Chef Lupita
Agua de Chaya Tabasqueña
Tabasco's daily green refresher from the Chontalpa, made with blanched chaya leaves, limón criollo, and piloncillo, poured over ice for the kind of heat that makes the kitchen slow down.
Culinary Explorer
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Curado de Pox con Cacao
Created by
Chiapas pox from the Altos, infused with toasted Soconusco cacao, Mexican canela, and piloncillo until the bottle tastes dark, warm, and serious.
Beverages
Mexican
Date Night
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•48 hr 25 min total
Yield1 bottle, about 12 small servings
Chiapas, specifically Los Altos around San Cristobal de las Casas, Chamula, and Zinacantan, is where pox lives. Say it properly: posh. It is not tequila, not mezcal, and not a novelty pour for a bar menu. It is a corn, wheat, and cane distillate tied to Tzotzil and Tzeltal ceremonial life, and you treat it with that respect before you put anything in the bottle.
The cacao belongs to Chiapas too, especially the Soconusco coast, where cacao has been cultivated for centuries. When you toast cacao nibs or broken cacao beans on a dry comal, the smell changes from dusty and raw to deep, bitter, and warm. That is the moment the infusion begins. Canela adds roundness. Piloncillo adds body. None of this is syrupy dessert drinking. If it tastes like candy, you lost the point.
I first tasted a cacao curado in San Cristobal, poured neat in a small clay copita, not shaken with ice and decorations. The woman who made it told me, "El cacao manda" (the cacao gives the orders). She was right. You build around the cacao, not over it. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and Chiapas has its own bottle.
Pox is a traditional distilled spirit of the Maya highlands of Chiapas, especially among Tzotzil and Tzeltal communities, where it has long been used in ritual, healing, and communal ceremonies. Its base commonly combines corn, wheat, and sugarcane or piloncillo, reflecting both Indigenous maize culture and colonial-era ingredients introduced after the 16th century. Cacao from Chiapas, especially Soconusco, was prized in Mesoamerican trade networks long before the Spanish conquest, which makes cacao-infused pox a meeting of two Chiapaneco histories in one glass.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
pox chiapaneco
Quantity
750 milliliters
joven and unsweetened
roasted cacao nibs or broken toasted cacao beans from Chiapas
Quantity
1/2 cup
Mexican canela
Quantity
1 small stick, about 3 inches
piloncillo
Quantity
2 ounces
finely chopped
water
Quantity
1/4 cup
orange peel
Quantity
1 strip
white pith removed
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 small pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| pox chiapanecojoven and unsweetened | 750 milliliters |
| roasted cacao nibs or broken toasted cacao beans from Chiapas | 1/2 cup |
| Mexican canela | 1 small stick, about 3 inches |
| piloncillofinely chopped | 2 ounces |
| water | 1/4 cup |
| orange peelwhite pith removed | 1 strip |
| fine sea salt | 1 small pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Dry comal or heavy skillet
- •Small saucepan
- •1-quart glass jar with tight lid
- •Fine-mesh strainer
- •Cheesecloth or coffee filter
- •Clean glass bottle
Instructions
- 1
Toast the cacao
Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the cacao nibs and toast for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until they smell dark and nutty. Do not let them blacken. Burned cacao turns harsh and no piloncillo will save it.
- 2
Make piloncillo syrup
Combine the chopped piloncillo and water in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring until the piloncillo dissolves into a dark syrup, 4 to 5 minutes. Let it cool completely. Hot syrup in alcohol is laziness. It throws off the aroma and makes the bottle taste cooked.
- 3
Fill the jar
Place the toasted cacao, canela stick, orange peel, and pinch of salt in a clean 1-quart glass jar. Pour in the pox and the cooled piloncillo syrup. Stir once with a clean spoon. The salt is not there to make it salty. It sharpens the cacao and keeps the sweetness in line.
- 4
Infuse patiently
Seal the jar and keep it in a cool, dark place for 48 hours. Shake it gently once each day. Taste after two days. The cacao should lead, the canela should sit behind it, and the piloncillo should round the edges. No me vengas con atajos. One hour is not an infusion.
- 5
Strain cleanly
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Do not press hard on the cacao solids, or the curado can turn muddy and bitter. Let gravity do the work. A clear brown pour is what you want.
- 6
Rest and serve
Bottle the strained curado and let it rest at least 12 hours before serving. Pour neat into small clay copitas, or serve over one large ice cube in a short glass. San Cristobal bars may dress it for cocteleria, but the first sip should be plain so you understand what Chiapas gave you.
Chef Tips
- •Buy pox made in Chiapas, not a neutral spirit wearing a label. A good bottle will smell gently of grain and cane, with a soft finish. If the alcohol burns like solvent, the cacao cannot fix it.
- •Use cacao from Chiapas if you can find it, especially Soconusco cacao. If you use ordinary supermarket cacao nibs, the recipe still works, but understand the compromise. You lose some of the regional conversation between the highlands and the coast.
- •Mexican canela is softer and more fragrant than cassia cinnamon. Cassia can bully the pox. Use a small piece and taste at 48 hours.
- •Do not add chile unless you are making a different curado. Not every Mexican drink needs heat. This one belongs to cacao, canela, piloncillo, and pox. Así se hace y punto.
Advance Preparation
- •The curado needs 48 hours to infuse and benefits from 12 hours of rest after straining.
- •Once strained, it keeps for about 1 month in a cool, dark place, or 2 months refrigerated.
- •For a dinner party, make it three days ahead. The cacao settles into the pox and the sweetness becomes cleaner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 65g)
Calories
160 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
15 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
0 g
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