The Neo-Pulqueria and Modern Tastes
Starting around 2000, pulque and pulquerías have made a major comeback in Mexico, especially Mexico City. During this time, stakeholders have established various industry fairs, such as La Expo Feria del Pulque en Jiquipilco and la Feria del Pulque de la Ciudad de México, where new-age pulquerías come together to promote their products. Pulque curado has been the rallying cry in this trend. One headline for the Mexico City pulque fair highlights, “More than 100 flavors of curados at the Fair of Pulque in Mexico City.” The flavors are the intrigue that customers need.
One study on the business models of modern pulquerías concludes “if they want to be more profitable; among some options, there are the following: to increase the variety of cured pulques, to carry out cultural or recreational activities in addition to the sale of pulque, and to maintain constant presence in social networks.” (Aquino, Rodríguez, and Ávila) More extensive offerings of pulque curados are seen as essential to the success of a modern pulquería. This makes good sense as pulque itself is not differentiable; nearly every pulquería in the city is sourcing their raw agave sap from only 2 vendors. (Aquino, Rodríguez, and Ávila) One of these is the Del Razo family of Nanacamilpa in the state of Tlaxcala. (Memorias del 7º Congreso Nacional del Maguey y el Pulque)
A similar study notes that “Traditional consumers are principally men and prefer natural pulque, that is, without any flavor imparted by some fruit, vegetable, seed, or confection.” (Islas-Moreno, Rocillo-Aquino, and Thomé-Ortiz) The urban consumer differentiates herself from the country-side producer with the eclectic addition of flavors. Meanwhile, the tlachiquero, who produces the raw pulque, may just satisfy his palette with the addition of a pinch of salt to the drink. The urban pulquería must offer fresh new flavors every day.
Indeed, modern offerings of pulque curado are seemingly infinite. One article from the forum Memorias del 7º Congreso Nacional del Maguey y el Pulque attempts to enumerate the flavors:
amaranth, blueberry, oatmeal, celery, beets, plums, peanuts, coffee, cappuccino, chocolate, coconut, coconut-oatmeal, coconut-chocolate, coconut-pineapple, peach, cempasuchil flower [marigold], strawberry, strawberry-cream, strawberry-kiwi, red berry mix, fig, tomato, cookie, soursop, kiwi, Kinder-Delis biscuits, lemon, mango, tangerine, mamey, passion fruit, marzipan, apple, melon, walnut, Oreo, pear, banana, banana-chocolate, dragon fruit, tamarind, hawthorn, prickly pear, jackfruit and blackberry.
New establishments go so far as to create custom curados with signature flavors or blends. The punk-style pulquería called Los Insurgentes in the hipster neighborhood of La Roma serves a name-sake curado of basil (hierba buena), hibiscus (Jamaica) and maracuya spiked with some mezcal. Trendy, commercial pulquerías like this one also offer a full bar and beer to appeal to a wider audience. Traditional establishments like Las Duelistas, open since 1912, only serve pulque and a daily rotation of curados.