Horchata de Chufa Mocktail Recipe
A milky, nutty tiger nut drink, lightly sweet with cinnamon and lemon, served bracingly cold.
- Category: Mocktail
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 0%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~4 min
- Alcohol-free: ✓
Ingredients
- Tiger nuts (chufas), soaked overnight150 ml (5.1 oz)
- Cold water500 ml (16.9 oz)
- Sugar3 tsp
- Ground cinnamon1 pinch
- Lemon zest1 piece
How to Make It
- Drain the soaked tiger nuts and blend them with the cold water until milky.
- Strain through a fine cloth, pressing hard to extract all the liquid.
- Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest until dissolved.
- Chill until ice cold and stir again before serving.
- Pour into a tall glass and dust with cinnamon.
Garnish
Dusting of cinnamon
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Blended. Everything goes into the blender with crushed ice. Cubes strain the motor and leave shards behind; crushed or pellet ice gives a smoother drink. Rule of thumb: about a cup of crushed ice per serving. More ice than that and you are drinking a slush with no flavour left.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Cold water
- Seeing it in a recipe is not a mistake: in spirit-forward drinks, measuring the dilution instead of leaving it to the ice is what makes the result repeatable.
- Sugar
- Granulated sugar. It dissolves badly in a cold drink, so either muddle it with a few drops of water first or turn it into syrup to begin with.
The Story
Inseparable from Valencia, where tiger nuts are grown and dedicated horchaterías have served it for generations, traditionally with fartons.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Horchata de Chufa mixed?
- It is blended and served in a highball glass.
- Does a Horchata de Chufa contain alcohol?
- No. It is safe to serve to children, to anyone pregnant, and to whoever is driving.
- Is a Horchata de Chufa hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.