Today we talk about summer drinks in Valencia. Our Spanish school El Rincón del Tándem tells you about what people in Valencia usually like to drink on the terraces and in the bars of the city on hot summer afternoons. ?
July and August are usually the hottest months of the year in Valencia.
To live the days of intense heat without stress, we propose several remedies. Among them, strolling through the parks and gardens of the city, chilling out on the seashore in the evening or sitting on a terrace with friends to taste delicious cold drinks.
To help our Spanish students get to know a little more about gastronomic customs and local habits, we will talk about the typical summer drinks in Valencia.
Some of them 100% from Valencia ?
Horchata
Horchata is undoubtedly the most typical drink in Valencia and is prepared with dried tiger nut, water, sugar and cinnamon.
The tiger nut is an edible tuber of an herbaceous plant and is a very ancient food whose consumption dates back to the times of the Egyptian pharaohs. Its cultivation came to Valencia with the Arab culture and has become one of the most emblematic products of the area.
In fact, it is a Denomination of Origin product and is popular all over Spain.
If you want to know more about the cultivation and preparation of Horchata, we invite you to visit the Horchata Museum. The museum is located in an old farmhouse in Alboraya, a very charming and beautiful place.
Horchata is a refreshing and healthy drink. It has several benefits, it does not include any type of stimulant such as caffeine, it helps digestion and reduces cholesterol.
The typical way to enjoy this drink and have it served with fartons.
There are many places that serve horchata in Valencia and in the town of Alboraya. The most famous are Daniel Horchatería, Santa Catalina Horchatería, Els Sariers Horchatería, Panach Horchatería, Toni Horchatería, Vida Horchatería.
Agua de Valencia
Another local drink that Valencia is very proud of is Agua de Valencia.
It is an alcoholic cocktail made for the first time at the end of the 1950s at the Café Madrid in Valencia. Its main ingredients are champagne or cava, vodka, gin and orange juice.
Also, many variations of the original recipe have been created. If you want to make your own Agua de Valencia at home, here you will find here all the steps for its preparation.
In Valencia you can easily find it on the menu of any bar or place.
Among them, we suggest you to have it at Café de las Horas. The bar’s decoration and baroque atmosphere are worth a visit. ?
Blanco y negro
Among the drinks that are usually taken in the summer period in Valencia, we find this delicious coffee-based cocktail.
Blanco y negro (black and white) is a very sweet and summery version of coffee. It is prepared by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cream to the iced coffee.
It is a perfect recipe for coffee lovers who do not want to give up this pleasure even on the hottest afternoons.
You can order a blanco y negro in many cafes or ice-cream parlours in Valencia.
Mistela
Valencia is one of the Spanish cities famous for the production of mistela.
Mistela is a sweet liqueur that is usually enjoyed at the end of lunch or dinner with a dessert or as a digestive drink.
It is made by combining grape juice with alcohol and its alcohol content ranges from a minimum of 13 to a maximum of 23.
Mistela is usually enjoyed very cold, served as a shot or in a wineglass.
You can have mistela in any cafe, bar and restaurant in the city.
Finally, if you want to have a bottle at home for your sobremesa or take it as a gift for a host, you can buy mistela in the wineries and supermarkets of Valencia.
The areas of the Valencian Community famous for the quality of its mistelas are Xaló, Turís, Cheste and Dénia.
Ready to enjoy summer drinks in Valencia?
We hope this blog has helped you to learn a little more about Valencian customs in summer.
As always, we wish you a happy weekend of rest and enjoyment. We also invite you to practice your Spanish outside the classroom and with your new friends.
El Rincón del Tándem Spanish school wish you all a nice weekend!
