South American Beverages

An overview

South America has a wide variety of traditional and interesting beverages. Many of them are mainly traditional to one specific country or small group of countries, while a few are shared by most or many countries.

One of the most renowned South American non alcoholic beverages is the mate, or mate tea as is often called. The mate is a beverage which can be compared to an infusion such as a tea, made with yerba mate and hot water, drunk from a recipient called mate and through a metal straw. This beverage is very popular in many South American countries, but especially in Uruguay and Argentina.

Alcoholic and non alcoholic

Among the most popular non alcoholic beverages in South America, besides the mate, there are cacao drinks, coffee, and aguas frescas. Although cacao drinks and coffee are traditional around the world, some South American countries produce excellent cacao and coffee and often their inhabitants drink these beverages on a daily basis.

Some of the most traditional alcoholic beverages in this continent are: chicha, pisco, caipirinha, and aguardiente. Chicha is made of fermented maize or fruits; pisco is a liquor made of grapes; caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brazil, made with lime, cachaca (a typical Brazilian distilled beverage), and sugar; and aguardiente is a liqueur made of sugar cane and anise.