In the Altiplano and in Bolivia there are delicious drinks with unique flavors both to warm the body in the heights of the Andes, and to cool off in hot weather.
Let’s get to know the typical Oruro drinks that you must try in this Bolivian city at more than 3700 meters above sea level.
1. Mocochinchi
Typical soft drink from the Andes, especially in Bolivia and Peru, made with dehydrated peaches.
The word “mocochinchi” comes from the Quechua word “muquchinchi”, which means peach raisin.
Ingredients
- Water.
- 3 cups of sugar.
- 1 cinnamon stick.
- 1 kilo of dehydrated peaches (mocochinchi).
Preparation
Soak the mocochinchi the night before with enough water to cover the peaches. Boil it in 3 liters of water with a cinnamon stick until the peach softens (approximately 2 hours).
Prepare a syrup with the sugar until it reaches the point of caramel and with a semi-dark color. Add the caramel to the saucepan with the mocochinchi and stir until fully integrated. Remove from the fire and let cool. Refrigerate before drinking or serve over ice.
2.Api
The api cannot be missing from any list of typical Oruro drinks because it is the most representative of the city and one of the most consumed in Bolivia.
The most common apis are prepared with purple corn or with a combination of this and the yellow grain. White corn is rarely used.
Ingredients
- Sugar to taste.
- 2 cloves.
- 15 cups of water.
- 2 cinnamon sticks.
- 2 cups of ground purple corn.
Preparation
Soak ground corn in 5 cups of water for at least 2 hours. Bring the remaining 10 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan along with the cinnamon and cloves. Strain the corn preparation and add the clove and cinnamon water little by little, stirring so that no lumps form. Sweeten to taste.
The api is served hot and is drunk eating cheese empanadas or fritters. Orureños usually drink it in the morning and in the evening.
In the markets of the city it is common to find the drink, especially in the Mercado 10 de Febrero.
3. Pineapple chicha
The common characteristic of Andean chichas is that they are fermented drinks. They are prepared by hand with cereals, mainly corn and fruit, with a light to moderate alcohol content.
They are pre-Hispanic drinks linked to the celebration of ceremonies.
Ingredients
- Water.
- A very ripe pineapple.
- Half portion of caramel.
Preparation
Peel the pineapple and cut it into slices, reserving the skins. Place the slices together with the shells in a jar with a lid. Add water to cover the pineapple, add the half portion of caramel and cover the jar, leaving it to ferment for 3 days.
Pour into a jar and refrigerate (you can separate the shells and pineapple remains or leave them in the liquid so that it continues to impregnate). The chicha is drunk hot or cold.
4. Quinoa soda
Quinoa or quinoa is a species cultivated in South America, especially in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, whose seed is one of the most powerful plant foods in nature.
It is the only vegetable that contains all the essential amino acids, vitamins and trace elements. Some varieties are gluten free.
Quinoa is called the Andean “golden grain” and is used in the Altiplano in various recipes, including a soft drink.
Ingredients
- Sugar to taste.
- ½ cup of quinoa.
- 1 and ½ liters of water.
- 4 cinnamon sticks.
- ¼ teaspoon of anise seeds.
- A teaspoon of vanilla essence.
Preparation
Wash the quinoa several times so that it does not become bitter and cook it over high heat in the water together with the cinnamon and anise.
Reduce heat to medium when boiling and cook for 45 minutes or until seeds pop and liquid turns colour. Turn off the heat, let stand and strain into a pitcher. When cooled to room temperature, add the vanilla essence and sweeten to taste.
5. Chuflay
One of the typical drinks of Oruro is the chuflay, a cocktail invented by the English technicians who worked on the installation of the Bolivian railway at the beginning of the 20th century.
Faced with the shortage of gin, the British resorted to singani, the typical Bolivian brandy obtained by distillation of wine made from white Muscatel grapes.
The English, who believed that the recipe was temporary, baptized it as Short-Fly, alluding to the transitory rails that they used to avoid flooded areas.
In Bolivia, singani and by extension chuflay have the same cultural meaning as tequila for Mexicans, pisco for Peruvians and Chileans, and cachaça for Brazilians.
Ingredients
- Ice.
- Lime and/or lemon.
- 70 ml of singani.
- 210 ml of ginger ale.
Preparation
Put 2 or 3 ice cubes in a glass, pour in the singani and then the ginger ale. Add a touch of lime or lemon juice and a slice of the fruit.
6. Flaxseed soda
Flaxseed is the seed of the flax plant, excellent for health due to its high content of healthy fats and fiber.
The main producer of flaxseed in Bolivia is the Department of Santa Cruz, which covers about 70% of the volume harvested.
The following drink is particularly suitable for people with constipation and high cholesterol, as flaxseed stimulates the growth of healthy intestinal flora, facilitates the movement of stool and promotes the elimination of LDL fats.
Ingredients
- Sugar to taste.
- 3 cloves.
- A stick of cinnamon.
- 1 and ¼ liters of water.
- 100 grams of ground flaxseed.
- A pinch of nutmeg.
Preparation
Boil the water together with the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg for 15 minutes. Add the ground flaxseed and sugar and cook for another 20 minutes. Remove from the fire and let cool. Refrigerate or serve over ice.
7. Peanut lodges
Aloja, a word that comes from the Greek, is the name given to a type of drink in Spain, Bolivia, Chile and other Latin American countries.
It is not known how old the peanut host is in Bolivian gastronomy, but what has been proven is that the modern species of the legume originated more than 9,000 years ago in the valleys of southern Bolivia, through the hybridization of two ancient varieties of Andean peanuts.
Ingredients
- Sugar.
- 4 liters of water.
- 4 cloves.
- A stick of cinnamon.
- The peel of an orange.
- A cup of peanut kernels with their fine shell.
Preparation
Boil the water with the cinnamon, the cloves and the orange peel, one day before the preparation and let cool to room temperature. Bake the peanut kernels in their shells without burning them. Remove the husk and dry grind the beans until they release their oils.
Mix the ground peanuts with 2 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Put on the fire until almost all the water evaporates and a thick peanut paste remains. Once the pasta is cold, mix it with the water prepared the day before. Start by adding 2 cups of sugar to sweeten, adding more if needed. Refrigerate in a container with a lid and serve the drink very cold, preferably the next day.
8. Bible
In Bolivia bible is called an alcoholic drink made with singani, egg, cinnamon and sugar. In Peru and Chile they prepare an equivalent with pisco instead of singani, but they don’t call it a bible.
Ingredients
- ½ cup of singani.
- 4 whole eggs.
- 4 tablespoons of sugar.
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Preparation
Beat the eggs with the sugar until they form a thick mixture. Add the singani and beat some more. Serve in glasses and sprinkle a little cinnamon (this spice can be replaced by nutmeg).
9. Candy
It is one of the typical drinks of Oruro adopted from other regions of Bolivia, since the garapiña is originally from Quillacollo, a city and province of the Department of Cochabamba, in the central part of the country.
The main ingredient of the drink is corn chicha, which is given a ruby red hue with airampu or airampo, a natural dye traditionally used by the indigenous people of the Andes that is extracted from the seeds of a cactus.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- A tablespoon of airampo.
- 2 bottles of corn chicha.
- A tablespoon of ground cinnamon.
- 2 cups of ripe and well washed strawberries.
Preparation
Soak the airampo in a cup of chicha one hour before making the garapiña. Place the rest of the chicha in a glass jar and add the soaked airampo. Add the cinnamon and sugar and mix until well combined. Serve in large glasses decorating with strawberries. Many people add cinnamon ice cream.
You can enjoy the garapiña in the traditional chicherías of Bolivian cities and towns or buy the ingredients that are easy to get and prepare it yourself.
10. Tiger milk
Peru and Bolivia each have their milk of the tiger. The peruana is the juice that remains from the fish, lemon, chili and other ingredients used in the preparation of the national dish, ceviche.
Bolivian leche de tigre is a hot drink made from singani, milk, and egg yolks, popular during winter festivities, especially on San Juan Day (June 24), the winter solstice (between June 20 and 23, June in the southern hemisphere) and July 16, the anniversary date of La Paz.
Ingredients
- 2 liters of milk.
- 2 egg yolks.
- 4 cinnamon sticks.
- A bottle of singani.
- 4 tablespoons of sugar.
- A teaspoon of cornstarch.
- A splash of vanilla essence.
Preparation
Boil the milk with the cinnamon and add the cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water, leaving the fire for 3 to 5 more minutes. Remove from the flames and add the egg yolks previously beaten in a little cold milk. Gradually add the singani, sugar and vanilla, beating to integrate. Serve hot.
Typical drinks of Oruro: Yungueño
It is a typical Bolivian drink originating from the Yungas Valley, in the Department of La Paz.
Ingredients
- ½ cup of cold water.
- A cup of singani.
- A tablespoon of sugar.
- A cup of orange juice.
Preparation
Mix the 4 ingredients in a bottle or shaker, shake very well and refrigerate. Serve very cold.
Which of these typical drinks from Oruro and Bolivia do you think is the most exotic?
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See also:
- Read our guide on the 30 best tourist places to visit in Bolivia
- Meet the 15 typical dishes of Oruro, Bolivia, that you must try
- Click here to know the 20 highest mountains in America that you have to visit
