Tamarindo

Tamarindo, or agua de tamarindo, is a chilled Mexican agua fresca made by steeping the sticky brown pulp of the tamarind pod in water, sweetening it, and straining the liquid to a clear amber-brown drink. It is one of the great non-alcoholic table drinks of Mexico and Central America — bracingly sweet-tart, fruity and faintly date-like, and served ice-cold as a foil to rich, spicy and fried food. Together with milky horchata and ruby-red agua de jamaica it forms the classic trio of aguas frescas ladled from glass barrel jars at markets, taquerías and street stalls. It contains no alcohol and no caffeine, and its sourness comes from the natural tartaric acid of the fruit.