Horchata

• 1. Introduction

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  Horchata is a single name stretched over many different drinks. Order it in three countries and you may be handed three unrelated things. Most versions are plant-based, though a few are made with milk, and the sweet ones are usually served cold. This documentary follows the word rather than any one recipe. Where did the name begin, and why does a word rooted in barley now sit on drinks that contain no barley? How did one drink cross an ocean and swap its ingredients along the way? And what happens when a tea from the Andes borrows the name and keeps nothing else?

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• 2. A Name from Barley

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  The Latin word hordeum meant barley, and from it came hordeata, the name the Romans used for a barley drink. According to the source, that drink originated in ancient Egypt, and the Romans got to know it there. The same root gave Italian and Maltese their word orzata. It also gave French and English the word orgeat. Like horchata, those drinks have mostly drifted away from barley.

  In the 8th century, under Muslim rule, tiger nuts were brought to the Iberian peninsula. They became a staple around Valencia, and the main ingredient of the drink gradually changed from barley to tiger nuts. By the 11th century, by one estimate, the drink had begun spreading across Hispania, the region that is now Spain and Portugal. Records from the 13th century describe a horchata-like beverage being made near Valencia, where it is still a common drink.

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• 3. Valencian Tiger Nuts

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  The plant behind Valencian horchata is the tiger nut, Cyperus esculentus. Its dried, sweetened nuts are soaked and ground to make horchata de chufa, which is sometimes written horchata de chufas. In the Valencian language the proper name is orxata de xufa. In West African countries such as Nigeria and Mali, the same kind of drink goes by the name kunnu aya.

  A regulating council in Spain watches over the drink, checking quality and traceability in connection with its designation of origin. Aflatoxins, a kind of contaminant, can turn up in horchata de chufa, though only in rare instances.

  Alboraya is the most important production centre for the crop. Sixteen Valencian municipalities grow tiger nuts under the quality seal, the only one that guarantees Valencian origin. Together they cover around 485 hectares of fields. Most of the Spanish tiger nut crop goes into horchata. The yield is approximately 8,000 tonnes a year, and it is normally all sold by the time it is harvested.

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• 4. Crossing the Atlantic

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  After the idea of horchata travelled from Spain to the Americas, the drink became known as agua de horchata, or simply horchata. White rice and cinnamon took the place of tiger nuts. Some cooks added vanilla, and others served the glass adorned with fruit.

  In Mexico, horchata de arroz is the most common variety, and it counts as a type of agua fresca. In the United States it is popular in taquerías and Mexican ice cream shops. The town of Alvarado adds its own touch, scenting the rice drink with flowers of the Aztec marigold, known as cempasúchil and by the botanical name Tagetes erecta.

  Horchata de melón follows the same logic with a different base, since it is made from ground melon seeds.

  In El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica, horchata means horchata de morro, also called semilla de jicaro. Its base comes from grinding jicaro seeds, locally called morro seeds, together with rice. In Nicaragua the seeds and rice are toasted or dry-roasted, then ground into a fine powder. That powder is stirred into water or milk and topped with ground cinnamon and sugar. Cocoa beans, toasted and ground with the base, sometimes join the mix.

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• 5. The Red Tea of Loja

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  In Ecuador, horchata is a vivid red infusion made from some 18-20 different plants and herbs. It is most famous in the province of Loja, which is why it is commonly called horchata lojana. It is nothing like the sweet, grain-based horchatas found in other Latin American countries. It simply shares their name.

  Escancel, also known as bloodleaf, is a type of amaranth often used in the blend. Achiote, or annatto, is another, along with hibiscus, lemon verbena and lemongrass. Spearmint, peppermint, chamomile, lemon balm and rose geranium are also frequent ingredients, among others.

  People in both the cities and the countryside who drink it, notably in Loja province, report improved overall well-being and cognitive benefits. They also believe it supports a healthy digestive tract and sharpens focus and memory. Some regard it as a liver anti-inflammatory and a diuretic.

  The source says there is valuable scientific evidence for the purported benefits of each ingredient, on its own and in combination. That evidence includes counteracting genotoxicity in the body, along with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

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• 6. Horchata as a Flavor

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  RumChata is an alcoholic tribute to the drink, and it shows how far the name has traveled from the glass. Horchata now turns up as a flavor in ice cream, cookies and other sweets.

  In the United States, some smoothie shops and cafés have been experimenting with horchata-flavored frappés. McDonald's is among the chains that have tried the idea.

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