Andean Tradition · Fermented Corn Beer
Chicha Cochabambina
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: EloyTigre / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
You find a chichería by looking for a white flag or plastic bag tied to a pole outside a house — a centuries-old signal that a fresh batch is ready to drink.
Chicha is a lightly fermented, tangy corn beer made by sprouting and boiling maize, then letting it ferment for several days, traditionally served from a large shared bowl or gourd called a poto. Cochabamba is especially known for its chicherías — small home-based taverns marked by a white flag outside — where it's poured fresh and drunk on site.
Why it's made this way: Chicha-making predates the Inca and remains one of the clearest living threads of Andean Indigenous tradition in Bolivian daily life, especially outside the cities.
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