The Complete Guide to Mexican Beverages

The essential guide to the history of Mexican beverages and their evolving cultural significance from beer and cocktails to soft drinks and tea and more.

For over five centuries, outside observers have been fascinated with the drinking practices of Mexico. The first Europeans to arrive in the Valley of Mexico described tasting strange new drinks like chocolate, pulque, and atole-all of which had outspoken roles in Mesoamerican nutrition, economy, and religion. Nowadays, they are the sweethearts of high-class bartenders, celebrity brand owners, and drinks writers as Mexico has become one of the largest exporters of beer and spirits in the world. The world is warming up to Mexico's most commercialized drinks. Americans are drinking Mexican beverages whether they know it or not.

The Complete Guide to Mexican Beverages is a comprehensive compendium of Mexican beverages over the centuries. Mexico's gastronomy is the result of mestizaje, or cultural mixing. N. C. Stevens explores the influences of Indigenous, Spanish, Filipino, Chinese, German, American, and French cultures on Mexican beverages with fascinating insights. Mezcal, it turns out, might owe its existence to Filipinos. A group of bread-baking Spaniards brought Corona into existence. Coffee, in certain regions of Mexico, was a German-funded commodity. As the world becomes an increasingly avid consumer of Mexican beers and tequilas, it is time to present a broader, more accurate snapshot of the vast landscape of Mexican drinks.

Each of these drinks has a complicated history and a unique production process. A beverage is not just the result of a recipe. There is a story behind each ingredient that goes into it and the technologies and techniques that transform them. Stevens highlights how botany, technology, and a good deal of coincidence bring many beverages into this world, but culture and tradition keep them alive.