14 Popular Non-Alcoholic Drinks You Need To Try In Mexico

Think of a popular Mexican drink and most people's minds will go straight to tequila or perhaps a tequila-based cocktail like the margarita or paloma. While those libations are very much a part of Mexican culture, there's also a whole world of non-alcoholic drinks that are just as exciting. In the nearly five years that I've been living in Mexico, I've had the chance to sample a myriad of non-boozy drinks that range from refreshing fruity beverages to spice-forward sippers and creamy concoctions. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that Mexico's drink culture goes far beyond the bar.

Just like its food, Mexico's drinks are vast and varied. Some beverages, like atole, have been around for centuries. Others are newer creations that put a modern twist on traditional thirst-quenchers. Classics that you can find all over the country include aguas frescas, café de olla, and jugos verdes. Then there are regional drinks that you typically only find in their place of origin, like cebadinas and tejate. If you're looking for some delicious booze-free beverages to sip on, these are 14 non-alcoholic Mexican drinks that are worth trying.

Rich, creamy, and nourishing, atole is the perfect drink to start the day with, especially on a cold winter morning. The beverage dates back thousands of years to around the time when people began nixtamalizing corn kernels with water and lime to make masa (corn dough) and corn flour. The corn products were simmered with water to create a thick, nutrient-rich drink. Later, people began adding ingredients like vanilla, cane sugar, cinnamon, and fruit. Today, atole is a beloved traditional Mexican drink that comes in a wide variety of flavors and styles.

A classic atole is typically made by simmering corn flour in water with vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. However, you can also find atole flavored with fruits like strawberry and guava, nutty versions with toasted pecans, and sour atole that's slightly fermented. Champurrado is a popular style of atole that includes cocoa and is similar to a creamy hot chocolate. Atole is often served hot in the morning alongside popular breakfast dishes like tamales, guajolotes (sandwiches filled with tamales), and pan dulce (sweet bread). It's also popular around holidays like Christmas and Día de los Muertos.

If you happen to be on the west coast of Mexico and looking for a refreshing drink, tejuino is a great choice. This is another beverage that dates back to pre-Columbian times. The name comes from the Nahuatl word "tecuin," which translates roughly to "beating heart" and refers to the energizing properties of the drink. Tejuino is made by mixing masa with water and raw cane sugar called piloncillo. The mixture is placed in a container and left to sit for two to three days. The result is a lightly fermented drink that's slightly sweet and malty.

Tejuino is popular in the states of Colima, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Nayarit. It's typically served in a plastic cup or plastic bag with lime juice and ice. Sometimes it also has a sprinkle of salt to give the drink complex layers of sweet, sour, and salty flavors. You might even see some people adding a dash of chili powder. Tejuino is particularly popular in the city of Guadalajara, where it's often served with a scoop of lime sorbet or ice cream. Although tejuino has a touch of alcohol from the fermentation, it's so minimal that even kids can enjoy the drink.

Explore the markets and food stalls of Mexico and you'll inevitably come across big, clear jugs brimming with colorful beverages. Those are aguas frescas and they're some of Mexico's most popular non-alcoholic drinks. The name translates to "fresh water" and the drinks consist of water infused with fresh ingredients like fruit, vegetables, and flower petals. Sometimes there's a touch of sugar in there as well to take the edge off any bitter or tart flavors. Aguas frescas are usually served in a cup or glass over ice.

Legend has it that the ancient Aztecs created the first aguas frescas by infusing water with ingredients that were abundant across the landscape like fruits, seeds, and edible leaves. One popular version that still endures today is agua de jamaica, a vibrant red agua fresca that's made by steeping hibiscus petals in water. Other popular aguas frescas include agua de sandiá (watermelon), agua de pepino (cucumber), and agua de piña (pineapple). Part of the appeal of aguas frescas is that there are so many fun flavors to choose from. Basically, anything that can be infused in water can be turned into agua fresca.

Chocolate has been consumed in Mexico for thousands of years, with evidence suggesting its use dates back to at least 1750 B.C. The ancient Mayans mixed it with water to create a drink they called "chocolhaa," which translates to "bitter water." The Aztecs had a similar drink called "xocolatl." Many believe those drinks are where the word chocolate came from. Over time, chocolate found its way into many traditional drinks across Mexico, including chilate, a refreshing cacao-based beverage from Guerrero. 

Chilate is typically made by grinding cacao beans with rice, cinnamon, and brown sugar to create a paste that's mixed with water. In some parts of Guerrero it's made with corn instead of rice and includes spicy additions like chiles, pepper, and ginger. Either way, the chilate is typically stored in large containers and ladled out per order. It's poured high to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed and the drink has a bit of foam. It may be served in a cup over ice or simply in a plastic bag with a straw. It's a complex drink that's rich in flavor, but also light and refreshing. 

There's nothing like an icy cold glass of horchata on a hot day. Sweet, creamy, and infused with cinnamon, it's also the perfect antidote for spicy foods like fiery salsas and aguachiles. In Mexico, horchata is considered an agua fresca, but there are some differences between the drink and its fruit and flower-infused cousins. For one, it's made by soaking rice in water with cinnamon, then blending it with some sugar. The result is a drink that's milky and sweet with just a hint of baking spice.

Horchata has its origins in southern Spain where it's typically made with tiger nuts. When the Spanish made their way to the Americas, tiger nuts weren't available, so the recipe was adapted to include native ingredients. In Mexico, that was rice and cinnamon. In other parts of Central America, horchata is made with semillas de jicaro (morro seeds). In Ecuador, it can include an array of medicinal herbs and edible flowers. Horchata is typically consumed as a non-alcoholic beverage, but you can also add liquor like rum, tequila, or Kahlúa to make it a creamy cocktail.

Cafe culture is big in Mexico thanks in part to the abundance of excellent coffee grown all over the country. Visit a cafe and you'll find familiar coffee drinks like americanos, lattes, and cappuccinos. But if you want something uniquely Mexican, opt for a café de olla. Legend has it this sweet and spicy flavor-enhanced coffee was created during the Mexican Revolution as a way to keep soldiers alert and energized. Some say it was much loved by Emiliano Zapata, a key revolutionary leader and champion of land reform.

Café de olla is made by simmering coffee with cinnamon sticks and piloncillo (cane sugar). Some people also enhance their café de olla with ingredients like cloves, orange peel, or star anise. The coffee used to be made primarily in clay pots, hence the name, which translates to "pot coffee." While it may be made with modern brewing methods today, many people still serve it in rustic clay mugs called jarritos de barro as a nod to tradition. Café de olla is usually served black and sometimes comes with a cinnamon stick as a garnish.

Looking for something thirst-quenching and healthy to kick off your day or give you a mid-day boost? Licuados are Mexico's version of smoothies, but with a lighter, more slurpable twist. Also known as batidos, these nutritious drinks feature milk blended with fruit and sometimes ice. Unlike smoothies and shakes, they don't typically include thickening agents like yogurt or ice cream, so they're thinner and, some would argue, easier to drink. You can find licuados at cafes, markets, and street food stalls across Mexico, as well as many other parts of Latin America.

Like aguas frescas, licuados come in a wide range of flavors. Given that Mexico is home to a vast array of tropical fruits, it's common to see flavors like banana, papaya, mango, and pineapple. Some people get creative with their licuados, adding flavor enhancers like honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. Coffee and cocoa powder can also kick things up a notch. Modern variations include dairy-free versions made with almond or oat milk. At the end of the day, licuados just means "liquified," so these blended drinks can consist of pretty much anything you can whip up in a blender.

Christmas is a big deal in Mexico, with celebrations taking place throughout the month of December. Posadas are festivities that pay homage to Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem and they run from December 16 to Christmas Eve. Feasting is a big part of the celebrations, so you'll find tons of traditional Christmas dishes and drinks on offer wherever posadas are taking place. One drink that's especially popular during the holidays is ponche Navideño (Christmas punch). This sweet, spicy, and tangy punch is often prepared in big batches and served steaming hot in mugs.

Every family's recipe for ponche Navideño varies slightly, but there are some common ingredients that consistently appear in the mix. These include fruits called tejocotes that resemble apples and have a sweet and slightly tart taste. Cinnamon and piloncillo are also musts. Other ingredients could include pears, orange slices, prunes, guavas, tamarind pods, and hibiscus flowers. Everything is simmered in a pot with water until the flavors meld together. The punch can be served as-is or spiked with alcohol like rum or tequila.

Tejate is one of Mexico's most unique traditional drinks, yet few people know of it outside the southwestern state of Oaxaca. There it's often called the "drink of the gods" and people have been making it for centuries, passing recipes down through generations. At first glance it looks rather daunting with its thick white froth on top and watery brown liquid. But take a sip and you get chocolate notes, milkiness, floral elements, and nutty richness. It's cooling, nourishing, and filling all at the same time.

Traditional tejate is made with toasted corn kernels, cacao beans, cacao flowers, and roasted and ground pits of the mamey fruit. The ingredients are ground into a fine paste, then mixed with water until smooth. As the elixir comes together, the oils from the mamey pit are released and float to the top, creating the white creamy layer that locals call nata. The drink is often cooled with ice and served in traditional cups called jicaras that are made from gourds. You can also find tejate served over ice with a splash of simple syrup.

Few Mexican drinks are as fun or versatile as raspados. The name comes from the Spanish word "raspar," which means "to scrape," and it refers to the scraped or shaved ice that forms the base of these frozen drinks. They're typically served from small stands or carts at markets or on street corners. The ice is scraped off a giant block into a cup and topped with your choice of fruit syrups and toppings. Raspados are similar to snow cones in that you can eat them with a spoon, but they're served in a cup so the concoction melts into a deliciously cool beverage that you can drink through a straw.

The sky's the limit when it comes to the syrups and toppings you can add to raspados. Popular syrup flavors include mango, strawberry, lime, guava, and pineapple. Raspados can also contain pieces of fruit mixed in with the ice and syrup. Take for example the chamoyada, which is a style of raspado with chunks of mango, shaved ice, sweet and spicy chamoy sauce, and a Tahín (a chile-lime seasoning) rim. Some vendors also offer toppings like gummy candies, peanuts, and dried fruit.

If you're a fan of all-natural fizzy drinks like kombucha, tepache should be right up your alley. The drink dates back to pre-Columbian times and gets its name from the Nahuatl word tepiātl, which means "corn drink." It was originally made with corn, but at some point the corn was replaced with pineapple cores and rinds. The pineapple scraps are added to water with piloncillo and cinnamon sticks and left to ferment for a few days. The yeast and bacteria on the rinds produce lactic acid and carbon dioxide that give the drink its tangy, effervescent quality.

Tepache may only have a few ingredients, but it has a lot going on. It's fizzy and fresh, but also sweet and a touch sour with tropical notes. Some people liken it to a light hard cider or a flavorful soda. Like all fermented drinks, it has some alcohol content, but it's very low. Think 1% or 2% ABV depending on how long it's been fermented. In fact, many Mexican people don't consider it an alcoholic beverage at all. Some companies in the States have even started selling it as a probiotic Mexican soda.

If you happen to find yourself in the city of León in the state of Guanajuato, locals will tell you that the one drink you have to try is a cebadina. This vibrant red beverage is often served out of a barrel and sometimes has a dash of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) stirred in to make it fizz up. The trick is to drink it fast so that the drink doesn't foam up too much. The taste is slightly sweet, a touch tart, and somewhat earthy. Many claim it's excellent for digestion and a great hangover helper. If anything, it's a cooling refresher on a hot day.

Cebadina starts with a base of tepache, which, as mentioned, is a fermented pineapple drink. Added to the tepache is barley, tamarind, and jamaica (hibiscus) flowers. The jamaica is what gives the drink its brilliant red hue. The pineapple and tamarind give the drink its signature tang, while the barley and sodium bicarbonate neutralize the acid, balancing out the concoction. It's a pretty unique drink and one that you'll probably only find in León, so definitely worth trying if you have the chance.

Born in the southern state of Chiapas, tascalate was once so revered that anyone in the ancient Mayan city of Palenque who wanted to drink it first had to bow in honor of the king and then finish the entire serving, lest they risk insulting the monarch. Over the centuries, those rules went by the wayside, but the drink is still very much loved. This rich, chocolatey drink has hints of spice and earthiness and it works just as well hot as it does cold. It's often sipped in the morning with breakfast or enjoyed with lunch.

The name tascalate comes from the Nahuatl word "tlaxcalatl," which means "tortilla water." As you might guess, it includes corn flour (or sometimes toasted tortillas) along with toasted cacao beans or cacao powder, cinnamon, piloncillo, and achiote paste made from annatto seeds. The ingredients are ground into powder and whisked into water or sometimes milk, creating a frothy dark drink that has a slight reddish tone thanks to the achiote. Tascalate is a common beverage offering at cafes and restaurant in Chiapas, but it may be harder to track down outside the state. However, you might be able to find pre-made powder mixes at specialty markets.

No matter where you go in Mexico, you'll find a wide variety of juices made with local ingredients like fresh oranges, guavas, pineapple, and papaya. But one particular juice that stands out for its health-giving benefits is jugo verde. If you took Spanish 101, you probably know that the name translates to "green juice." This vibrant green drink is popular across the country and consists of a variety of ingredients blended together to create a nutritious elixir.

Jugo verde recipes vary considerably, but some common ingredients you'll often find in them include pineapple, cucumber, parsley, mint, celery, spinach, cilantro, and green apple. Nopales (aka cactus paddles) are also a popular addition because they're high in antioxidants, have anti-inflammatory properties, and a great source of fiber. Some people also add jalapeños to give the juice a subtle kick of heat or sprinkle a bit of Tahín on top. If you're making it at home, you may want to add some water in the blender with the fresh ingredients to help everything come together smoothly. You can also strain the juice to get rid of any pulp or chunks.