Many people are tricked into buying products called 'Horchata' but these products are not made from real horchata. The offerings range from powdered mixes and concentrates to dairy based products with horchata flavoring. Beware!!! These are not real horchatas, these are made from horchata flavors. Horchata flavors are not real, they are artificial, there is no horchata plant to get horchata flavor from.

The only way to get 'Real Horchata' is to make it from scratch from an original recipe. In the western hemisphere, horchata is made from rice, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and either water or dairy. The only way to make 'Real Horchata' is to make it from these ingredients, not horchata flavor. If it says horchata flavor or it does not include not rice, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla it's not 'Real Horchata'.

RumChata® is rum cream made as an authentic replica of the best Horchata you have ever tasted. It is made from scratch using real ingredients - rice, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. This is Real Horchata, not an imitation flavored horchata beverage.

Horchata - Chufa style - has its origin in ancient Egypt. Chufa is one of the earliest domesticated crops. It was found in vases and was used in embalming methods in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. The Chufa nut was widely used in Egypt and the Sudan. The Arabs transported the plant to Spain during the time of the Moorish kings (700 B.C. a 1200 A.D.). The eastern Spanish province of Valencia was the best environment for growing Chufa.

Chufa (pronounced CHOO-fah) "nuts" (or Tiger Nuts) are basically the little pea sized roots of a middle eastern / African plant that are brown in color. Chufa has an off-white flesh that is similar in texture and color to an almond.

This nut is good for your health, containing high levels of iron and potassium. It does not contain sodium, is very low in fat content, and is valued for its minerals and vitamins.

You will find Horchatas made from Chufa in most areas of Spain . It remains a very popular and refreshing summer drink. Horchata made from Chufa nut tastes nothing like Mexican Horchata made from rice. Don't confuse the two because they are VERY different.

In the northern hemisphere, Horchata (sometimes referred to as Mexican Horchata) is served extensively in Central America and Mexico. In these areas, it is a rice-based beverage because of the inaccessibility of Chufa. Many recipes call for almonds as a substitute because they resemble Chufa. While the drink is usually "milky" colored, some recipes call for milk itself and others do not. Other ingredients include sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Horchata has always been a family recipe that is handed down from generation to generation but with the extreme popularity of Mexican food it has been exposed to more and more people in American restaurants as a fountain item. In the United States rice-based horchata is served in most Mexican restaurants, and the horchata de chufas (the original from Spain) is virtually unknown.

Many non-hispanics in the United States drink Horchata when frequenting their favorite authentic Mexican restaurant but had trouble pronouncing the word ‘Horchata’ and have substituted the term ‘Rice Water’. Just to be clear “Rice Water” and “Horchata” are the same thing. This term should not to be confused with rice milk. Rice milk is a kind of grain milk processed from rice. It is made almost entirely from brown rice and commonly sweetened with sugarcane syrup. It is available in flavors and is generally used as a lactose free substitute for milk. This is not horchata.

There is an old story about a girl in a little town that offered some of this drink to the visiting King of Catalunya. After enjoying the drink, the king asked, "Que es aixo?" (What is this?). The girl answered, "Es leche de Chufa" (Chufa milk - which was its original name), to which the King replied, "Aixo no es llet, aixo es OR, XATA!" (This is not milk; this is GOLD, CUTIE). The word "Xata" in Catalan - which the King spoke - is an affectionate nickname for a child.

The fame spread throughout the country and the name of the drink started to be known in Spanish as Orchata. Later, the H was added to the beginning of the word making it horchata.