A cold, sweet, milky drink of soaked and ground tiger nuts, pressed and strained, served with long soft pastries called fartons.
What makes it orxata de xufa
Tiger nuts, not rice or almonds.
Soaked, ground, pressed and strained — never cooked.
Served very cold, often with fartons.
Where it comes from
Tiger nuts — xufes, small tubers rather than nuts — are thought to have come to Valencia in the time of al-Andalus, and they grow in the sandy soil around Alboraia, just north of the city. They're soaked, ground with water, sweetened and strained.
It's a summer drink, taken in horchaterías, often half-frozen, with fartons for dipping. A popular story says a king tasted it and called it gold — 'això és or, xata' — but it's only a story.
How it varies
Granissat
Half-frozen into a slush.
Horchata de arroz
Made with rice — the version best known in Mexico and Central America.