Popo (drink)
Popo is a foamy and cold drink typical in the south of the state of Veracruz and some areas of the state of Oaxaca, such as the basin of Papaloapan or Istmo. Its main ingredient is cocoa, which is sweetened with refined sugar or panela and mixed with water. Smilax, known as cocomeca in Oaxaca, is added, or Gonolobus, or sometimes both; both foaming agents. Some recipes flavor it with cinnamon or anise, and thicken it with maize dough or rice.
Popo is a ceremonial drink, and is prepared for weddings, baptisms, birthdays and patron saint festivals. Its consumption occurs with the cocoa harvest, between the months of August to December. In Ojitlán, a type of cocoa called tiger is used for the white veins of its fruits. In the local towns, such as Tuxtepec, it is common to find street vendors offering a glass of popo for $10–15 MXN pesos.
Its name comes from the Nahuatl popocti, according to anthropologist Florentíno Cruz, in reference to the foaming characteristic of this drink. It is compared with Popocatépetl, which is the "mountain that smokes". Popo is strongly linked to indigenous communities, particularly the Nahuas, Mixe-Popolucas, Zoque-Populucas, Mazatecs and Chinatecs. For these communities, the very preparation of the popo is in itself a ritual, which can last up to two days.
Preparation
Ingredients
- Cocoa beans
- Fine white sugar or panela
- Foaming agent, which can be:
- * Root, tender stems or flowers of azquiote, asquiote or axquiote, Veracruzian name; also called cocolmeca, cocolmecate, or cozolmeca, Oaxacan name
- * Root, tender stems or fruit of chupipi or chupipe
- Cinnamon stick or powder
- Whole or powdered anise
- Whole rice
- Water