Tejate, drink of the gods

Text and Photos: Askari Mateos
There are endless traditions in Oaxaca and, without doubt, tejate is one of the most celebrated. This delicious drink of the famed hands of the tejateras (tejate makers) of San Andrés Huayapam has enormously enriched the gastronomy of the state. It is common knowledge, going back many years that tejate has been the sustenance of the family and it is the woman of this pueblo who learn how to prepare the drink before they even know how to read or write. It is their hands that have marked this tradition since prehispanic times, and San Andrés Huayapam is the only place where the principle ingredient is found: the rosita de cacao or cocao flower. The history of San Andrés Huayapam is very old as mentioned in The Geographic Relations of the 17th Century and whose name comes from the Nahuatl word Huyatl for “sea” and Pan which means “over”, so that the name translates to “over the big water.”

History of the Flor Cacahuaxochitl (cocao flower)
The earliest known record of this ingredient was noted in 1582 in The General History of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún where he affirmed that the name comes from cacahuaxochitl and means cacao flower or xochicacahuatl which is a Nahuatl word for precious flowers and, according to de Sahagún was a fragrant and penetrating odor. Some writings mention that on the left side of the torso of the prehispanic sculpture of Xochipilli (God of the Flowers) is carved the flor cacahuaxochit. By the way, in Zapotec the name is Ye’bdie’e’ and is the same name assigned to the trees that produce the flower. Based on these early records it is believed that since prehispanic times the cacao flower has been used as an ingredient by the inhabitants of these lands and, in particular, by those of Bobe’o or present day San Andrés Huayapam. There are records that mention that in aristocratic circles the prehispanics used to drink cold chocolate mixed with corn and the cacao flower which they called poymomatli. No too long ago, the tejateras delivered their wares to surrounding pueblos such as San Agustín Yatereni, San Luis Beltrán, and the city of the Oaxaca just to name a few. With the growth of the capital they now all meet in the mercados to offer this so-called “drink of the gods.”

The Production of Tejate
In order to prepare tejate in is necessary to boil the corn in water mixed with ashes, and once made the resulting mixture acquires the name conezle. This is ground and mixed with the seed of mamey and the cacao flower. As this is mixed, little by little, water is added and the mixture begins to separate the flower (creating a paste that forms on the top) indicating that the drink is ready to serve in the traditional small cups decorated by Oaxacan hands from the Central Valley. Tejate has enchanted the palates of millions It has gained in popularity and has led to other products such as cookies, ice cream and a dessert known as nicoatole. Furthermore, a registered trademark is in the works to classify the drink as a highly nutritional product as can be seen as the field workers who drink it during long work shifts in order to sustain themselves.

The Tejate Fair
For six years now, thanks to the initiative of Dr. Cupertino Hernández Ramírez and the women of San Andrés Huayapam, in conjunction with the town government, the Feria del Tejate is held the beginning of February when more than 15,000 visitors, national and international, show up to sample the delicious drink. For this occasion, 120 tejateras participate using an average of 600 kilos of cacao, 36,000 mameys, 120 kilos of the cacao flower, and 2,400 kilos of corn in order to prepare more than 12,000 liters of this elixir with prehispanic origins. If you can’t make it to the fair, you can still sample tejate in the diverse mercados around the capital, and you might also try the Organic Market at Pochote (by the aqueduct near the corner of Garcia Vigil and Gomez Farias).