POZOL ANCESTRAL DRINK OF TABASCO MEXICO

In the southeast of Mexico the fertility of the land and the hot climate yields great quantities of corn and cacao. These two crops provided for much of the substanance for the inhabitants of the area. After grinding the corn into cornmeal the cacao was mixed with it and cold water , maybe other ingredients (vanilla), making a beverage called pozol, a drink as old and as rich as the culture of those who created it.

Travelers in Tabasco were well always aware of the nutritious, cold drink that enabled them to endure their journeys through the hot and humid jungles. Not only travelers used it, but in homes too, where the meals were mainly tortillas and pozol.

In the Historic and Geograpical Record of the Governorship of Tabasco written in about 1579 there are many mentions of Pozol. It is stated that the the Indians , especially the Chontal of Tabasco ate very little food, if they ate at all. It was noted that they instead drank something they mixed with water to make a thick liquid that seemed to last a long time. " They also drink another drink which is made from cooked cornmeal and cacao, it is a bitter drink, and very effective in the heat, it is also very healthy". Workers sustained themselves for days on pozol. William Dampier a famous English pirate of the 17th century wrote in 1680, " If the indians go on a three or four day trip they carry some of this cornmeal wrapped in banana leafs and a gourd (Bush) tied to their waist in which to make the drink, they do not worry about anything else, they rely on this substance somuch they are never at home without it," Mario Humberto Ruiz " Un Rostro Cubierto, Los indios del Tabasco Colonial ( a Covered Face, the Indians of Colonial Tabasco) .

Pozol is still the drink of Tabasco. It is made in the same way, adhering to traditions, it is filtered or strained and then served cold in small bowls called Jicaras (he-ca-ras). The Jicaras are coconut shells, abundant in the area, carved and elaborately decorated in the municipalities of Jalpa de Mendez, Centla or Zapata. During your stay in Tabasco you will have ample opportunity to enjoy this ancient drink, even take home some authentic handcarved Jicaras.