Popo: frothy cacao drink of the Sierra de Sotavento

What is it?

Popo is a traditional cold frothy drink originating from the Sierra de Sotavento, a mountainous region shared by southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca. It is prepared with toasted and ground cacao, cooked white maize, chupipi vine root (Gouania lupuloides) and sugar, all finely ground and whisked with cold water to create a characteristic dense white foam that covers the entire surface of the jug. The chupipi vine is the secret element that distinguishes popo from other Mesoamerican frothy drinks such as tejate or chilate: it contains natural saponins that generate an especially firm and lasting foam. It is a ritual and festive drink of Nahua, Popoluca and Mixtec-Zapotec communities of the region. It is consumed mainly in municipalities such as Acayucan, San Andrés Tuxtla, Tuxtepec, Mecayapan and Soteapan, with a ritual presence at patron-saint festivities and Day of the Dead celebrations.

Origin and history

Popo is one of the lesser-known but most sophisticated pre-Hispanic drinks of Mexico, with documented presence since Olmec times in the Sierra de Sotavento region. Its name possibly comes from the Nahuatl 'popochtli' meaning 'hollow' or 'foamy'. The Popoluca (descendants of the Olmecs) and Nahua communities of southern Veracruz have prepared it for centuries as a ritual and community drink. Larousse Cocina identifies it as a characteristic drink of the Sierra de Sotavento. The knowledge of the chupipi vine and its frothing capacity is one of the most interesting ethnobotanical contributions of Mesoamerican peoples to the continental gastronomic repertoire. The harvesting and preparation of the vine requires specific traditional knowledge transmitted orally; the vine is gathered from tropical jungle, dried in the sun and finely ground. The recipe for popo has remained almost unchanged since the pre-Hispanic era, surviving the Conquest thanks to its ritual and community character integrated into the syncretic religious celebrations of the region.

Characteristic ingredients

Popo requires specific ingredients not easy to obtain: toasted criollo cacao from Tabasco or Chiapas, cooked white maize (not nixtamalised in this recipe), sugar and dried, ground chupipi vine (Gouania lupuloides, also called three-rib stick or jaboncillo). The vine is the irreplaceable ingredient: its natural saponins generate the characteristic foam when whisked vigorously. Some regional variants add cinnamon, vanilla or pepper. The preparation is laborious: all the solids are finely ground on a metate or mill until a uniform paste is obtained. The paste is dissolved with a little cold water and vigorously whisked with the hands or with a special jícara for several minutes, until plenty of white foam forms and rises and stays at the top. Then it is completed with more cold water. It is served cold in gourd jícaras or tall transparent glasses, leaving the foam crown intact for visual appreciation. The typical proportion is one hundred and fifty grams of cacao, one hundred grams of cooked maize, a tablespoon of chupipi vine powder and sugar to taste per two litres of water. The flavour is creamy, bittersweet of cacao with notes of cooked maize and a soft vegetal background of the vine.

Cultural significance

Popo is one of the most identity-defining and lesser-known drinks of Mexico's living pre-Hispanic heritage. Traditional Mexican cuisine, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2010, identifies popo as a representative drink of the Veracruz and Oaxaca Sierra de Sotavento. It is indispensable at patron-saint festivities, Day of the Dead, weddings and agricultural rituals of the Popoluca, Nahua and Mixtec-Zapotec communities of the municipalities of Acayucan, San Andrés Tuxtla, Soteapan, Mecayapan, Tatahuicapan and Tuxtepec. The preparation of popo sustains family economies of indigenous women, known as 'popoteras', who prepare it for community festivities and regional markets. The botanical knowledge of the chupipi vine is ethnobotanical heritage transmitted orally over generations. Researchers at CIESAS and the Museo de Culturas Populares have documented popo as one of the most complex expressions of the Mesoamerican culinary legacy, showing remarkable technical sophistication. INAH and the Veracruz Institute of Culture have driven documentation and dissemination projects to ensure the survival of the tradition in the face of the ageing of the generations that preserve the knowledge.

Frequently asked questions

What does popo taste like?

It tastes of toasted cacao with a creamy background of cooked maize and soft vegetal notes from the chupipi vine. It is slightly bitter and sweet at the same time due to the sugar. The texture is unctuous with a dense floating foam of neutral flavour. It is distantly reminiscent of a rustic cold chocolate but with a unique vegetal complexity given by the vine. It is not an intense drink, but subtle and refined, with the profile of ancient ritual gastronomy.

What is the chupipi vine?

It is a tropical liana (Gouania lupuloides) that grows in the humid jungles of the Sierra de Sotavento. Its dried stems contain natural saponins that generate plentiful foam when whisked in water, a property similar to that of jaboncillo. That is why it is sometimes called 'three-rib stick' or 'jaboncillo vine'. It is an irreplaceable ingredient of authentic popo; without it the drink does not develop the characteristic foam that visually defines it.

Where does popo originate from?

It originates from the Sierra de Sotavento, a mountainous region between southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca inhabited by Nahua, Popoluca (descendants of the Olmecs) and Mixtec-Zapotec communities. Municipalities such as Acayucan, San Andrés Tuxtla, Tuxtepec, Soteapan, Mecayapan and Tatahuicapan are traditional centres of its making. Its pre-Hispanic roots go back to the Olmec peoples, considered the mother culture of Mesoamerica.

What is the difference between popo, tejate and chilate?

All three are frothy pre-Hispanic cold drinks with cacao, but they belong to different traditions: popo is Veracruz-Oaxacan and carries chupipi vine to froth; tejate is Oaxacan and carries cacao flower and pixtle; chilate is Guerrero-Afro-Mexican and carries rice and cinnamon. Each expresses the specific cultural identity of its region of origin, showing the wealth of Mesoamerican regional variants.