Hi Sweet Friend,
In this week’s episode of Watercolor Happy Hour (our live show on Linkedin/Youtube/Facebook), we’re be celebrating Tepache with a delicious Tepache Spritz Cocktail (recipe that Dan created).
What is Tepache?
Tepache is a fermented beverage. It is made from pineapple rinds, yeast, and brown sugar. It is popular in Mexico.
However, it’s more than just a slightly sweet drink to quench your thirst on a warm day; it helps promote healthy digestion because of its prebiotic effect on intestinal bacteria. In addition to these benefits, tepache also has less sugar than many other carbonated beverages as well as being gluten free.
How Do I Find Tepache?
To create tepache, you must begin with pineapple rinds – these are usually made up of pineapple juice or “fresh” pineapple cubes or slices, dried over an open fire to achieve a charred appearance. Chunks of dried pineapple are also a good substitute. Pineapple can be found in all major grocery stores and comes in a variety of forms including cubes, slices, dried over an open fire, and chunks (bastardized with citric acid).
Next comes the sugar. The sugar is dissolved with water to make a pineapple- like syrup, which is then added to the pineapple rinds or chunks. The bacterial fermentation process begins when the sugar has been added to the rinds or chunk.
After this process has started, it can take anywhere from two weeks up to six months for the bacteria to finish fermenting the pineapple – like they do when creating kombucha or sauerkraut.
Personally, that sounds like too much work😂. Luckily, we have our friends at Holy Kombucha, who created a line of tepache flavors that are all delicious and refreshing.
As soon as I tried one, I told Dan that we need to make a cocktail out of it. So this brings me to the Tepache Spritz (which was also really fun to paint!).
Check out the ingredients below and watch our live show to see how to make it and how to paint it with watercolors!
Tepache Spritz Cocktail Ingredients
1 oz Beefeater Gin
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 lime juice
Top with Tepache by Holy Kombucha
Float 1/2 oz Aperol
