Oaxaca Offers a Drink for Every Craving
Describing Oaxaca is akin to defining an entire nation — this 36,000-square-mile coastal state is like a self-contained country within Mexico. Home to over 15 Indigenous groups and numerous small villages, each boasts its own unique cultures, traditions, and culinary delights. While Oaxaca is famed for its rich food diversity, its array of traditional beverages is equally remarkable, extending far beyond mezcal.
Oaxacans enjoy a wide variety of beverages crafted from corn, chocolate, agave, and native fruits, providing refreshment and tasty snacks for both locals and visitors. Some drinks are unique to specific towns, while others are found throughout the state. Some are seasonal, integral to annual festivities and rituals, while others serve medicinal purposes. Regardless of your thirst, there's a drink for you in Oaxaca.
Drinks for the Morning
Café de olla is sweetened with panela and commonly infused with anise, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper.Café de Olla
Coffee made its debut in Mexico at the end of the 18th century, introduced by the Spanish from Cuba, but it didn't reach Oaxaca until a century later. Even then, locals favored traditional atoles and chocolates over the bitter coffee beans. However, the land was perfect for coffee cultivation, leading to a thriving coffee industry recognized for its unique, high-quality beans.
Today, many Oaxacans begin their day with café de olla, a beautifully spiced coffee that represents the region. Typically brewed in a clay pot over an open fire, this drink combines ground coffee beans with anise, cinnamon, panela (unrefined cane sugar), cloves, and a hint of pepper for balance. While café de olla can be found in other parts of Mexico, Oaxaca’s version stands out due to the local clay, firewood, and panela, creating a light yet richly flavored cup. Some recipes include orange peel, while others adjust the spices. Regardless of the preparation, it’s best enjoyed from a clay cup to warm both hands and body with each sip.
Where to enjoy it: La Olla
A wooden molinillo creates the rich foam atop chocolate de agua.Chocolate de Agua
Although coffee is widely cultivated in Oaxaca, many mornings still begin with a rich chocolate drink. The Olmecs were using kakawa (cocoa) to create drinking chocolate as far back as 1000 BCE, a tradition that Oaxacans maintain today. They grind cacao using a stone metate or an electric grinder, combining it with cinnamon, panela (unrefined cane sugar), and sometimes additional spices before shaping it into discs to dry. To prepare, simply drop a round of this chocolate (barra de chocolate) into a clay jug filled with hot water (never milk) and whisk vigorously with a wooden tool known as a molinillo to produce the signature foam that adds a luxurious texture to the drink.
Where to enjoy it: Mercado 20 de Noviembre, or create your own at home using solid chocolate from El Rito Chocolatería or Mamá Pacha Chocolate
Atole de maíz is made from cornstarch and water.Atole de Maíz
Atole de maíz (corn atole) is a beloved beverage enjoyed across Mexico, complementing the diverse array of morning drinks found in Oaxaca. The term 'atole' derives from the Nahuatl atolli: atl, meaning 'water,' and tolli, a term related to the Spanish todo, meaning 'all.' The classic version is a thick, white blend of cornstarch and water, typically served for breakfast alongside warm tamales. To make atole de maíz, corn kernels are soaked for 12 to 24 hours, boiled, ground, and then boiled again. The desired texture varies by the maker but usually falls between a cream and a porridge. While it can be made with just water and corn, some prefer to enhance it with a hint of cinnamon or panela, an unrefined cane sugar.
Where to find it: Any stall in the food court or at IV Centenario market
Cocoa enhances the flavor and depth of the corn-based champurrado.Champurrado
The combination of corn and cocoa represents one of Mexico’s greatest culinary achievements, with champurrado standing out as a prime example. Originating alongside atole, champurrado was developed by the Aztecs, who are believed to have sweetened acorn atole with cacao long before sugar cane arrived. Modern champurrado begins with a barra de chocolate, whisked into a yellow corn atole using a molinillo until it becomes thick and frothy. It is typically served in a clay cup alongside bread and can be found in the mornings at street stalls, markets, and restaurants throughout Oaxaca. Be warned: champurrado is served at a scalding temperature, so a little patience will benefit both you and your taste buds.
Where to sample it: Las Quince Letras
Wheat serves as the base for the Mixtec specialty, atole de trigo.Atole de Trigo
While Oaxaca is famed for its corn, wheat is also cultivated in the region, especially on the slopes and valleys of Mixteca, where it is grown for various uses, including another type of atole. Atole de trigo, seldom seen beyond Mixteca, has a similar texture to corn atole but offers a distinctly sweeter flavor, accompanied by a delightful aroma of cinnamon, bread, and yeast that complements the bread typically served with it.
Where to enjoy it: Masea Trigo y Maíz
Afternoon / Evening Drinks
Thick, textured foam is a hallmark of Oaxaca’s tejate.Tejate
Tejate is a fundamental pre-Hispanic beverage from the Oaxaca Valley. Traditionally crafted from cocoa, corn, mamey sapote seeds, and rosita de cacao — an edible flower often used to enhance chocolate — it’s celebrated for its invigorating qualities, originally served to laborers needing energy. While it remains a daily drink for many Oaxacans, the preparation is intricate. Ingredients are meticulously toasted and ground into a paste, then mixed with water in a broad pot, typically made from green glazed clay sourced from Atzompa. This mixture is hand-whipped for over an hour, creating a rich layer of chunky foam on top. The end product is delightful — light and chocolaty with a subtle floral hint, culminating in a thick, foamy texture reminiscent of a milkshake. Tejate is traditionally enjoyed in a hollowed jícara (drinking gourd) with a wooden stick for scooping the signature foam.
Where to try it: La Flor de Huayapam at Mercado Benito Juárez
The horchata con tuna recipe at Aguas Casilda is almost a century old.Horchata con Tuna (Red Prickly Pear)
The sweet and spiced rice-almond drink known as horchata is beloved across Mexico and beyond, but Oaxaca offers a uniquely delightful twist made with the tangy red fruit of the prickly pear cactus, called tuna in Spanish. Casilda Flores is recognized for creating this drink in 1926 while selling aguas frescas in the Zócalo. Nearly 100 years later, her granddaughters now operate the renowned Aguas Casilda juice stands, preserving Casilda’s original recipe. The preparation is entirely manual, involving soaking the rice and individually cleaning the roasted almonds. When served over ice, the horchata is topped with crushed prickly pear, melon, and a sprinkle of crunchy pecans for added texture.
Where to try it: Aguas Casilda in Mercado Benito Juárez
This thick, spoonable drink is based on chilacayota squash.Agua de Chilacayota
The chilacayota is a large squash resembling a watermelon, with greenish-yellow skin and fibrous white flesh dotted with black seeds. Its name originates from the Nahuatl word 'tzilacayotli,' combining 'tzilac' (smooth) and 'ayotli' (pumpkin), meaning 'smooth pumpkin.' Alternatively, it may derive from 'tzilictic' (something with a clear sound) due to the resonant echo it produces when tapped. The pulp is used in various sweet dishes, including a drink that simmers it with panela and fresh lime zest. Though categorized as a beverage, agua de chilacayota is so thick and stew-like that it can be enjoyed with a spoon.
Where to try it: Aguas Casilda in Mercado Benito Juárez
The wild poleo herb is famous for its hangover remedy properties.Poleo
When visiting Oaxaca, you’re probably indulging in mezcal — and if you partake in enough, you might find yourself in need of poleo the next morning. This wild, bushy herb boasts a minty fragrance and is celebrated for its medicinal hangover-relief qualities (often referred to as satureja laevigata, or “herb of the drunk”). For the Zapotec people, it’s a sacred plant, commonly used in festivities and as an offering for guests. To prepare poleo tea, fresh or dried leaves are steeped in hot water like any other infusion. Caffeine-free and fragrant, it makes for a comforting drink any time of day, readily available in restaurants and market stalls throughout the region.
Where to try it: Tizne
Roasted corn kernels impart a rich flavor to the chilled agua de maíz tostado.Agua de Maíz Tostado
While mornings call for atole de maíz, afternoons are perfect for a refreshing agua de maíz tostado, crafted from corn kernels roasted over a comal before being ground. Achieving the right roast is crucial — too much heat will burst the kernels, while too little will leave them bland. The ideal roast caramelizes the sugars, lending a smoky richness to this invigorating drink, which is as much about its satisfying, chunky texture as it is about flavor.
Where to try it: Levadura de Olla
Rey Eteco is among the few distilleries producing Oaxacan rum.Aguardiente de Caña
While mezcal often steals the spotlight, Oaxaca also has another locally crafted spirit deserving of attention: rum. Sugar cane was introduced to the Americas from the Canary Islands in the 16th century, spreading through the Caribbean to Mexico, including Oaxaca. Oaxacans began distilling fermented cane juice into rum, known as aguardiente de caña, shortly after it was first cultivated here. This spirit remains vital to many rural communities in Oaxaca’s eastern highlands. Unlike mezcal, only a small number of distilleries commercially produce aguardiente de caña, but you can sample various brands like Rey Eteco at select bars throughout Oaxaca.
Where to try it: Maguey y Maíz
Shava Cueva is a photographer residing in Ensenada and Oaxaca, and the author of Bebidas de Oaxaca.
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5/5