosita de cacao, which grows only in San Andrés Huayapam. These ingredients are finely ground into a paste, which is then mixed with cold water, usually by hand, and when ready, the cocoa butter rises to the top of the container to form a pasty froth. The drink is served cold and can be served as is or with a little sugar syrup to sweeten it.

Ingredients and preparation

See also

References

Further reading