7 agua fresca recipes for keeping cool as a cucumber — or watermelon, coconut or strawberry

The heat in California is brutal, with much of the state engulfed in a dome of triple-digit temperatures. I’m checking my weather app constantly to see what the next few days will bring — above-90 temps this week in downtown Los Angeles.

In the throes of summer’s latest heat wave, all I want to do is drink aguas frescas. Cool, fruity, not too sweet, “fresh waters” date back centuries to Aztecs in Tenochtitlan, what’s now Mexico City, and are the best cool beverages for our hot, hot summer. Crushed fruit with cold water, aguas frescas highlight what’s in season — cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, cucumbers, plums, peaches, passion fruit, berries. (Ripe melons are so delicious right now, I can’t say that I haven’t recently eaten half a watermelon for dinner.)

Agua fresca is practically the signature drink of Los Angeles, where vendors started selling their concoctions from carts in the 1940s. Bright yellow piña agua fresca, the tart wine-colored agua de Jamaica and juicy-pink watermelon versions beckon from vitroleros, barrel-shaped glass jars, at restaurants and street stands across L.A.

You also can very easily make your own, with just a few ingredients — water, ice and whatever you have on hand after stocking up on summer fruit at the farmers market or grocery store. Use agave syrup (or a syrup made with sugar or piloncillo) as a sweetener, lime juice for tartness and a pinch of salt to enhance and pull together the flavors. The key is to adjust the balance as you go. Your blender does the rest of the work for you.

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Watermelon-Lime Agua Fresca

Watermelon, lime, agave syrup, salt — that’s it — all you need to make one of the most refreshing drinks ever. Serve over ice and garnish with a slice of lime.
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Prep time: 15 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 quarts.

(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

Guelaguetza’s Horchata De Oaxaca

This version of horchata from the L.A. restaurant Guelaguetza is topped with cantaloupe, pecans and tuna (red cactus pear) syrup. It’s an homage to a woman named Doña Casilda, a vendor in the central market in Oaxaca, who added these toppings to her horchata. This recipe appears in the cookbook “Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico,” adapted by Guelaguetza co-owner Bricia Lopez.
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Prep time: 24 minutes. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

(Camily Tsai / For The Times)

Coco-Piña-Guava Fresca

This recipe from Danny Trejo’s book “Trejo’s Cantina” utilizes widely available tropical fruit juices and nectars, delivering maximum flavor no matter what time of year it is. Trejo points out that the brilliance of making a simple syrup is that you can keep it for a week to use for whenever inspiration strikes.
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Prep time: 10 minutes. Makes 1 drink.

(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

Coco Limonada

You’re going to want to drink this all summer long. Creamy, nutty coconut milk is the highlight of this limonada inspired by the agua de limón rallado in Oaxaca. Recipe developer Paola Briseño-González says, “Do as Oaxaqueños do and zest your citrus to make quite possibly the most nuanced variation of a lemonade. After soaking lemons and zesting them, use the infused water as the base for a dose of tropical refreshment.”
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Prep time: 35 minutes. Makes 32 ounces.

(Katrina Frederick/For The Times)

Cucumber-Lime Agua Fresca

Simple, green, refreshing cucumber-lime is a classic combo — the pale-green color alone looks like soothing coolness and makes you want to dive in, but former Food Editor Amy Scattergood adds a twist: half of a fresh serrano chile. You could add even more if you’re into it.
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Prep time: 20 minutes. Makes 1 quart.

Strawberry-Jamaica Agua Fresca

Hibiscus flowers are first steeped to make tea, which is then blended with strawberries and a little sugar, for flavor that harnesses the tart with the sweet. The pro tip here is to make a double batch and freeze one in ice cube trays to use when serving.
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Prep time: 20 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 quarts.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Honeydew-Cilantro Agua Fresca With Tequila

Aguas frescas are nonalcoholic, but this cocktail-by-the-pitcher version adds tequila, combining honeydew melon with chiles and flecks of cilantro.
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Prep time: 15 minutes. Serves 8.