Agua de Chía

The ancient cooling drink of Mexico: chia seeds soaked in water with lime and a little sugar until they swell into a refreshing, lightly gelled agua fresca, the stimulant once carried by Aztec runners and still sold from street stalls across Mexico

Origin: Mexico

From the journey of Sage.

Long before chia became a global health food, it was the drink of Mexico, and it remains one of the most refreshing of the aguas frescas sold from glass barrels on Mexican streets. Chia (Salvia hispanica), a Mexican sage grown for its seeds, was one of the four staple crops of the Aztec world, and its seeds, stirred into water where their soluble fibre swells into a cooling gel, made the stimulant drink that is said to have sustained runners and warriors over long distances. Combined with lime and a little sugar, the soaked seeds make agua de chía (or its Jaliscan cousin, chía con limón), a drink at once ancient and modern: hydrating, faintly nutty, and full of the tiny suspended seeds that give it its gentle texture. It is the oldest and simplest use of the seed that the rest of the world has only lately rediscovered.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 litre cold water
  • 3 limes, juiced
  • 3 tbsp sugar or honey, to taste
  • 1 pinch salt

Method

  1. Stir the chia seeds into about 250ml of the water and leave for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the seeds swell and each is surrounded by a clear gel.
  2. In a jug, combine the remaining water, the lime juice, the sugar or honey, and the pinch of salt, and stir until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Tip the soaked, gelled chia into the jug and stir well to suspend the seeds throughout.
  4. Chill, or serve over ice, stirring before serving.

Notes

The ratio of seeds to water is a matter of taste: more seeds give a thicker, more textured drink. Lime is the classic Mexican flavouring, but the same method makes a chia agua fresca with any fruit; a little mashed strawberry or a splash of hibiscus (jamaica) is delicious. This is also the gentlest introduction to chia for anyone who finds the seeds strange: here they are simply refreshing.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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