Pinol

Pinol is the national drink of Ecuador, made with ground toasted barley flour, panela (unrefined sugar), mixed spices, and milk. It was invented by Rafael Emilio Madrid of Salcedo, Ecuador after seeing workers sucking on pieces of panela.

This inspired him to grind panela and mix it with toasted barley flour and spices. The production of pinol began in the 1950s in the Madrid family’s factory located in San Rafael, Ecuador. To this day, the company still uses a millstone to manufacture its pinol mix.