Mexican tea culture is known for its traditional herbal teas which are reputed to have medicinal properties. In recent decades,[ when? ] imported tea beverages have also become popular in Mexico. Mexican tea recipes have grown in popularity beyond Mexico as well.
Mexico has numerous indigenous herbs that native cultures used to make infusions for centuries before Spanish colonization. Teas from Europe and Asia were not introduced to Mexican agriculture, however, and have yet to reach the level of popularity that they have in many other countries. The climate of Mexico is diverse, ranging from deserts to mountain plateaus and tropical rainforests in the southeast. The southeastern region may be suitable for cultivating imported teas. [1]
A small number of prominent establishments in Mexico City have formal tea rooms, where British-style tea is served, including the Hotel Marquis Reforma and the Presidente Inter-Continental Mexico City hotel. [2]
Herbal teas are common in Mexico. Many herb varieties, both indigenous and imported, are sold at Mexican markets. Traditional medicinal infusions are common in some Mexican immigrant communities in the United States. [3]
Poleo is a tea made from the Hedeoma drummondii plant. Aside from being used to make a beverage in Mexico, this plant has also been used as a culinary spice by native cultures north of Mexico. Poleo has been found to be rich in antioxidants. [4]
Hierba buena (Good herb) is a name given to a variety of mint teas sold loose in many markets. This is similar to yerba mate, used throughout many Latin American countries as mate, and widely regarded to have health benefits. Mild stomach upset is often remedied with a drink made from lemongrass, or Limón.
Traditional Mexican teas should be consumed with great caution, as incorrect doses of some can be toxic. [5]
Damiana tea made from damiana leaves is typically drunk in Mexico and Brazil for impotency. [6] Damiana was used by the Aztecs centuries ago.
Chamomile is popular in Mexico.
Jamaica iced tea is a popular herbal tea made of the flowers and leaves of the Jamaican hibiscus plant ( Hibiscus sabdariffa ), known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico. It is served cold and quite sweet with a lot of ice. The ruby-red beverage called hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries is called agua de Jamaica (water of Jamaica) in Mexico, where it is widely available in restaurants and from street vendors. [7]
Champurrado is a Mexican chocolate drink, sometimes incorrectly called "Mexican chocolate tea". It is a popular recipe exported to the United States. This drink is made with chocolate and spice with cinnamon. Champurrado is related to xocoatl, which is a traditional Aztec cocoa-bean drink.
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and Maya who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups brought with them their cooking methods. These included: the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Purépecha, Totonac, Mazatec, Mazahua, and Nahua. With the Mexica formation of the multi-ethnic Triple Alliance, culinary foodways became infused.
Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs are used in herbal medicine. Some herbal blends contain actual tea.
Yerba mate or yerba-maté is a plant species of the holly genus Ilex native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a beverage known as mate. Brewed cold, it is used to make tereré. Both the plant and the beverage contain caffeine.
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.
Horchata, or orxata, is a name given to various beverages, which are generally plant-based, but sometimes contain animal milk. In Spain, it is made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. In Latin America and other parts of the Americas, the base is jicaro, melon or sesame seeds, or white rice, along with other spices. Different varieties can be served hot or cold, and may be used as a flavor in other beverages, such as frappé coffee.
Champurrado is a chocolate-based atole, a warm and thick Mexican beverage. It is prepared with either a masa , masa harina, or corn flour ; piloncillo; water or milk; and occasionally containing cinnamon, anise seed, or vanilla. Ground nuts, orange zest, and egg can also be added to thicken and enrich the drink. Atole drinks are whipped up using a wooden whisk called a molinillo. The whisk is rolled between the palms of the hands, then moved back and forth in the mixture, until it is aerated and frothy; a blender may also be used.
Roselle is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hibiscus that is native to Africa, most likely West Africa. In the 16th and early 17th centuries it was spread to Asia and the West Indies, where it has since become naturalized in many places. The stems are used for the production of bast fibre and the dried cranberry-tasting calyces are commonly steeped to make a popular infusion known by many names, including carcade.
Peumus boldus, commonly known as boldo, is a species of tree in the family Monimiaceae and the only species in the genus Peumus. It is endemic to the central region of Chile, between 33° and 40° southern latitude. Boldo has also been introduced to Europe and North Africa, though it is not often seen outside botanical gardens.
Tamarindo, also commonly known as agua de tamarindo, is a non-alcoholic beverage made of tamarind, sugar, and water. The tamarind plant originated in India but has since been widely distributed on a global scale and is commonly found in tropical regions. The tamarind plant produces fruit pods containing pulp and seeds. Tamarind is a versatile ingredient that is used for a variety of commercial, culinary and medicinal purposes with the pulp being the most commonly used part of the tamarind plant, used in a range of beverages including tamarindo and other similar beverages such as Nam Ma Kham Wan in Thailand and Poha Beer in Ghana. Tamarind pulp offers a flavour that ranges from sour to sweet, making tamarindo a sour-sweet beverage recognised as a popular flavour of aguas frescas, which is traditionally consumed in Latin America. Comprising only three ingredients, tamarindo involves a simple production process making it an easy beverage to prepare at home. Tamarindo has been produced commercially as a soda flavour, by companies such as Jarritos and Nestle, and distributed globally.
Hibiscus tea is a herbal tea made as an infusion from crimson or deep magenta-colored calyces (sepals) of the roselle flower. It is consumed both hot and cold. It has a tart, cranberry-like flavor.
Tagetes lucida is a perennial plant native to Mexico and Central America. It is used as a medicinal plant and as a culinary herb. The leaves have a tarragon-like scent, with hints of anise, and it has entered the nursery trade in North America as a tarragon substitute. Common names include sweetscented marigold, Mexican marigold, Mexican mint marigold, Mexican tarragon, sweet mace, Texas tarragon, pericón, yerbaniz, and hierbanís.
An acquired taste is an appreciation for something unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it. It is the opposite of innate taste, which is the appreciation for things that are enjoyable by most persons without prior exposure to them.
Matte Leão is a Brazilian infusion and tea brand, now owned by The Coca-Cola Company. The spelling Matte is archaic, but preserved in the trademark; the currently correct Portuguese spelling for the herb and the derived beverage is mate. Matte Leão offers a range of over 100 types of infusions.
Brazilian tea culture has its origins in the infused beverages, or chás, made by the indigenous cultures of the Amazon and the Río de la Plata basins. It has evolved since the Portuguese colonial period to include imported varieties and tea-drinking customs. There is a popular belief in Brazil that Brazilians, especially the urban ones, have a greater taste for using sugar in teas than in other cultures, being unused to unsweetened drinks.
Dominican tea culture combines many customs adapted from various colonial and immigrant cultures that have mingled in Dominica. "Bush teas", made from local herbal plants and often taken for medicinal purposes, are a traditional part of Dominica's culture.
This is a list of plants used by the indigenous people of North America. For lists pertaining specifically to the Cherokee, Iroquois, Navajo, and Zuni, see Cherokee ethnobotany, Iroquois ethnobotany, Navajo ethnobotany, and Zuni ethnobotany.
Roselle juice, known as bissap, wonjo, foléré, dabileni, tsobo, zobo, or sobolo in parts of Africa, sorrel in the Caribbean, and agua de Jamaica in Mexico, is a drink made out of the flowers of the Roselle plant, a variety of Hibiscus. Although generally the "juice" is sweetened and chilled, it is technically an infusion and when served hot can also be referred to as hibiscus tea.
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