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You are here: Home / Breakfast and Brunch / Aguapanela (Sugar Cane Drink)

Aguapanela (Sugar Cane Drink)

By Erica Dinho 52 Comments

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This post is also available in Spanish

Aguapanela receta

Aguapanela or Agua de Panela tanslates to “panela water” and is a traditional and popular Colombian drink. It can be served hot or cold. Aguapanela is used as a base for coffee, hot chocolate and mixed with lime juice as medicine for the flu 🙂 Cold Aguapanela with lime juice is great for hot summer days.

Panela

Panela is a product that is made with sugarcane, it is sweet and brown, is sold in blocks or grated and the flavor is similar to that of brown sugar. Panela is also popular in other countries and is known by many different names. In Central America it is known as papelón, in Mexico as piloncillo, and in Ecuador, Perú and Bolivia as chancaca.

To buy panela click here

Ingredients

  • 5 cups water,or to your taste
  • 2 cups or 16 oz, panela grated or in chunks

Aguapanela

Directions

Place the water and panela in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

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This was printed from MyColombianRecipes.com

Filed Under: Breakfast and Brunch, Drinks Tagged With: Cold Drink, Hot Drink, Traditional Colombian

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Comments

  1. Sarah Naveen says

    June 8, 2010 at 9:50 AM

    I used to have this when i was a kid, during mother marys feast in church in India….
    Memories!!!!looks so yummy!!!
    I think Kerala food have a lot in common with ur food…

    Reply
  2. girlichef says

    June 8, 2010 at 10:20 AM

    Piloncillo is one of my favorite sugar-y type things to use. I’ve never tried it like this. But sugar-water has to be good…it’s on my to-try list 🙂

    Reply
  3. Carla says

    June 8, 2010 at 10:27 AM

    I bet that would be fabulous with your beautiful Pastle Gloria’s.

    Reply
  4. Rachana says

    June 8, 2010 at 11:10 AM

    In India we get a similar product and is called gud or jaggery! The drink looks yummm!!!!!

    Reply
  5. Jeannie says

    June 8, 2010 at 12:11 PM

    We do have something similar in Malaysia…it’s called gula melaka here:)

    Reply
  6. Lyndsey says

    June 8, 2010 at 5:19 PM

    I have seen the panela in our store and I always wanted to try it, but wasn’t sure what to do with it. So I’m thrilled that you posted this. I’ll have to buy some tomorrow. Maybe when I see something unfamiliar to me, next time I’ll just ask you what to do with it 😀

    Reply
  7. zerrin says

    June 8, 2010 at 6:05 PM

    I used to see panela at fields in the village as a child, but never seen it since then. The drinks sounds like a great refreshing beverage for summer days.

    Reply
  8. Sandra G. says

    June 8, 2010 at 7:49 PM

    Me recuerda el agua de azucar que tomaba cuando chiquita!

    Reply
  9. Kim says

    June 8, 2010 at 8:47 PM

    I bet the panela smells wonderful! This has got to be one tasty drink.

    Reply
  10. Joy says

    June 8, 2010 at 8:57 PM

    I want to try it!

    Reply
  11. Juliana says

    June 8, 2010 at 9:06 PM

    I never had sugar cane this way…it really sounds interesting 🙂

    Reply
  12. Erica says

    June 8, 2010 at 9:10 PM

    Thank you guys for the comments!

    Reply
  13. rebecca subbiah says

    June 8, 2010 at 10:44 PM

    looks great I think we had this in Costa Rica we even ground the sugar cane!

    Reply
  14. Devon says

    June 8, 2010 at 10:58 PM

    This sounds so tasty as a base for coffee.

    Reply
  15. 5 Star Foodie says

    June 8, 2010 at 11:03 PM

    I have the piloncillo right now and would love to try to make this drink, very neat!

    Reply
  16. Ivy says

    June 8, 2010 at 11:41 PM

    Thanks for introducing us to this product. I can imagine it must taste great in desserts.

    Reply
  17. grace says

    June 9, 2010 at 6:27 AM

    i’ll tell ya, erica, you’re just full of useful and new info! thanks for the education and for introducing me to panela and this drink. 🙂

    Reply
  18. Diana@Spain in Iowa says

    June 9, 2010 at 9:47 AM

    Erica, this sounds so sweet and yummy! I’ll have to give this a try 😀

    Reply
  19. norma says

    June 9, 2010 at 10:31 AM

    We also had this when we were kids in Venezuela.

    Reply
  20. Francijoe says

    June 9, 2010 at 11:58 AM

    We just had this for lunch yesterday… Do you have one where you can make juice from the sugar cane it self. In my home town the have a sugar cane field. I love to make this for my family….:)

    Reply
  21. girlichef says

    June 9, 2010 at 12:12 PM

    Erica! Funny how things happen…last night I was in the kitchen talking to my husband about piloncillo. He told me about this drink his mom used to make with water and piloncillo…hmmmm. I told him how I’d just read about the same drink from a gal in Columbia!! Such a small world…I’ll be making this soon =) Thanks Erica!

    Reply
  22. Oysterculture says

    June 9, 2010 at 6:58 PM

    Oh now you are speaking to me, a sugar cane drink – sounds so yummy. Dare I share this with the nieces and nephews? Will their parents thank me?

    Reply
    • Erica says

      June 9, 2010 at 7:03 PM

      Oysterculture-Yes!

      Reply
  23. Christine @ Fresh Local and Best says

    June 9, 2010 at 10:08 PM

    I used to drink this, and love it.

    Reply
  24. Erica says

    June 10, 2010 at 5:15 PM

    Thank you guys!

    Reply
  25. tasteofbeirut says

    June 11, 2010 at 6:47 PM

    how interesting! I did not know it was made into a drink like this! must try!

    Reply
  26. Soma says

    June 16, 2010 at 6:29 PM

    I desperately miss the fresh squeezed sugar cane juice from back home in India. it is a popular street food esp. during the summer months and is served with lime (as u mentioned) and salt and sugar.

    What you call Panella, we call Gur/jaggery and use it a lot for indian desserts, even to make rice pudding. love the flavor it imparts and cannot be substituted with anything else in the world.

    Reply
  27. Regina B says

    July 6, 2010 at 11:52 AM

    I do this and add fresh lemon juice for a coulmbian lemonade. My favorite comlubian cafe let me in on the secret to thier awsome lemonade. Muy bueno!!

    Reply
  28. Esther W says

    September 21, 2010 at 12:55 PM

    Friends who had an Argentinian restaurant used to feed me this this when pregnant 30 years ago. It was so delicious, warmed up with a hint of cinnamon. Enjoy!

    Reply
  29. Sonia says

    October 12, 2010 at 12:29 AM

    Mi grandma use to make this but instead of water she used milk, soooo delicious, this replace your coffee in the morning

    Reply
  30. Oscar says

    February 5, 2011 at 12:33 AM

    Great drink. When my mom made the hot version, she would usually add cheese but omitting the lemon (and vice versa), and on the cold versions she always added lemon.

    Btw, for those of you looking for fresh sugar cane juice, you can try looking for places that serve “Guarapo”. I lived in Miami before (I live in Houston, TX now), so the only places that I knew of that served guarapo were cuban and colombian, so I’ve really no idea what other types of businesses might serve it.

    Reply
  31. Tania says

    May 19, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    My husband is Colombian, and when I had morning sickness during my pregnancies, he would make me agua panela con limon, and it worked like a charm. I used to fill my water bottles with it and take it to work, sipping from it when I got nauseated. I just recommended it to a pregnant friend, and it worked for her, too. We also drink it in the summer, always iced. I’ve described it to Americans as “brown sugar lemonade.”

    I’ve visited Peru many times (my father is Peruvian), and I never saw it there, so it was interesting to learn that it is available there, too. I live in Miami now, and you can get guarapo all over the place, but it’s different from agua panela. I recently saw a bottled version of agua panela (looked like a Snapple at first). Wonder if it will take off.

    Reply
  32. Dougy EL Paisa says

    September 8, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    Just drank aguapanela at work, that I made this moring. Can not wait not have more later in the day.

    Reply
  33. Eli says

    April 5, 2012 at 4:46 PM

    Yummy!! Just a tip, in Chile it’s called chancaca, too 🙂

    Reply
  34. Cheryl says

    April 20, 2012 at 10:29 PM

    I just found your blog, and am anticipating many happy memories and remembrances reading it! 🙂

    Had to run and make myself a mug of agua de panela as soon as I saw this post! 🙂 I found out by experimenting that I can make agua de panela with the Sucanat I always have on hand (just evaporated cane juice I buy @ my local health food store). Piloncillo around here is made with corn syrup. 🙁

    Funny story: the first time I ever had this drink, we were at a retreat outside Bogotá. They served us pitcher after pitcher of agua de panela and te de manzanilla but gave us “sandwiches” for breakfast . . . because they’d heard that Americans liked sandwiches! lol Personally, I would have MUCH preferred a good Chocolate Santafereño!

    Reply
  35. Patty says

    September 18, 2012 at 10:44 PM

    Hello Erica, I love your blog! You have so many wonderful recipes. I found this one of aguapanela that I was looking for, I used to enjoy this when I was little, I’ll make it now for my daughters.
    Have you ever made aplanchados? If you have, could you please post the recipe?
    Tkx!!

    Reply
  36. Emily Renate says

    December 4, 2012 at 1:33 AM

    Hey Erica- When I was at my husband’s family home in colombia we had the aguapanela served with a large chunk of cheese. I am wondering if you know what kind of cheese I could use for that? I found colombian sugarcane and would like to surprise him…

    Reply
    • Erica says

      December 4, 2012 at 7:22 AM

      Queso blanco or mozzarela cheese.

      Reply
      • Emily Renate says

        December 4, 2012 at 10:16 PM

        Thank you so much! I’m going to try queso blanco.

        Reply
  37. dee says

    January 4, 2015 at 6:54 PM

    My mom used to add milk and pack it for snack at school.

    Reply
  38. Anonymous says

    August 23, 2015 at 8:13 PM

    My grandmother used to make me this every time I would come over. I miss her and now I make it to feel her close again. Her lengua recipe was phenomenal.

    Reply
  39. Alia says

    October 17, 2017 at 3:16 PM

    Hola! My Mom would make Agua Panela when j was sick but being Colombians in St. Louis a long time ago, she used brown sugar and lemon! It always hit the spot! Now that I live in the Middle East I can find jaggerty but never tried it. I still use brown sugar and lemon for my kids! Now, they are long gone to universities! Gracias!

    Reply
  40. Tracey Shiley says

    October 17, 2017 at 5:12 PM

    I thought the aguapanela I drank in Manizales many years ago also had cocoa powder in it. Is that another way it isn’t prepared as well?

    Reply
  41. Jane Christensen says

    October 17, 2017 at 5:54 PM

    oh my goodness …… we used to have frothy hot chocolate made with panela and a battatilla (not sure how to spell) and arepa every morning for breakfast when we lived in Amaga Colombia for over 3 years and that was many, many years ago. I can still close my eyes and taste the deliciousness of it all. Will have to find out where I can buy panela here in Canada and then look for the pot and battatilla so I can enjoy it all again.

    Reply
  42. daniel says

    March 22, 2019 at 11:03 PM

    hollywood and crenshaw farmers market in los angeles, california sells it fresh or mixed

    Reply
  43. Cossette says

    May 24, 2019 at 12:21 PM

    My hubby is Columbian and I’m from Wisconsin… Clearly was confused about the idea of sugar water and cheese! His mom came over and made me agua panella after our first was born, to help with breastfeeding. I’ve slowly come to enjoy it, now! And I had the flu yesterday and I couldn’t move. My husband brought me a big cup of hot aqua panella with lime. (We found the panella at our Publix in the Hispanic asleep!) I ended up sweating like crazy through the night but woke up feeling a million times better! Still sick, but I feel human again 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hiking in an Andean Paradise « Earthdrifter says:
    February 9, 2012 at 10:41 PM

    […] hung out and drank mountain river water and agua panela, and ate lentils mixed with yucca, plantains, potatoes, veggies and rice.  I thought: It’s so […]

    Reply
  2. Hiking in an Andean Paradise | Earthdrifter says:
    July 4, 2012 at 11:11 PM

    […] hung out and drank mountain river water and agua panela, and ate lentils mixed with yucca, plantains, potatoes, veggies and rice.  I thought: It’s so […]

    Reply
  3. Yo amo Bogotá | My Colombian Voyage says:
    March 17, 2013 at 5:05 PM

    […] I recommend to put some good music as you browse the pictures and make yourself an agua de panela to go with it? Of course not, I’m sure you are doing it at this very […]

    Reply
  4. 3 maneras de desayunar rico y saludable | Blog ZocDoc Colombia says:
    March 25, 2013 at 5:26 PM

    […] 2. Endulza el café con panela. Ese tinto mañanero no tiene por qué ser amargo. La panela se convierte en una muy buena opción a la hora de reemplazar el azúcar refinado. Ademas de tener un rico sabor, le otorga al organismo una gran cantidad de nutrientes y beneficios para un buen comienzo del día. Y si por alguna razón no tomas tinto o café con leche, simplemente prepara una aguapanela. […]

    Reply
  5. My mobile is my nurse | says:
    October 9, 2013 at 4:24 PM

    […] and so on. Right now I will keep experimenting with lemon, ginger, Beechams… and the classic aguapanela, a sugar cane drink that has never disappointed […]

    Reply
  6. Climbing the Andes – We make some progress now, no, Mister Alan? – String Knife and Paper says:
    March 31, 2014 at 2:36 AM

    […] various stages, Marino would stop, and he got out the Agua Pannela.  This was a very sweet drink, made from melting the Pannela Sweetbread (almost pure sugar as far […]

    Reply

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