Aguas Frescas: Cultural Drink Turned TikTok Trend
The sun beats down on a hot summer day. Drops of sweat fall onto the concrete sidewalk, children scream down the street with water guns. The community pool is full, almost to an uncomfortable degree. On days like these, the only things that could make life better are a nice, cold drink to sip on. A drink that’ll take you to that summer high you’ve been missing.
Consider taking a sip of one of Mexico’s oldest traditions, aguas frescas, a drink that can be made with just two ingredients. The drink has origins dating back all the way to the Aztec empire, as the Mexica, the people of the empire, were said to have blended fresh produce to make these cool drinks. It can be as simple as blending together cucumbers with water and straining the excess, or a little more complex like the combination of rice and condensed milks found in horchata.
Fruits, vegetables, and even grains, virtually anything can be turned into an agua fresca by just blending with water. They’re also extremely customizable, with many popular variations including milk to add a creamy consistency and flavor.
“There are so many flavors you can get when it comes to aguas frescas,” says Derek Cantu, University of Texas graduate and regular agua fresca enjoyer. “It was always a treat growing up. It was always more meaningful than something like a lemonade.”
Known for being sold by street vendors in Latin America and in taquerias across the United States, many latino people grew up with an agua fresca in hand. As Cantu puts it, the drink is a big part of hispanic culture, whether it’s on the border or in the heart of Austin.
And considering recent trends, it seems many across the globe agree. Through social media apps like TikTok, aguas frescas have gained massive popularity. According to Tastewise, a website that tracks food trends and data, overall discussion about the drinks have increased by more than 30% in just the past year.
With that, comes greater availability for aguas frescas at restaurants and various street vendors, for better or worse.
“It gets a lot more expensive and harder to come by,” says Cantu. “It’s a drink I used to get for like two bucks and now it’s eight.”
With the rise in popularity also came a distinct kind of gentrification of the drink, specifically known as “spa water.”Once again rising to popularity through social media, the term spa water was first coined by wellness TikToker Gracie Norton as a drink with great health benefits. These drinks blended different fruits and vegetables with water and strained the excess to create a cool drink perfect for the summer. Sound familiar?
What the influencer was essentially “creating” in her series of videos were aguas frescas, giving it a new name and erasing all history behind the drink. The term eventually gained traction, with many ignorant to the cultural ties that originally existed.
Dozens of videos were made in response calling out and poking fun at Norton and her followers of spa water fans, and Norton has since deleted the videos. However, the damage had seemingly already been done, and out there likely still only know the beverage as spa water.
“When things gain popularity, especially on TikTok, people like to reframe it,” says Cantu. “It becomes a different thing than what it originally was.”
When cultural traditions eventually lose their meaning in the eyes of society, Cantu believes that holding onto fond memories is the best way to make sure they are not entirely lost. With things like aguas frescas, a drink so heavily tied to Mexican food traditions, these memories come to mind with ease.
“I used to go [to agua fresca vendors] a lot with my grandparents,” he says. “They used to take care of me a lot when I was little, and they would take me to get aguas frescas and we would go home, drink them there, and just spend time with each other.”
Cantu’s favorite flavor of agua frescas is watermelon. He says it’s less abrasive when compared to other flavors, and especially compared to more sugary drinks like lemonade.
And despite speaking out against the gentrification of the drink, Cantu still believes that experimenting with different flavors of agua fresca is the best way for anyone, regardless of ethnicity, to spend their summer.
“It’s one of those drinks where it’s just simple,” he says. “You can’t really go wrong with it and can always switch anything out you need to. It’s more on a vibe than a direct recipe you need to follow.”
How to Make Agua de Sandía, Derek’s Favorite:
Yields roughly one half-gallon
Ingredients:
- One pound watermelon
- Four cups of water
- Sugar
- 1 can of Condensed and Evaporated Milk (optional)
- Vanilla
Step 1:
In a blender, mix together one pound of cubed watermelon pieces and 4 cups of water.
Step 2:
Once blended, use a fine mesh strainer over a container to separate the liquid from any watermelon pulp that may remain in the mixture. Be sure to use a small spoon once the strainer begins to get clogged.
Step 3:
Add sugar to your liking. Once mixed in, your agua fresca is ready to enjoy. Add ice to a glass to make that nice drink even more relieving in the summer heat.
Step 4 (optional):
To make your drink even sweeter, mix in one can of evaporated milk and one can of condensed milk and a pinch of vanilla. With this, you’ve made agua de sandía con crema. Enjoy this sweeter variation on the traditional drink.
