Refreshing and flavorful, aguas frescas are a treasured part of Mexico’s gastronomic heritage. Sold widely by vendors, shops and restaurants, the non-alcoholic drinks are instantly recognizable. Both by the barrel-shaped yet transparent glass or plastic vitroleros that often contain them and by the inevitable kaleidoscopic array of colors whenever more than a few are placed side-by-side.
Indeed, the colors of aguas frescas are like a map of Mexico done in miniature, tracing the abundance of fruit, flowers and seeds that flourish in various locales. People have been flavoring water with fruit and flowers in Mexico since ancient times. Sugar, the most common sweetener for modern aguas frescas, was introduced later, after the Spanish invasion of the early 16th century.
Many of the popular aguas frescas found in Mexico today — notably, jamaica and horchata — were made possible by the trade network the Spanish established during the colonial era. However, aguas frescas developed regionally with locally available ingredients , from grains and legumes like barley and alfalfa to nuts and seeds like almonds and chia and flowers and spices like hibiscus and cinnamon. Fruits were even more frequently used, of course, thanks to a natural bounty that included introduced plants like grapefruit, mango, melon, orange, papaya, passionfruit, peach and local ones including sapote, soursop, guava, tejocote and xoconostle.
Regional variations still abound for these drinks, with recipes rich.