Aguas frescas (Spanish lit. "cool waters" or "fresh waters") are a combination of fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water to make light non-alcoholic beverages. They are popular in Mexico and the United States. Some of the more common flavors include tamarind, hibiscus, and agua de horchata.
Aguas frescas are sold principally by street vendors but can also be found in bodegas, restaurants and juice bars.
There is some confusion in terms internationally between the drinks referred to here and bottled soft drinks. In Guatemala and Nicaragua, these are referred to as frescos, short for refresco, which in Mexico means soft drinks. Soft drinks in Guatemala are called aguas, short for aguas gaseosas, but easily confused with the Mexican aguas frescas.
In Mexico it is common to find aguas frescas in these flavors: