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Cacao Water (Agua de Cacao)

By Enrique Olvera, Peter Meehan, Daniela Soto-Innes, Gonzalo Goût, and Luis Arellano
Image may contain Drink Lemonade Beverage and Juice
Photo by Araceli Paz

This is really more of an infusion than an agua fresca. Although very simple to make, its flavor complexity is unbelievable, especially for how light it is. Although whole cacao beans are ideal—you can find them at a local spice store or specialty chocolate shop—cacao nibs work too. The important thing is to try to get the best quality possible for both the cacao and coconut water.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    10 minutes, plus overnight soaking

Ingredients

1 cup (130 g) cacao beans
5 cups (1.2 liters or 2½ pints) fresh coconut water or good-quality bottled coconut water

Preparation

  1. In a dry small saucepan or frying pan, toast the cacao beans until browned on both sides and fragrant, 5–8 minutes. In a large pitcher, combine the cacao beans and coconut water. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve (discard the cacao beans). Serve over ice.

Tu Casa Mi Casa cookbook cover with photo of stuffed chile peppers.
Reprinted with permission from Tu Casa Mi Casa: Mexican Recipes for the Home Cook by Enrique Olvera, Peter Meehan, Daniela Soto-Innes, onzalo Goût, and Luis Arellano copyright © 2019. Published by Phaidon Press. Buy the full book from Amazon.
TagsCold DrinkBeveragesPitcher DrinkAgua FrescaSouth AmericanLatin AmericanCoconutFruitNonalcoholicEasyCookbooks

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