Tepache

Tepache is a traditional Mexican fermented beverage made from pineapple peel and core, sugar, and spices (typically cinnamon and cloves), fermented for 2-3 days with wild yeasts. It produces a slightly fizzy, mildly tart, tropical drink with 0.5–2% ABV and an increasingly fashionable profile in the craft zero-proof market.

Tepache has been produced in Mexico for hundreds of years, with origins in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican fermentation culture. The name derives from Nahuatl 'tepatli,' and the beverage was traditionally made with corn before pineapple became the standard substrate. The fermentation uses wild yeasts and bacteria naturally present on the pineapple skin, producing a short, vigorous fermentation that results in a lightly fermented tropical drink consumed fresh.

The appeal of tepache in contemporary craft beverage culture is multifaceted: it uses food waste (pineapple peel and core that would otherwise be discarded), produces a genuinely flavorful fermented beverage with minimal input, ferments in 24-72 hours without specialized equipment, and connects to an authentic, centuries-old culinary tradition. These sustainability, accessibility, and authenticity credentials align exactly with what premium craft beverage consumers and the food media celebrate.

Commercially, tepache is being developed by several US and European craft producers into stable, packaged products. The challenge of commercialization is consistency — wild fermentation is inherently variable — and ABV management. Some producers use selected yeast strains rather than wild fermentation and adjust the formula for consistent carbonation. Others embrace variability as part of the product's authentic character.

A trend to watch: tepache has appeared on cocktail menus at multiple James Beard Award-nominated restaurants in the US as a zero-proof pairing option, and it featured in coverage from Eater, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine between 2022-2024. This food media visibility signals crossover potential from niche fermentation culture to mainstream premium hospitality — exactly the trajectory that kombucha followed in the 2010s.