Mezcal, The slow, patient, and traditional way!
Travel can be so enlightening. Taking what I’ve read and heard, combining that with the actual and authentic experience, and words can’t really describe the artisian dedication some people have!
So far on this trip, I’ve been able to experience several old traditional ways of processing coffee, mezcal, bread, chocolate and mole!
I love getting off the beaten path, finding little gems and learning about local culture!
One thing stands out for me as I’ve visited various businesses continuing the old traditional methods! Aside from them being generally all family operated, they are patient in the process they use. Regarding chocolate, the process is a bit different and faster. The process of transforming cacao beans into hot chocolate is less complicated.
Slow, deliberate and patient work goes into maintaining a long traditional history! My version of that: making my own coffee with an aeropress, going slow, being deliberate and patient and finding the best output I can. There is always pot brewed coffee around me! But, I’m having fun experimenting with local beans and finding flavors unique to different parts of Mexico! Coffee from Nayarit, Guerrero, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas all have different taste.
Within each region, individual farms taste very different. Add to that the possibility of buying blends from multiple farms in one region or multiple regions and the flavor combinations is endless!
Fast often only satisfies going fast, not improving the taste or flavor of a resulting product.
For example, stirring mole, continuously, patiently, for an hour while watching the color change and tasting the flavor change. Mom knew it was done when the taste was just right!! Not because of a recipe, or thermometer, or any other method. The same can be said for coffee roasters, the bread makers, mezcalero’s making mezcal, and even a doctor I visited.
Lots of heart and commitment to doing it “right”, the old traditional way!
"There is more to life than increasing its speed!"
Tradition!
First, it was mom teaching me the method for making mole she learned from her mother that was passed on from her mother…etc. Then, it was Paco and his traditional way of making coffee. Their coffee harvest last for several months because they only harvest the beans that are ripe. Then, patiently, they wait for the next beans to ripen. And that continues until it’s done! Bread…same thing! Mezcal, the traditional way, the same thing!
So below are details on some experiences I had. The chocolate process I posted in photo’s on Facebook. But not everyone uses facebook so I’m posting that again here.
Mayodormo Hot Chocolate
Most of the chocolate in Oaxaca is grown in Tabasco or Chiapas. However, Oaxaca is famous for the chocolate you can buy flavored with different spices. The aromas walking down the street is amazing. Walking through central Oaxaca, it seems like there is a Mayodormo chocolate shop every block!
From cacao bean to finished product seems like a is a faster process than say coffee or producing mezcal. The recommended method for home: roast in the oven for around 15 minutes. When the smell is like brownies, they are done.
In Mayodormo, some shops have everything needed to roast, grind and produce chocolate for drink. Below is a gallery of images in that process.
Again, I wish there was a way to share the aromas accompanying this process!
Add The finishing process!
https://youtube.com/shorts/hY60D0HVpjQ
Santiago Matatlan: The Mezcal Capital of the World!
When I first visited Oaxaca about 25 years ago, I didn’t know there was any such thing as good mezcal. Seemed like an oxymoron putting those two words together based on my past experience! Once here, I looked into a liquor store and asked some questions about the mezcals. I had NO idea how good it could be and that they offered samples so I could taste!
The taste was amazing!! I remember buying one bottle and a couple blue glass shot glasses. When the woman gave me change, it didn’t seem correct. She recounted and was a bit flustered and upset with herself that it was not correct. Looking down into the glass case under her hands, I was a tiny almost thimble sized shot glass. It might hold an ounce! As she was beginning to make change, I stopped her, pointed to the shot glass and asked her in Spanish if it was more or less the same price as my change? And that’s how I got my favorite shot glass and my first experience with really good mezcal.
I would only have a sip a couple times a year to celebrate so the bottle lasted me a long time! It was El Rey Zapoteco Anejo mezcal!
Years later, I returned and found the same thing here once again!
This trip, I decided to go visit the village and see how it is produced. It is the oldest Mezcaleria in Oaxaca having begun in 1960. The founder died and his wife has taken over making her the only female head of a Mezcaleria in the world!
Getting there was a TRIP!!
I often feel that the people here are so helpful, they avoid telling you they don’t know. So they will find some way of helping. Thus, I was told to find the collective taxi to Santiago Matatlan in a multiple number of ways! After walking and searching around for several hours, not finding anything, I knew I’d have to wing it!
One location that felt most likely if the main road near me named Periferico! Lots of traffic so a good bet!
I did find where a second class bus station is located so that was a backup. After standing and looking for a taxi to Mitla for 30 minutes, none appeared! So I walked to the second class bus station.
Following google maps, I came to the rear and was told to walk around to the front!
This was an area with lots of trash, debris and certainly a local Mexico neighborhood!
Eventually a bus arrived. After nearly 90 minutes, they dropped me at the wrong place!
A helpful man helped me get back on the bus, told the driver where to drop me and then I met another man who walked with me to where the collectivo taxi’s went onward. I did reach Santiago Matatlan after nearly 2 1/2 hours of travel.
Before leaving in the morning, I reminded myself that it would be an adventure, something would happen, everything would work out and it did!
Cost of getting there: $50 pesos, about $2.50 US. Value of the experience with people on the bus and seeing the terrain on the way, priceless!
The return trip was similar! Leaving the Mezcaleria, I stood across the street until a man asked if I was going to Oaxaca and then walked down the road showing me where the taxi’s pick up passengers. One taxi approached holding up a finger indicating he had room for one person. Three people pointed to me even though they were waiting for the same taxi and I got started on my return trip. The taxi only went about a third of the way and I repeated the process. This time, the driver asked me if I wanted a private taxi? Cost: $150 pesos or about $7.50 US. I was tired and ready to go back so said yes to the 40 minute journey. A taxi from my hostel in Mexico city told me their charge was $160 pesos for the 7 minute drive to the airport!
My guide at El Rey Zapoteco was Lily. She explained the process they use as the old traditional method. Modern methods use stainless tanks and are regulated with technology. Everything they use is the original equipment from when they began in 1960!
They don’t rely on technology but their senses and technique! The agave is harvested, the spikes cut off, and the hearts brought to begin the process! One “pina” can weigh over 100 kilos, over 220 pounds!
Once split, they are ready for roasting. A wood fire is built, rocks placed on top, the pina added and everything covered with blankets to keep the heat in. Slowly roasted, they are ready after 4 days. Keep in mind that some of the agave plants grow for 12-15 years before they are ready to harvest!
Then, the pina is added to the tohono to be ground under this traditional method of stone reducing the pina to fiber and liquid. Yes, it is turned by horse! Once finished, it is then places into the vats to rest.
Resting takes anywhere from one to two weeks depending on the weather. Warmer weather and it’s ready in a week. How do they know, they have been doing this for so long, they know!
As a barista, when I walk into a coffee shop and hear the barista steaming the milk, I can tell immediately if it will be good or not. Senses develop over time and it’s the same with the mezcalero’s. Same with Paco and Iwan with their coffee roasting.
When the fermentation is complete, the mix is added to the distillation process. The original equipment is copper which interacts different then the modern industrial stainless steel.
Everything is distilled twice so they remove any chemicals they don’t want in their final product. Slowly, the finished product drips into a container and is then added to barrels.
I like the reposado version which rests for up to 10 months. It had a balanced flavor without overpowering smokiness. This trip, I tasted their Joven which is young pure mezcal bottled after distillation is complete. It means clear and unrested! I love that pure taste! That’s my new favorite!
Here in the markets, I had a man tell me they don’t recommend the reposado or anejo (rested over 1 year) because it has things added to create the color. At El Rey Zapoteco, that is not true. The color comes from the length of time the mezcal ages in wood casks! That was intersting to learn!
Here’s a link to them so you can learn more about the process in their own words: https://mezcalreyzapoteco.com/en/mezcal-el-rey-zapoteco-home/
