Corn-based drinks have existed in the region since pre-Columbian times, and this one has a fruity, spicy, and spiced note.
An ancestral drink
A non-alcoholic version usually called 'fresco de chicha' is made with the same ingredients, but without allowing it to ferment.
Nicaragua produces some of the world's best rums, with its most famous brand called Flor de Caña.
Chicha corn is a fermented purplish pink drink, depending on the type of corn used. Although today it can be bought as a bottled drink in any supermarket, traditionally, purple corn is boiled with pieces of pineapple, quince, cinnamon, and clove in water until the corn is soft and the liquid has acquired an intense purple color.
Like a beer
The yellowish and cloudy Chicha de jora is a sour beer made from fermented jora corn. The abundance of tropical fruits in Nicaragua is used in many non-alcoholic beverages, mixed with water, milk, or yogurt.
In most big cities, chicha can be offered by street vendors, commonly known as 'chicheros.' These vendors usually use a flour-like mixture and just add water, and they generally serve them with crushed ice and a straw and can ask for cinnamon, chocolate chunks, or sweetened condensed milk on top.
