Chocolate was the cream of the crop during the colonial period! It was a luxurious beverage that was fit for a king and queen, reserved exclusively for the wealthy aristocracy. It was a special blend of spices and sugar that was so delicious that it made your taste buds sing! It was a royal treat that no one else could have access to.

In that period, the Spanish colonies of America were like kids in a candy store, consuming cocoa at every chance they got like it was the most delicious thing they’d ever tasted. They were like cocoa-crazed connoisseurs, gobbling it up with glee and delight!

It’s like having hot cocoa on a cold winter day. The rich might enjoy it in a fancy china cup, while the poor might drink it from a mug or a bowl, but either way, they get to enjoy the warmth, sweetness, and comfort that only a cup of cocoa can bring. No matter how it’s served, no one has to go without that essential food.

A Cup of Creativity: The Delicious World of Cocoa Beverages

That was the tried and true way of getting the good stuff, but depending on the region, creative minds came up with new recipes to make cocoa a veritable ‘pick-me-up’ for the hardworking farmers. It was like a cup of coffee but with a delicious, chocolaty twist – enough to give them the energy they needed to plow the fields and get the job done.

A hot cup of ‘atole’ (a delicious corn porridge) is a favorite treat in Mexico. Making it is an art form – you start by dissolving a tablet in hot water, then stirring it up with a pinwheel-like a master chef mixing their secret ingredients. Once it’s foamy and ready, you fill-up the cup with ‘atole’ and sip away.

Colombia had a brilliant idea centuries ago when they mixed cocoa and cornmeal to create the delicious beverage known as “chucula”. It was a hit amongst the lower classes as it was a more affordable and accessible alternative to cocoa but with a similar result. 

Nowadays, people have created different versions of chucula depending on their region – they use different kinds of corn, cereals, spices, and even sugar to give it that special kick. It’s like a magical potion that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary:

  • “Four pounds of roasted and ground cocoa are put in eight pounds of sugar and one ounce of cinnamon, all of which, once incorporated, is reduced to 15-gram pills.
  • Each of these pills dissolved in boiled water gives a cup of chocolate that is the portion for each person”.
  • “The poor consume flour chocolate, prepared like this: twenty pounds of roasted corn flour, forty pounds of brown sugar, four ounces of spice cloves, and two of cinnamon are added to every four pounds of cocoa.”

    7-Grain Chucula: A Heritage Recipe from the Heart

    The chucula is like a time machine in a glass! It takes you back to ancient days when people used only natural ingredients to make delicious drinks. It’s like a hug from your grandmother – warm, comforting, and full of love.

    There are seven grains that make up the authentic chucula: broad bean, pea, barley, wheat, chickpea, corn, and lentil. After being toasted and ground, they are mixed with syrup prepared from water and brown sugar, which has been boiled to an exact point so that it does not crystallize.

    What if I told you that eating 7-grain chucula is like taking a field trip to a magical farm? Every sip of this delicious blend transports you to a place filled with sun-kissed corn, juicy cane, and cocoa beans as far as the eye can see. It is a tasty treat and a great way to show your support for small and medium-sized farmers who work hard to maintain their crops.

    Doña Genoveva García: This recipe is 40 years old; it was taught to me by my father, which he learned from my grandmother. It can be said that it is a recipe that has been passed from family to family, from generation to generation (Prada Nagai, Bustamante, Trujillo, & Garcia, 2011):

    • Once you have the mixture, add molasses little by little to hydrate and form the balls.
    • To form the ball, you must knead several times since the product has its own fat and can be deformed. 
    • Dad made every kilo of cocoa, half a pound of each bean.
    • Chucula ingredients: Cocoa, corn, chickpea, pea, barley, lentils, cloves, cinnamon, and beans.
    • You begin by roasting the cocoa according to the humidity of the bean between 16 and 18 minutes; it is husked and it is ground to obtain the liquor. 
    • The corn, chickpeas, peas, barley, lentils, and beans are roasted, and the toasted cereals are ground to obtain the flour. 
    • This flour is subsequently mixed with the cocoa liquor. 
    • Sometimes it is made with sugar and panela. 
    • Once the mixture is ready, it has a rest time of 24 hours before being packed.