A cool water, slightly tangy from lime and sweetened with cane sugar, in which chia seeds swell into a gelatinous suspension — a thirst-quenching and tonifying drink for very hot days.

Why this dish? In the heat of the Mexican plateau, refreshing waters were offered to the sick and convalescent in the convent infirmary; chia, a nourishing and thirst-quenching native seed, was a common base in Sor Juana's time.

When the sun weighs on the convent and a sister falls ill with fever, I prepare this *agua de chía* that cools the blood. I throw a spoonful of these tiny seeds into water, where they swell like minuscule pearls, I squeeze a lime into it and melt a little sugar. Drink it slowly: it quenches thirst better than plain water, and restores strength to those who have kept vigil too long — or studied too much, as happens to me all too often.

How it was made : Chia was a major seed in Mesoamerican cultures, consumed as a nourishing drink long before the Conquest; the convents adopted it, married with lime and sugar brought by the Spanish. Without ice, it was cooled in porous earthenware jars kept in the shade.

The contemporary twist : Add a few mint leaves and serve over ice in a tall glass — the *agua fresca* of Mexican markets, direct heir to the infirmary waters of the convent.

Sources : Bernardino de Sahagún, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (uses of chia) · Sophie D. Coe, America's First Cuisines

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · Charactorium