Agua fresca

"Agua fresca" redirects here. For the Native American tribe known as the Agua Fresca, see Utina.

Two large jars of aguas frescas in a Mexican taqueria in Seattle, Washington, USA. On the left is a jar of Jamaica, and on the right is a jar of horchata. Restaurant employees serve the drinks by ladling them from the jars into glasses.

Aguas frescas (Spanish for "fresh (cold) waters") are a combination of either fruits, cereals, or seeds with sugar and water, blended to make a beverage. Although they originated and are most common in Mexico, aguas frescas have also become popular in Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. Some of the more popular flavors include agua de tamarindo (made with tamarind pods), agua de Jamaica (made with roselle), and agua de horchata (usually made with rice and cinnamon).

It is possible that from these aguas frescas the production of bottled fruit sodas, such as Jarritos, arose. In Mexico, the beverage is often sold by street vendors, but in many cases, fine Mexican restaurants will have a good selection of aguas frescas available.

There is some confusion in terms internationally between the drinks referred to here and bottled soft drinks. In Guatemala and Nicaragua, these are referred to as frescos, short for refresco, which in Mexico means soft drinks. Soft drinks in Guatemala are called aguas, short for aguas gaseosas, but easily confused with the Mexican aguas frescas.

Another type of aguas frescas, popular in Caribbean islands like the Dominican Republic, is made with oatmeal and a citrus juice.

It may be made with other ingredients, mainly with liquefied fruits:

In Mexico and Central America, it is common to find aguas frescas in these flavors:

• Sweet fruits
  • Canteloupe
  • Guava
  • Mammee apple
  • Mango
  • Melon
  • Marañón, using pulp of the cashew apple
  • Papaya
  • Passion fruit
  • Soursop
  • Tuna, the Mexican prickly pear
  • Watermelon
• Sour fruits:
  • Cucumber
  • Lemon (squeezing with a juicer)
  • Lime
  • Orange (squeezing with a juicer)
  • Pineapple
  • Tamarind
  • Strawberry
• With seeds or flowers
  • Chía, often blended with vegetables
  • Hibiscus tea, also called Jamaica or sorrel, a sometimes sugared cold drink made from the flowers of the hibiscus plant, popular also in Jamaica and West Africa
  • Horchata, which is made with walnuts, barley or chufa or (root of Cyperus esculentus), and in Mexico is made often of rice, rarely of oats, and scented with vanilla
  • Alfalfa, blending fresh alfalfa leaves with water
  • Cebada, using the grains of barley
  • Chía

Growing in popularity

17 June 2024 Originating in Mexico, aguas frescas are increasing in popularity. It is becoming more common in Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. One can find aguas frescas vendors in most southwestern states, such as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Aguas frescas are even found in cities most people would not expect, including Chicago, Indianapolis, Seattle, and Boston, for example.

Most Mexican restaurants serve the beverage by ladling the drink out of a jug into glasses. They can also be found in supermarkets in ready-to-drink bottled versions, or in cartons from the dairy case, and in dried mixes similar to Kool-Aid. Companies sell the Mexico-based drink in many flavors; mango, pineapple, orange, watermelon, tangerine, tamarind, cantaloupe, guava, lime and hibiscus are among the favorites. These are made of several basic, all natural ingredients typically including fruit, seeds, flowers, water, and sugar.

Companies like Kern's Nectar, Canita , Klass , and Maria Elena's create and manufacture aguas frescas their own special way. Kern's manufactures and distributes Aguas Frescas nationally in three different flavors: Jamaica, Limon, and Tamarindo. They also have Horchata in a refrigerated half gallon and a 32oz Tetra carton. Cañita bottles their aguas frescas and sells them in stores all around the United States. Cañita comes in two flavors, Jamaica and Tamarindo. Klass sells it in a mix that requires water and/or sugar to be added. They come in a variety of different flavors such as: limonada (lemonade), fresa (strawberry), guayaba (guava), Jamaica, horchata, mango, melon, tamarindo, naranaja, piña (pineapple), and sandia (watermelon). María Elena also sells their product in a mix, but they promote organic and 100% natural aguas frescas. The only flavor this company sells is horchata.

The popular beverage has evolved into a leisure drink instead of a way of replenishing oneself. The traditional way of creating aguas frescas was only use of fruit and water. Now, one can find extra ingredients like sugar, lime juice, and even alcohol included. There are even some cases when people include chunks of fruit in the drink for decoration. The original way to blend the aguas frescas is to mix it with a wooden spoon, but now people just place all the ingredients in a blender.

See also

• Licuados
• Paletas