What is Tepache?

Travel Distilled samples Tepache Sazon, a brand of the Mexican drink made from fermented pineapples or other fruit and occasionally with a dash of mezcal added.

Tepache is a Mexican drink which I’d never sampled till I was offered a bottle of Tepache Sazon to try. It was perfect timing as a few days earlier I’d been asked to write the drinks section of a coffee-table book about Mexican culture, Viva Mexico!

What is Tepache?

So what is tepache? It’s a drink made by fermenting pineapple rinds and adding some sugar, some cinnamon, and in some cases a little beer or mezcal to strengthen the alcohol.

The History of Tepache

Tepache was first made a few thousand years ago in pre-Columbian Mexico, though back then it was made from corn. In fact the name comes from an Aztec word, tepiātl, which means quite simply ‘drink made from corn’. It would have tasted very different from what we know today as tepache, and I think it’s safe to say that today’s version is probably preferable.

Pineapples being harvested for making Tepache Sazon — Pineapples Being Harvested for Making Tepache Sazon

Tepache Recipes

Tepache is a pretty simple drink to make, and it’s been made at home in Mexico since the Aztecs! For that reason, there’s no one definitive recipe as everyone makes it to their own taste. In that respect, tepache is more a kind of drink than a specific drink.

Primarily, as stated above, it’s made by fermenting pineapple rinds for a few days and then adding some brown sugar, and some cinnamon powder. However, some people use other fruit, if they happen to have it around, and you might also add one or two different spices. Some people also stir in a little beer or mezcal, to increase the alcohol content.

Some commercial versions of tepache are also non-alcoholic, so check what you’re ordering or buying.

Tepache Sazon

My Tepache Sazon was made the traditional way, and was 7%ABV (14 proof), so the strength of a strong beer. I offered my wife a taste at first, to decide whether we should split the bottle, and she pulled a face and said ‘it’s all yours’.

So I was a bit apprehensive trying it – but I loved it! For my wife it was too sour, but I enjoyed it as it reminded me of an English cider, being both sweet and sour at the same time. It’s slightly fizzy and the taste is filled with other tropical fruits. As well as mezcal, I could also imagine mixing this with rum to make a tropical cocktail. It also reminded me of sour beers, another type of drink I really like. So whether you like tepache will depend a lot on your taste buds… and on the tepache you’re trying.

Tepache Sazon is made in San Pancho, in Nayarit on the Pacific Coast, about an hour’s drive north of Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is in the neighbouring state of Jalisco, the home of tequila! The drink uses no artificial ingredients and is gluten-free.

Ceylon cinnamon for making Tepache Sazon — Ceylon Cinnamon

Although there are 38 different types of pineapple, Tepache Sazon is made only from the piña miel, which means honey pineapple, and bought from a family which has grown these pineapples for generations.

The drink is sweetened with Mexican brown sugar, or piloncillo, which is made by boiling fresh sugar cane into a thick syrup and then drying it in wooden molds to intensify the flavour. It’s combined with canela, or Ceylon cinnamon, a milder and more expensive version of cinnamon, compared to the more common cassia cinnamon.