Chilate

Chilate is a Mexican cocoa-based drink that evolved as a fusion of traditional Mexican ingredients and African influence. It is made with toasted, peeled, and ground cocoa beans, rice, cinnamon, and brown sugar or piloncillo (panela).

The ingredients are finely ground into a paste-like base, which is then mixed with water until it attains the desired consistency. Chilate should always be served chilled and is often continuously poured to become aerated and frothy. The drink hails from Guerrero, more precisely from Costa Chica region, known for its large Afro-Mexican community.

It is believed that this drink was modeled on a pre-Hispanic concoction, but it gained its current form after the introduction of rice, which was brought from West Africa sometime in the 16th century.