Freshly silvered golden ornaments standing on their rack in a Chignahuapan workshop.
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Flavours and crafts · Sierra Norte of Puebla

Flavours and craftsMade in Chignahuapan

Cheese from its dairies, pumpkin sweets and jamoncillo, herb and fruit liqueurs, clay casseroles, timber from its forests and, of course, Christmas ornaments: what the town makes with its hands.

Flavours Crafts

To take home

Flavours of the town

What people eat, drink and give as gifts in Chignahuapan, made right here.

  • Cheese and dairy

    Chignahuapan has many cheese dairies, and much of the cheese sold in Tlaxco is made here. Milk is the municipality’s main livestock product: about 4 million litres a year.

    Coming soon: the town’s cheese dairies and which cheese to ask for at each.

    Photo coming

  • Traditional sweets

    The town’s classic sweets:

    • candied pumpkin and tejocote
    • fruit preserves and jellies
    • pumpkin-seed and pine-nut jamoncillo
    • milk sweets
    Photo coming

  • Herb and fruit liqueurs

    Verde con verde, 14 hierbas, sherry liqueur, capulín cherry and many more: Chignahuapan makes herb and fruit liqueurs and wines. The 14 hierbas, a digestif, is a tradition across the Sierra Norte.

    The custom is old: in 1939, a doctor doing his social service here noted that much of the town’s aguardiente was drunk infused with herbs or fruit. Today some family houses are in their fourth generation.

    Adults only. If you drink, don’t drive.

    Photo coming
  • Freshly baked filled breads, golden and glossy, on a bakery tray.

    Cheese bread

    Cheese bread is one of the town’s signature flavours. Bakeries also sell fig bread and seasonal breads.

    Where to eat

By hand

Crafts of the sierra

Clay, forest and land also give Chignahuapan its trades.

  • Pottery: clay casseroles

    Chignahuapan makes clay pottery, above all casseroles, from local clay. Some potter families fire it in wood-burning kilns, and one of them is certified by FONART, Mexico’s national crafts fund.

    Photo coming

  • Timber

    In 2014, Chignahuapan produced more roundwood than any other municipality in Puebla: 83,342 m³, 36 % of the state. Its sawmills turn out boards, planks, posts, beams and slats for pallets and crates, and rustic furniture is made in town.

    Look after the forest: buy timber and furniture of legal origin.

    Photo coming

  • Christmas trees

    Christmas trees are grown on the municipality’s slopes: sacred fir, ayacahuite pine and Douglas fir, which take 4 to 5 years to grow. In December some plantations let each family choose and cut its own.

    CONAFOR, Mexico’s forestry commission, publishes a directory of authorised natural-tree sellers.

    Photo coming

The most famous

Ornaments and mezcal

Two craftswomen blowing glass with torches by a window, in an ornament workshop.
Glass blowing, in a town workshop.
Over 400 workshops: the Home of the Ornament
A whole agave with broad, spiny leaves in a garden among grasses and rocks.
The agave, source of pulque and mezcal.
Mezcal with Designation of Origin

Before you go

Frequently asked questions

What is made in Chignahuapan?

Christmas ornaments in more than 400 workshops, cheese, traditional sweets, herb and fruit liqueurs, cheese bread, clay pottery, timber and Christmas trees. Mezcal too: the municipality is within the Designation of Origin.

What traditional sweets are there in Chignahuapan?

Candied pumpkin and tejocote, fruit preserves and jellies, pumpkin-seed and pine-nut jamoncillo, and milk sweets.

Which liqueurs are typical of Chignahuapan?

Verde con verde, 14 hierbas, sherry liqueur and capulín cherry liqueur, among other herb and fruit liqueurs and wines. Adults only.

Is there artisan cheese in Chignahuapan?

Yes. There are many cheese dairies, and much of the cheese sold in Tlaxco is made here.

Where can you buy a natural Christmas tree in Chignahuapan?

In December, at the municipality’s plantations. CONAFOR publishes a directory of authorised sellers.

Handmade

Keep exploring

Sources: Encyclopedia of Mexican Municipalities (INAFED), Municipal Development Plan 2024-2027, SIAP and SEMARNAT (in Región y Sociedad, 2017), CONAFOR, Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism, UNAM thesis (1939), México Desconocido, Milenio and Revista La Campiña. Cheese and liqueurs: confirmed by chigna.com in town.