Agua Fresca Recipes: 10 Refreshing Drink Ideas

In Spanish, agua fresca translates to fresh water -- when you think about it, it's really the perfect name for a variety of drinks that do the job of refreshing us on especially hot days. In Mexico and all over Latin America, aguas are sold by street vendors throughout the cities and towns during the spring and summer months. Typically made with fruits, grains and seeds, aguas also include water, sugar and sometimes herbs or spices -- that's pretty much it. It's so simple to make at home. You can vary a recipe by adding soda water or even alcohol, like rum or tequila if you want it spiked. We've scoured the web to find you some very unique recipes -- see them below.

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Comments

[Er critico]

10:22 PM on 06/13/2012

For the summer weekends and wine lovers, nothing better than "tinto de verano", a mix of red wine (I highly recommend Rioja because of its rich flavour), lemon soda and lemon juice. A healthier alternative is to mix the red wine with carbonated water, lemon and sugar, add ice cubes and salud! A cheap Spanish red will do, you won't want to spoil a fancy wine to make this refreshing drink.

[Statusnaturae]

11:33 AM on 06/13/2012

My favorite AGUA frescas are alfalfa, tamarind and Jamaica.

[Vegan Daily News]

12:47 AM on 06/13/2012

Nice! And of course all vegan!

http://vegandailynews.tumblr.com/

[Rick Cain]

05:02 PM on 06/12/2012

Best stuff EVER. Skip the soda water though, its not supposed to be fizzy.

[nancestef]

02:12 PM on 06/11/2012

My favorite Agua Fresca? Take Orange Juice (pref. fresh-squeezed), add pineapple chunks, and strawberries (with syrup).

Add ice and put into blender....YUMMMMMMMMMOOO! :) :) :)

[Arturo Ramrez]

10:34 AM on 06/11/2012

The pictures of horchata agua fresca are actually or arroz con leche...come on, people...

[Andrew Wojtkowski]

11:31 PM on 06/11/2012

See, the article linked says it's hochata. Knowing that it is not horchata would require people who do these slide shows to know something about what they're copy/pasting about.

There's a reason why they're anonymous.

[Fran Jaime]

01:37 AM on 06/12/2012

Did you read the recipe for the horchata? It's beyond gooey! More like an almond smoothie!

[Rick Cain]

05:04 PM on 06/12/2012

I thought horchata is actually made with rice and pine nuts. They messed up on the picture, horchata is supposed to look like milk, but with a nutty flavor.